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Squire Tarbox Inn
1181 Main St. (Route 144, Route 1 turn-off just south of Wiscasset)
Westport Island
207-882-7693
www.squiretarboxinn.com
Open mid-May to October
Entrees $25 to $28.50
Hospitality - Excellent service
Charming surroundings under the rafters of this 18th century former summer kitchen compete with excellent cooking from Swiss chef/owner Mario De Pietro
Venison medallions with morel sauce and spaetzle is a specialty of the early summer, but filet mignon with peppercorn sauce might be on this fine menu any time of year. Mushroooms are often found in the sauces or sauteed alongside, changing with their own seasons and foraged by a local who knows all the best places. Mario De Pietro showed me his supply one fall evening, and from Hen of the Wood to succulent oyster mushrooms his forager was supplying treasures.
At the side of sumptuous meat and fish you will also find the freshest vegetables and salads, straight from Squire Tarbox Farm, now a major presence at local farmers' markets and a supplier of other lucky restaurants in the area. Every dinner begins with goat cheese and crackers, served in the dining room while you peruse the menu. Rosemary roasted rack of lamb with English mint sauce would be hard to pass up, and the tender house-made dill-cured Scandanavian salmon is always a perfect first course.
Fruit desserts, in season, show off intelligent continental cooking done with the best ingredients. One night's visit was capped by a Pavlova, an addictive dessert of meringue filled with strawberries and fresh whipped cream. After coffee, there might be time to stroll past the organic vegetable garden and take in the tranquility of the surroundings, far from Route 1's hectic hurry. It might be even better to book a room and stay.