If Virginia is for lovers, then Maine is for foodies.It's where many great chefs go to die or escape the rat race drama of big cities and pursue their passion next to the source.The sea, the woods,the farms here produce the finest ingredients possibly from the entire planet.Steamers , blueberries, venison, trout, rhubarb and the king of the dinner table the Maine lobster.Portland, Maine's biggest city, has more chefs per capita then anywhere else in the country, with most chefs owning their own restaurants.
Mainers are like to other group of folk I have ever met.They work very hard to preserve thier lifestyle.Not like people in Orange County trying to keep up with the Joneses, but quite the opposite.This "quality of life" has nothing to do with money or fame. Things have been done the right way in Maine for hundreds of years.Clam Bakes, bean suppers, old men sitting around a pot belly stove in the general store smoking corn cob pipes and talking trash.The food, the views, the scents in the air are the same things that seduced my Great Grandparents into buying property here. Mainers work hard to keep things from changing.
Mainers are like to other group of folk I have ever met.They work very hard to preserve thier lifestyle.Not like people in Orange County trying to keep up with the Joneses, but quite the opposite.This "quality of life" has nothing to do with money or fame. Things have been done the right way in Maine for hundreds of years.Clam Bakes, bean suppers, old men sitting around a pot belly stove in the general store smoking corn cob pipes and talking trash.The food, the views, the scents in the air are the same things that seduced my Great Grandparents into buying property here. Mainers work hard to keep things from changing.
But I want to talk to you about my Maine
There are things to eat in the woods.When we walk my kids love to pull up and eat Indian cucumber.Sometimes I stumble upon Chantrelle Mushrooms or Fiddleheads.There always seems to be some magic spring in every forest , not just the one in Poland.......
I took a walk down the beach with my children , carrying only a towel and a boogie board.A jolly local man was digging for clams and we quickly joined him.After digging in the moist sand with bare hands for 10 minutes we had a dozen huge steamers.I wrapped them in the towel and dragged them back to the cottage on the boogie board. We had cream for coffee, butter , an onion, celery, and a few potatoes in the fridge.I made the most amazing clam chowder from what was just there.
My favorite restaurant in my life so far is the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse. It is the perfect combo of unique place and food. Hidden in the woods on the remote peninsula of Georgetown , Maine, the restaurant actually a restored post and beam meetinghouse (church)originally constructed in 1855.Chef Michael Gagne is the master of Fusion. I imagine that if God needed a chef, he would ask for him. For Gagne takes the best attributes of many world cuisines and beautifully collaborates them.It just works here magnificently.Little touches like 5 different varieties of bread served warm on the table, sorbet between courses and WINE FROM MY OWN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD, makes every visit a lifetime memory. The dishes have Cajun, Italian, Szechuan, Caribbean, Thai and German influences just to name a few.Did I mention it works? It defys any sense of rationale.
Go there, even for just one time in your life....you won't ever be the same.
i love how you write.
ReplyDeleteand now i want to go to maine even more than i did before...