Rockland, Maine

[Nick]

If you're traveling in the midcoast area and near Rockland you might want to try out one (or both) of these restaurants. I haven't been to the Primo yet, but plan to and will post here after I do. It's supposed to be excellent.

I have been to the Cafe Miranda several times. Kerry does some great cooking and has an imaginative menu. Service couldn't be better.

Reservations at the Miranda are a must for most nights and I recommend getting in for the first seating or a late one. Tables don't turn as fast as they might (no one gets pushed to leave) so getting there first ensures no wait. Also it's a very small place so waiting often means standing.

"DRESS CODE: Loin cloths & tool belts discouraged. Multiple piercings allowed."

Both places have wood-fired ovens built by Pat Manley (hardware by me) and are used to good advantage as you might see by the menus at their websites. Miranda's menu can be downloaded in pdf (handwritten.)

Cafe Miranda

Primo

[201]

Cafe Miranda's menu is pretty ambitious! What sorts of dishes have you ordered on your visits there? Sometimes it's hard to tell where the chef's true expertise may lie within so many options.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I ate at the Old Chatham Sheepherderding Company when Mellisa and Price were there. I had a great meal even though I can't remember what we ate. I do remember we drank Araujo syrah but I can't remember the vintage. Two weeks after we were there they "eloped" to Maine. There doesn't seem to be much press about them now that they are in Maine. When they were in Old Chatham, the buzz about the was really strong.

[Nick]

Cafe Miranda's menu is pretty ambitious!  What sorts of dishes have you ordered on your visits there?  Sometimes it's hard to tell where the chef's true expertise may lie within so many options.

As I've said before, I don't eat out that often, so I'm no real guide. The most memorable dish (an appetizer) that I can think of was something he'd done with roast spinach - in the wood-fired oven. Can't remember what was with it and it's not on the menu right now - but it was great. Guess I could call Kerry and ask him how he did it.

So far, two or three times eating there, the mains haven't been memorable, but I probably didn't order the right thing. I think the next time I go I'll just get appetizers as that's where Kerry seems to shine. In fact, Pat Manley, that built his oven was by here a couple of days ago and said that's what he and Carol do. And they've had many, many meals there. Not to out the mains, it just seems like Kerry's into whimsy when it comes to appetizers. And his whimsy is something that shouldn't be missed.

Edit: Steve P., I'm pretty sure that if I got there and it wasn't over the top busy, I could say to Kerry, "Do whatever you want. Just keep it on the light side." Not that I know him well. I did the hardware for his oven. Nothing special. But, he has tons of repeat customers and I think it probably happens.

Edited December 10, 2002 by Nickn (log)

[Nick]

I ate at the Old Chatham Sheepherderding Company when Mellisa and Price were there. I had a great meal even though I can't remember what we ate. I do remember we drank Araujo syrah but I can't remember the vintage. Two weeks after we were there they "eloped" to Maine. There doesn't seem to be much press about them now that they are in Maine. When they were in Old Chatham, the buzz about the was really strong.

Steve, I'm going to try to get over there in the next week or two - the Primo. Not that I have your taste buds, but I'll report back. Did you notice at their link that they have their own gardens and greenhouse out in back of the restaurant and have someone who's only job is to tend to them? Having been around gardens some, I'm definitely going to check out that, even though the outside growing season has ended.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Nickn is correct about Cafe Miranda. Unless it is one of their (frequent) sro nights, Kerry can cook variations on anything on the menu for you. The menu suggests everything that is available, and since everything is cooked to order, he can mix and match staples, fresh produce, sauces, catch of the day, etc. to create tremendously interesting dishes. One night when I suggested that he move to San Francisco, he grinned and confided that he started at Chez Panisse.

We've only been to Primo twice since it changed from being Jessica's. We traditionally host a small dinner party for friends in the area when we are there, and request a separate dining area if possible. They give us a lovely little room upstairs, our own crew of waitstaff and let us close the place. The food has been even and service has been well paced. The menu and dishes are what I would call country-excellent. They do not, I think, come up to what you'd expect in town or in France.

Edited December 14, 2002 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Suzanne F]

The neatest thing about Primo is that they have their own "farm" on the grounds. I'm not sure how much that works at this time of year, though. I've heard talks by Melissa a few times since she moved up there, and she is quite convincingly passionate of seasonality. My guess is the "buzz" has died down only because they are now so far off the standard foodie radar (which seems to think Portland is the end of the world).

By the way, Melissa and Price just did a session (12/2) at DeGustibus, the cooking series that Macy's runs.

[Nick]

The neatest thing about Primo is that they have their own "farm" on the grounds.  I'm not sure how much that works at this time of year, though.  

"The winter garden is located in a medium sized unheated greenhouse. Spinach, claytonia, beet leaves, watercress, endive, raddicchio, arugula, and many Asian greens flourish through the winter under a covering of remay garden fabric. Temperatures inside the greenhouse can reach the upper seventies on a sunny January day."

Gotta get over there and check this out. It's only 30 minutes away.

[Nick]

They do not, I think, come up to what you'd expect in town or in France.

Well, we are talking Rockland, Maine.

You're right about Kerry. He does some stuff we don't usually see around these parts.