Beach Pea Baking Company (ME)

Long story short: Facebook is fab. I met my friend Jeannie via various social media, and she mentioned that we should meet up sometime near her city. It just so happened that we did that on our recent vacation up to Maine.

Jeannie suggested Beach Pea Baking Co, a cozy spot in Kittery (Maine) known for their sandwiches, cookies, croissants, eclairs (oh we'll get there in another post--click here for that story!) and above all, their bread.

We met on a rainy, dreary Sunday afternoon--in fact the very first Sunday that Beach Pea was open! How fortuitous!

I ordered a dark roast drip coffee for ABF and an almond latte (vacation!) for me. They were rich, bold, and not a bit of bitterness to either brew. Ahh, perfect on a cold, rainy fall day.

Jeannie ordered their roasted veggie salad, which looked so fresh and good. It had roasted vegetables on a mix of field greens and spinach, topped with pine nuts, goat cheese, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I'll have to come back to sample that!

ABF had the curried chicken salad sandwich, which had white breast mean from Bell & Evans chickens, celery, golden raisins, curry, tomato and romaine on multigrain bread which I'm sure was made that morning. I didn't get a pic but he loved every bite.

My sandwich was the roasted turkey, topped with Vermont-raised turkey, cheddar, avocado, poached red onion (so the sting was gone), and tomato with chipotle mayo(mmmm chipotleeeeeee) on a soft but crunchy baguette. Oh that bread.

I ate the first half and let the second sit there while we talked (and my goodness did we talk! We caught up like crazy--so much fun). I figured maybe I'd save the other half for later...until I decided it was too crazy delicious and I had to eat it right now! Omnomnomnom!

In fact, it was so good, we stopped there the NEXT day on our drive home! By then they had stopped serving lunch, so ABF & I picked up some sandwiches made that morning, plus some tasty-looking potato salad.

I had the cured ham with tomato, red onion, roasted apples (!) and a mustard/mayo mix I would normally NEVER consider but ended up loving. Ok--I could have lived without the apples (texture wise), but overall, what a thoughtful, refreshing combo!

I did save the other half for dinner that night (when it was still super yum)-- you know, so I would have room for cookies.

ABF had the sliced steak with horseradish mayo. His was delicious. And I mean delicious. But I liked mine even better. Woo hoo! No order envy for either one of us---we both loved our choices.

And that potato salad? Red bliss potatoes and a few whole, real, easy-to-pronounce/recognize ingredients. Holy moley-- that was absolutely ambrosial! I could have easily put that away all by myself, but I managed to make myself share. SO. GOOD.

Everything was so fresh and delicious, the portions were satisfying but not huge, and each bite tasted like Mom just finished baking up a storm. And their desserts? Oh, honey...just you wait.....

Thanks again, Jeannie--and your fabulous husband--for being such fantastic, fun hosts (and collaborators in carb consumption)!!

Beach Pea Baking Co

53 State Street

Kittery, ME

03904

207-439-3555

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Maine: Warren's Lobster House

One of our first stops on the East Coast trip was also one of our best. I didn't know much about Warren's before we visited--it was just right over the bridge from New Hampshire in Kittery, Maine.

Seafood isn't their only claim to fame--this place also has a killer salad bar. Every topping imaginable and THEN some, all kinds of greens, way more than your basic iceberg or romaine. I piled mine high with greens, beets, pickled fruit, hummus and more. Photo's pretty fuzzy, but I think that was my low blood sugar.

ABF's salad looks a lot more composed. Plenty of walnuts (I'm learning to love them thanks to his influence) and a lot more adventurous choosings than mine. This salad bar was so fresh that I have to say it was the best part of our meal.

You can't go to Maine and NOT get chowdah--and here it is--the lightest, silkiest, tangiest clam chowdah EVER. You could taste the slight zing of white wine in this. Phenomenal. This is one of the best chowders I've ever had. No contest.

I ordered the Lobster Newburg, a classic seafood dish. Warren's version has fresh haddock, scallops and shrimp baked in a hot casserole dish. They layered it with Newburg sauce (you could really taste the sherry in this version) and sourdough toast points. This was nice, but the chowder was still the star.

The claim on Warren's sign is no joke--this salad bar is like no other I've tried. I'm trying to figure out how I can get myself back here again ASAP for more salad and another bowl of that chowder!

Warren's Lobster House

11 Water Street

Kittery, ME 03904

(207) 439-1630

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