Bourdain in Maine 3

Best story on Bourdain’s Maine tour I’ve seen yet is in today’s Bangor News. It details his visit to a baked bean suppah in Milo, hometown of his cameraman/cinematographer.

Snip:

“‘I’ve had beans, I’ve had baked beans and pork and beans, but these are some pretty damn good beans,” Bourdain said. “It’s the first time I’ve been to a bean supper, I can tell you.”

Of Maine in general, Bourdain said the first thing that struck him was until he arrived in Milo, he had yet to meet a single person who was actually from Maine. “Portland, Rockland, everyone we met was a displaced person from someplace else,” he said.

End snip.

An autumn ramble

Even though the color is a bit from peak, it’s still gorgeous in the Bethel area. If you’re looking to slip away for a day or two, you won’t go wrong here in the next week or so.

My overnight began with a backroad noodle through the village- and lake-speckled rural countryside between m Augusta and Bethel. Trust me on this: Arm yourself with a DeLorme Map and Guide and just mosey through Leeds, Turner, Buckfield, Sumner etc. The rewards are well worth a few wrong turns; actually getting lost is half the fun.

Once in Bethel, I met a friend for lunch, a pulled-pork sandwich at BBQ Bob’s Orange Trailer, adjacent to the Good Food Store on Route 2. Despite retreating to a car to finish lunch due to an afternoon sprinkle, I give this picnic table enterprise high marks. Wasn’t too crazy about the cornbread, but the pork was delish.

Then off to the Crocker Pond House, an architect-designed B&B down a rural byway off Route 2. What a find! Stuart (he’s the architect) and Ellen Crocker’s B&B blends angles, projections, big windows, balconies, soaring spaces and intimate places into a cozy whole. Family rooms have sleeping lofts for the kids, a great idea. So quiet at night, too. How quiet? While in the living room, I could hear the soft psiu psiu of the cats padding down the hall. And outside, acres of undeveloped land, with a big lawn, a private pond, and trails deep into the woods. And breakfast? Stuart’s magnificent blueberry pancakes.

For dinner, I hit $5 burger night at the Jolly Drayman at the Brier Lea, an extremely popular Monday night happening in Bethel. No little patties here, these are big burgers topped with lettuce, onion, and tomato and served with a generous side of fries. All for $5.

Next morning, I wandered around Bethel, then drove over Paradise Hill, a must for foliage viewing without stress. Drive out past the Bethel Inn, then keep going, bending to the left on Paradise Hill Road. It climbs up to a ridge with panoramic mountain views off both sides, before dropping. At the T intersection, turn left and you’ll be back in downtown Bethel. A quick loop, but one with big rewards for leaf peepers.

Lunch: S.S. Milton. First time I’ve returned since it replaced Mother’s ages ago. I’ll definitely make it a must on my returns to Bethel. Good food, well prepared, friendly service, and a comfy space: a warren of small rooms in an old Victorian on Main Street.

Next stop, Cafe DiCocoa for chocolate chip cookies (yup, these rival those at Old Gourmet for top honors so far) and tea for the road. (Note to self: Return in winter for one of the ethnic themed prix fixe dinners).

Final stop, in Turner at Nezinscot Farm. What a gem, a family farm/fiber store/frommagerie/cafe/and so much  more. I purchased farm-made cheese, meats, relish, pickles, Anadama bread (some of the best I’ve had, right up there with that from Friar’s Bakery, in Bangor) and yes, a cookie (excellent!, a contender).

Speaking of wine

You can host your own winemaker dinner, but first you have to make the wine. To learn—and enjoy top notch meals and luxurious lodging and fun activities—tap into the annual Wine Camp, a joint venture of Cellardoor Winery and the Camden Harbour Inn, slated Oct. 12-16.

Here’s what’s included:
•    Four nights at the Camden Harbour Inn, including turndown service with handmade Belgian chocolates every night; coffee, tea and bottled water in all rooms, as well as complimentary DownEast coffee, Mighty Leaf tea, pastries and snacks all day in the lounge; Wine Camp welcome reception at the Inn with Prosecco and special hors d’oeuvres

•    All meals during the four-day trip, including an a la carte Champagne breakfast every morning at Natalie’s, ta at the Camden Harbour Inn;  a luncheon at Prism Glass & Gallery Café in Rocklan; a dinner at The Edge at The Inn at Ocean’s Edge in Lincolnville; and a Natalie’s farewell five-course tasting dinner including wine pairings selected by French wine connoisseur and owner of Belfast’s Easterly Wines, Jack Scully.

•    Transportation to Wine Camp activities

•    Wine classes and educational programs at Cellardoor Winery and Vineyard

•    Winemaking kit

•    A cooking class with Natalie’s Executive Chef Lawrence Klang

•    Special outings and activities including a Maine winery tour, kayaking tour, and a sailing trip on the Schooner Olad (weather permitting, rain programs available).

The Wine Camp package starts at $1,650 plus tax per person based on double occupancy and includes gratuity.

MDI foodie reruns

We finished our visit to Mount Desert Island with two returns, Mache Bistro for a dinner and Jordan Pond House for lunch.

Once again, Mache did everything right. Chef/owner Karl Yarborough knows how to put out excellent food and how to keep the front of the house running smoothly. Our table of six ordered two cassoulets, two salmon specials, one scallops, and one mix of appetizers (calmari salad and the lobster/crab cakes), and none of us was disappointed in any way. We each kept raving, and for the most part, refused to share. One friend, a regular at Hammersley’s in Boston’s South End, proclaimed this cassoulet better, quite an accomplishment. The only complaint at our table was the need for a bit more light (and perhaps larger print on the menu—yeah, we’re all in denial about the glasses thing). You definitely want to make reservations; this place is very small and very popular.

Visiting MDI without having lunch at Jordan Pond House is like visiting the park without touring the park loop. Four of us went, and while we each had at least one popover, or lunch choices were varied. One cranberry island salad, made with greens, dried cranberries, pecans, and apples tossed with the house vinaigrette. Two orders of the soup of the day, a golden pea with butternut squash that was rich and delicious and quite flavorful. And one order of the lobster stew, served with big pieces of lobster meat. Now all that’s quite fine, but for me, it’s the popovers that make this place sing. Call me a sucker for tradition, but I just love ’em. And here’s a hint, if you’re not offered the blueberry jam, ask for it—it’s thick and rich and tastes just like fresh-picked blueberries. So good, you might just want to skip the popover and just eat it by the spoonful.

More Foodie News: Maine Fare

Plan ahead for Maine Fare, a celebration of local Maine foods and beverages highlighting both heritage and sustainability, Sept. 11-13, in Camden and Rockport. Planned events include panels, tastings, classes, dinners, and a marketplace.

The keynote panel, Can Maine Feed Itself, addresses whether Maine’s farmers, foragers, fishermen, and producers can feed the state’s population. It’s slated for 2 p.m., Friday, Sept.  11, at Brewster Point, in Rockport. Admisison is free and it’s open to the public.

Panel moderator will be Craig Lapine, president of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), the executive director of Cultivating Community (a Portland-based group focused on community and school gardens), and an activist committed to growing sustainable communities. Confirmed panelists include: Eliot Coleman, author and co-owner of Four Season Farm; Seth Bradstreet, commissioner, Maine Department of Agriculture; Russell Libby, executive director of MOFGA; Tim Cunniff, Vice-president, Backyard Farms, LLC, Portland; Glen Libby, chairman of the Midcoast Fishermen’s Association and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council; Marada Cook, Crown O’ Maine Organic Cooperative; John Piotti, Executive Director, Maine Farmland Trust, Majority Leader, Maine State Legislature.

Quoddy Mist Sea Salt, mmmmm

I’ve long been a fan of sea salt, but now that I’ve discovered all-natural, Maine-harvested Quoddy Mist Sea Salt, others dull by comparison. It has depth, flavor, and far less sodium than common salt. I discovered it during my recent trip to Lubec, but you can order it online, too.

I’m currently smitten by the dulse flavor (What’s dulse, you ask? Seaweed, so it has a briney taste and is rich in sea minerals), but there are about a dozen or so choices, give or take, from plain to Cajun. Pricey, but only a teensy pinch does the trick. If you’re in Lubec, you can even get a free tour of the processing facility to see how it’s havested and dried.

Foodie Alert: A meal made in organic heaven

Better start saving for this one. James Beard award-winning chef Sam Hayward, of Portland’s Fore Street (who served farm-to-table before it was a household word) will be guest chef for an Outstanding in the Field Dinner, Sunday, Aug. 16, at Four Season Farm, the Cape Rosier property owned and farmed by internationally renowned organic gardeners Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch. Sounds like a match—and a meal—made in heaven:

Outstanding in the Field events feature a leisurely tour of the hosting farm followed by a five course, farm-style dinner at our long table set in a scenic spot. Dinner is accompanied by a wine paired with each course. Diners are joined at the table by the farmer, food producers, a winemaker and other local artisans associated with the meal.

The $180 fee includes the meal, wine, gratuities, discussions, and farm tour.

Jammin’

For years I’ve driven right by Colleen’s Jams and Jellies, and for years I’ve been telling myself I really should stop. Finally did, and now I’m mourning all the years I could have been slathering her fine products on morning popovers or biscuits or on crackers with tea.

Now 85, Colleen told me she’s getting a big old to be foraging for wild raspberries and wild strawberries, but she still does. And, she added, those wild strawberries are getting harder and harder to find, but she does.

Thank goodness on both accounts. Her wild strawberry jam and her wild raspberry jam are bursting with flavor. Another must-have: her wild rose jam, made not from rosehips, but from rose petals. Elegant, light and tastes just like a rose’s scent. I also picked up a maple spread with walnuts that I’ve yet to try. Hmmm, may I should make biscuits tomorrow morning.

Colleen’s is easy to find. It’s on the inland side of Route 1 in Searsport, north of downtown and just north of Angler’s Restaurant/Bait’s Motel.

Gotta love Martha’s in Ellsworth

Red vinyl, Formica, and chrome. Super-friendly waitresses. Really good home cookin’.

Martha’s Diner delivers big time. I stopped by for lunch today, and the place was packed. No surprise, since almost everything on the menu is less than $6 (if you want that 8 oz sirloin steak with one egg, toast and home fries, it’ll cost a whopping $10), and, according to the menu: “Everything is homemade and fresh daily.”

Another plus: Breakfast is served all day (FYI: that day ends at 2 on weekdays, at 1 on weekends–and it’s closed Mondays). Plenty of classics: chipped beef on toast, corned beef hash, homemade quiche—including crab, even eggs Benie and an intriguing banana split waffle (okay, maybe not).

Not easy to find, unless you know where to look. It’s on Route 3, in the Shaw’s/Reny’s plaza, but in the strip mall that’s perpendicular to the main plaza; kind of behind the chamber of commerce building.

Good food. Cheap. No credit cards.

It’s all Greek to me

…and to anyone else at Portland’s annual Greek Heritage Festival, June 25-27, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

Food, dancing, food, crafts, food, music, food… see a pattern? Well let’s just say they have a shish-kabob recipe for 10,000.

And that’s not all: There’s lamb souvlaki, rice pilaf, Greek salad, dolmades, moussaka, and spanakopita, as well as baklava, kourabiedes, and loukomades, and everything is made by church members using authentic Greek recipes, all-natural ingredients, and love.

Now add traditional music and dancing, even performers in authentic Greek garb. And this being church sponsored, there also will be displays of icons and crosses from around the world and tours of the church.

Trust me, it’s as close to an island in the Aegean Sea as you’re going to get and still be in Maine. And one last tip: Go hungry.