Small, rustic and not at all fancy. But the food is fresh and tasty, the drinks are strong and cheap. What more could you want?
We’re regulars and feel good supporting a local business. Our town has never had a pub before so the owners had to fight long and hard for licensing as well as acceptance. Some of the older residents of our little hamlet thought a bar would attract a bad element, but this small establishment is just as likely to be serving lunch to a troop of Girl Scouts as they are the functioning alcoholics. Lawyers and fisherman. Bankers and construction workers. Hippies and veterans. You never who will sit on the neighboring stool.
We’ve met more locals here in the past 2 years than we have living in this town for 19. And it should come as no surprise that when we introduce ourselves and explain where we live? Everyone always says… oh, the big red barn with the nice porch. Sure!
And if you’re wondering just how rural my town can be? Take a look at who pulled up the other day…
The other day we drove almost 2 hours to look at a used pool table. It was a piece of junk and we had to drive almost 2 hours back. Funny how that works. So when I saw a sign that said Pies! Pies! Pies! I knew we had to stop.
.
.
At an adorable little store on a lovely 40 acre farm.
.
.
Yes, a mother and her 15 year old home schooled daughter run the entire farm by themselves. Please note all work is done by horse and ox. Maine women are nothing if not capable.
.
.
The store was filled with the fruits of their labor. Jams, jellies, relishes, honey, pies, wool, dried flowers, wreaths, maple syrup, soap… and yes. Everything was made by their own hands.
.
.
And this wasn’t some run down ramshackle operation. It was lovely, well kept and clean.
.
.
When my husband opened the upright freezer and saw it was packed with pot pies, quiches, turkey soup, mushroom ravioli, pesto, and minestrone he asked the girl when they found time to sleep.
.
.
Jam came home with us. As did some soap, some soup and of course…..
.
.
Pie.
.
.
Which instead of a traditional crust had a marvelously buttery and flaky rolled pastry foundation.
But there’s a reason I have a permanent dent in my right shoulder and tend to list a little to that side.
.
.
Cross off the always annoyed and it’s a perfect description of me in the past year. Sigh…
.
.
We cat people pretend our feline overlords feel deep affection for us…. but it’s just as likely they’d eat us if we dropped dead on the living room floor.
On our way home from our scenic drive the other day we stopped for a cocktail ( or two ).
.
.
Repeat after me… martinis are not made with rum. Nope. Uh uh. Never. Cherry Gin Ricky it is.
.
.
Nice flavor, but a little too sweet so I asked the bartender to dial back the grenadine on #2. Bartenders are wonderful people, so helpful and attentive to our needs.
.
.
Cocktails with my husband always requires food, so he ordered mussels while I opted for Truffle fries. Both were yummy but the real news? Even after I declined ketchup, 3 packets made their way to our table.
.
.
Oh, the extravagance! After the waitress said she couldn’t take them back due to Covid rules… and when my husband remembered there was a shortage causing people to list them on eBay for $15 per… he scooped them up and brought them home. Where they’ll languish in the drawer until the next global pandemic lockdown.
We have a raccoon who visits nightly. And while he’s a cute, pudgy old fellow… he’s extremely destructive when it comes to our birds feeders. Every morning we wake up to one or two on the ground, often in pieces. A month ago I started taking them down at dusk and putting them in the garage overnight. When I went to bed early last week and forgot? The husband got lazy and left them on the kitchen porch.
The time of year Mainers go absolutely bat shit crazy over a tiny unfurled fern frond.
.
.
The season is short and anxiously awaited. Foraging sites are secret and passed down from one generation to another.
.
.
Cleaning methods are also hotly debated.
.
.
.
.
Personally? I can’t stand the slimy little things… I don’t care how you cook them, they taste like swamp. But that’s okay, it just means there are more for you.
.
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.