Good ole Moody’s

Just back from lunch with friends at Moody’s Diner. I tend to stay away from this Waldoboro classic in summer, when the line is often out the door, but since friend’s were headed there, we went. It’s still a steal. And it’s still the real deal, when it comes to diner fare.

We slid into well worn booths, and I had the lunch special, cup of soup (turkey with rice) and a grilled cheese sandwich, for less than $5. Thick soup with big chunks of chicken and carrots and lots of rice; sandwiched oozed cheese. Then split a slab of to-die-for walnut cream pie, warmed, and topped with a mound of thick, real whipped cream. Heaven!

If I had a listing for cheap eats in Maine, Moody’s would easily be on the list. Good food, well prepared, cheap. If you want to avoid lines, go mid morning, mid afternoon, or after 7:30 p.m. And remember, there are those vintage cabins up back that go for less than $50 per night. And a gift store.

Sleeping and dining at the Harraseeket Inn

I spent a night at Freeport’s Harraseeket Inn earlier this week, dining in the Broad Arrow Tavern for lunch and the Maine Dining Room for dinner.

This is a classic country inn owned and operated by the Gray family, and they understand the biz. It’s got all the whistles and bells, but it neither shouts nor screams. Common areas include a living room, where afternoon tea is served—tea sandiwches, cookies, tea breads, cheese, and fresh fruit along with a selection of teas, and there’s no charge for guests. Nice.There also are a good-sized indoor lap pool and a tiny fitness room. And it’s only two blocks from Bean’s.

Guest rooms are furnished with comfortable Colonial repro pieces, and baths range from basic to fancy, with huge whirlpool tub and separate showers. Bath amenities are green—right down to the hollowed out soap (actually, I really liked that touch, the hole in the center acted as a handle).

There is one exception, and that’s a decorator-designed room with Thomas Moser furnishings. Way cool. It’s a large, corner room with a cork floor and a sandstone fireplace dominating one wall. A sofa and lounge chairs are grouped by the fireplace; quite inviting. The bathroom is combines a retro look with modern sizzle, and it works. Yeah, I could be quite comfy in this room.

Although listed room rates begin at $185, there are specials that can bring the rate down. If you’re inquiring within days, ask about the dinner package, which provides a room for $125 if you dine in the Maine Dining Room for dinner. Usually offered only in winter, it is being offered on a limited basis this summer, but you have to ask. And breakfast and afternoon tea are included, too.

I had the luncheon buffet ($16.95) at the Broad Arrow Tavern. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but it’s quite a spread: fresh fruit, breads, soup, pizza, dips, an array of hot dishes including fish, mussels, chicken, beef, mussels, and lots more. And dessert.

The Maine Dining Room is no longer the formal fine dining place it was. The white tableclothes have been replaced by a rainbow of colors in muted shades. There’s even a small TV in the bar area. The prices are quite reasonable, with entrees beginning at $18 and topping out at $29 for whole poached lobster, and small plates ranging $7-$10. Service is spot on.

I began with a salad comprising fresh greens, roasted asparagus, prosciutto, and ash goat cheese, with a sage dressing. Off to a good start. Next we shared a few small plates: honey-glazed scallop with potato puree, frisee, pancetta, and rhubarb sauce; lobster spring roll, with micro greens, pickled onion, and herbed creme fraiche; and pea ravoioli with ricotta silata and rosemary cream. Frankly, I could have stopped right there. All that paired with the bread and flatbread that accompanied the meal, was plenty.

But if I had stopped, I wouldn’t have had the herb crusted halibut with spinach and pine nut dumplings and local onion cream sauce ($26). The fish was tender and moist, the dumplings were addictive.

What really stole the show was the lavender rubbed chicken ($23). Oh my. I took just a few tastes, but that was enough to know I’ll order this the next time I visit. I’m a huge fan of roasted chicken and I’m a sucker for the subtle flavors of lavender. The waitress had described the overall taste as soft, and I have to agree. It was gentle, and delicious.

Camden Harbour Inn culinary tour of Thailand

I wanna go, I wanna go!

The Camden Harbor Inn is launching a series of luxury culinary tours with  Thailand in January 2008. The 14-day tour includes accommodations at high-end hotels and resorts, daily breakfast, cooking classes, visits to restaurants, local markets, historic sites and temples, even elephant rides. (Hey, I’ve ridden an ostrich, an elephant must be easier than that). Tour prices begin at $3,790 per person, (based on double occupancy and a minimum of 16 guests), not including airfare to Thailand.

Arts talks highlight Indiana and Wyeth

Two talks, two locations, both about current exhibitions at the Farnsworth Art Museum, in Rockland.

• “Robert Indiana, Pop Master at the Farnsworth,” July 27, Bar Harbor
Art historian and exhibit co-curator John Wilmerding will talk about the renowned artist Robert Indiana at College of the Atlantic‘s Gates Community Center . The free talk begins at 6 p.m. Wilmerding, emeritus professor of American art at Princeton University, will offer an overview of Indiana’s career in conjunction with the
exhibit of the artist’s work at the Farnsworth.

• A Conversation with Jamie Wyeth, Aug. 5, Rockland
Artist Jamie Wyeth and interim director and chief curator Michael K. Komanecky will discuss the topic of human frailty as seen through Jamie Wyeth’s depiction of the theme, with seagulls as the protagonists, in his exhibition Jamie Wyeth—Seven Deadly Sins. The conversation will take place at 6 p.m., in the museum auditorium. A Q&A will follow. Admission is $20.

Three new wines from Cellardoor

Next time you’re in the vicinity of either Cellardoor‘s Route 1 Villa store in Rockport or its winery in Lincolnville, stop in for a taste of one (or all) of its three new wines.

• Artist Series Petite Sirah:
A limited edition wine, the Artist Series Petite Sirah is made up of 85% Petite Sirah (from Lodi, CA) and 15% Viognier (from Snipes Mountain, WA). Aged in 15% new oak, the wine is full-bodied with ripe, rich berry aromas, and a beautiful elegance resulting from the Viognier grapes.

• Prince Valiant:
A five-grape blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc (all from Eastern Washington state), Petite Sirah (Lodi, CA) and Viognier (Snipes Mountain, WA), the Prince Valiant has intense aromas of ripe black cherries and white pepper with undertones of coffee and caramel. The versatile wine pairs beautifully with grilled BBQ chicken or a big juicy steak.

Viognier:
Our elegant and complex Viognier will be unveiled this August. Made from 100% Viognier grapes from Snipes Mountain, WA, the wine is aged in only 10% new oak, and is a full-bodied, dry white wine with intense aromas of stone fruits. This one has been worth waiting for, and will be the Winery’s most prized white wine to date.

Got a hankering for some country music?

Hal Ketchum (Small Town Saturday Night,” “Past the Point of Rescue” and “Hearts Are Gonna Roll”)  kicks off Saddleback’s Summer Country Music Series on July 25.

Concert begins at 8 p.m. in Saddleback’s base lodge and attendance is limited to 200. Tickets are $30, and a pre-concert country-style barbecue dinner  is available, with menu options ranging $3.95 to $23.95.

Next is the summer concert series is Suzy Boggus on August 20, followed by Asleep at the Wheel on September 3.

Foodie Alert: 12 Seats

Fans of Eric Desjarlais’ Evangeline and Krista Kerns’ Bresca take note: The husband-wife duo are joining forces for 12 Seats:

12 Seats is just what the title says. 12 seats, 12 courses, 12 times in one year. The last Sunday of each month, Krista and I will transform bresca in to an amalgamation of our culinary and hospitality passions. 12 Seats will take over the bresca dining room and kitchen, and she and I will transform ourselves into one chef with the mind of two cooks.

Trust me, this will fill fast. Check the blog, get on the phone, and get on the list now.

Table disappoints

I really wanted to like Table, A Farmhouse Bistro, and I really do want it to succeed, but it had better get its act together, and fast.

Table is the latest restaurant to occupy the downtown Blue Hill spot made famous eons ago by Firepond; most recently it was Wescott Forge. Table, A Farmhouse Bistro, is owned by Rich Hanson, of Cleonice, in Ellsworth, fame. The man knows how to run a successful restaurant (I love Cleonice, and I liked what he did at the short-lived Rusticator), but it doesn’t show here.

Upon entering we were told we could dine upstairs off a lighter fare menu or downstairs off the full menu, but we couldn’t mix menus. We dithered, wanting choices off each, but settled on the lighter menu and were seated upstairs at a table with a badly wrinkled tablecloth. A bit later, another party seated next to us was allowed to

Our waitress was sweet, but had absolutely no training about the wine list. Okay, the place has only been open about a week, she’s trying; not going to blame her, just the lack of training.

We ordered the macaroni and cheese with side salad ($9), requesting the dressing on the side, and the Ploughman’s Lunch ($12; Maine Buggy Whip cheddar, Sunset Acres brie, a slice of pate, crusty bread, Rayes mustard, and homemade pickles). What we got was a the mac and cheese with a dressed salad and a Ploughman’s Lunch with pickled vegetables. Salad, no big deal, but the homemade pickles were the reason we’d ordered the ploughman’s. We flagged our waitress down and she went off in search of the promised pickles, then returned with more pickled vegetables. Strike two.

Now, we could have forgiven all this had the food wowed us. It didn’t. And a $9 mac and cheese should rich and flavorful, this wasn’t. When a waitress came near again, we asked about the pate, she checked her notes, country, she pronounced. The Sunset Acres cheese was very good, ditto the Raye’s mustard, the rest of the platter? Eh. The bread was more stale than crusty. Not than anyone cared: no one even asked us how our meals were. Strike three.

As I read this over, it sounds extremely harsh. It wasn’t that it was a bad meal, it was just not a great one. The biggest problem was that no one cared. No one asked us how we found the restaurant. No one asked if we were enjoying our meal. No one even said good-by or hope to see you again when we left.

I hope time cures these woes. I hope Table gets its act together. But summer in Maine is short enough; summer in Blue Hill even shorter, and the economy isn’t doing upscale restaurants any favors. Fingers crossed.

Flash! In the Pans!

A steel pan band is not what you’d expect to fine in Down East Maine, never mind in sedate and serene (at least on the surface) Blue Hill. But the Flash! In the Pans! community steel-drum band is one of the largest such bands in the country.

Thirty or so members, ranging from grooving young dudes to gray hairs, usually perform somewhere on the Blue Hill/Deer Isle Peninsula on Monday nights, 7:30–9 p.m., but occasionally the band makes a foray to more distant points, such as Bangor, Belfast, Southwest Harbor, or Hancock. See schedule here.

Not only is the band is excellent, but also the people-watching is superb. These aren’t sit-down concerts, they’re street dances and community events that attract all ages from all walks of life. Families picnic, folks dance, toddlers boogie, teen-agers flirt, old salts swap fish tales.

Performances usually benefit a local nonprofit organization, and admission is by donation. There’s always a suggested amount, but it’s truly give what you can, be it 50¢, $5, $50; I’ve never seen anyone turned away. If you get the opportunity (or can make it happen), go!

Sweet dreams at the Blue Hill Inn

Two nights at the Blue Hill  Inn isn’t nearly enough time to enjoy the inn, never mind the Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Isle.

I didn’t think anyone could fill the shoes of Don and Mary, who previously owned the inn, but innkeeper Sarah Pebworth has done it. Her enthusiasm for both the inn and the area are infectious.

So far, she hasn’t made too many changes, and those have been subtle. When I asked, Sarah said she’d been advised not too make any for two years, which would give her a chance to get the feel of the place and repeat guests to get to know her. She’s closing on that marker, but I wouldn’t expect anything too earth-shattering.

The Federal-style inn, built in 1830, is located across from the George Stevens Academy, and just steps from Blue Hill’s eclectic shops and restaurants. It’s a five-minute walk to the waterfront town park, where we caught the Flash! In the Pans one night (more on that, later).

Rooms are decorated in period style done right, antiques are balanced with plush linens and contemporary amenities including air-conditioning (not that we’ve needed it this year, sigh) and Wifi. Our room even had a wood-burning fireplace that was ready to light. And at night, turn-down treats: chocolate-dipped strawberries one night, chocolates the other.

What I really like here are the downstairs common rooms. I spent a rainy late afternoon hunkered down in the living room, with another fireplace (there are quite a few in this inn), and a rainy evening in the library, which is stocked with good reads as well as a guest computer.

And the food! If you’re not staying here, it’s worth the effort and the money ($12.95 for nonguests) to come for breakfast, by candlelight, no less. The menu changes daily, but always includes a bread course, a fruit course, and a choice of entree. I still smile and sigh when I think of the Stonington crabmeat with eggs and leeks. Sweets appear every afternoon—the best chocolate chip cookies one day—and in the early evening, Sarah serves hor d’oeurvres, and guests can order wine. When the weather cooperates, you can enjoy these in the gardens, but rain prevented us from that experience. Guess we’ll have to return.