Good Eats

The best of Maine’s healthy & vegetarian dining

by Erika Blauch Rusley

Maine’s unofficial state motto is “The Way Life Should Be,” but perhaps it should be changed to “The Way Food Should Be.” After all, a great vacation not only involves recreation and relaxation, but also delicious food. Thanks to a great selection of restaurants, cafés and markets that cater to conscious eaters, everyone who visits Maine can eat well.

York County

An excellent first stop on Maine’s food map is Bandaloop in Kennebunkport, an eclectic restaurant known for organic and local ingredients. Vegetarians and vegans will enjoy options such as the quinoa-encrusted organic tofu cake with sweet & sour blood orange-pomegranate reduction, ginger basmati rice and grilled asparagus. Gluten-free items are always available, and meat eaters will appreciate the freerange chicken and grass-fed beef that round out the menu.

Headed to the beach at Biddeford Pool? Be sure to stop for lunch or dinner at Dahlia’s Delights, a new vegetarian restaurant on Main Street in downtown Biddeford. Dahlia’s all-vegetarian menu includes many vegan and gluten-free items. For example, the namesake Dahlia’s Salad is vegan and gluten-free, and includes mixed organic greens, sliced avocados, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, raw sunflower seeds, and slivered almonds. Omnivores won’t miss the meat in some of Dahlia’s more decadent dishes, including the popular Mushroom Melt. And any sandwich can be made on gluten-free bread.

Dahlia’s uses “as much organic as we can get our hands on,” says owner Jennifer Thibeau. Greens and eggs are always organic, and the café purchases many items from local farms.

Greater Portland

Few restaurants in Portland are as unique as Roost House of Juice. Conceived by friends Kathleen Flanagan and Jeanette Richelson, who knew that they wanted to open a business that would “inspire conscious consumption” in an “environment of awareness and peace,” Roost offers a completely vegan and entirely gluten and soy-free menu, with many items that can be ordered nut-free. Organic and local products are used as much as possible, and raw dishes are a regular part of the menu. Local teas and wines are available for sipping at the bar, which is fittingly made of reclaimed wood.

The bar is also a great place to sample their yummy food. The Coconut Butter Cup smoothie, a combination of coconut butter and cacao mixed with nut-milk ice cubes, dates, and nut butter, will make you think you’re in heaven. Sprouted buckwheat granola with whipped, cashew cream is a good bet for breakfast, and the slow-cooked quinoa with apple, squash, and onions makes for a nourishing and satisfying lunch.

Amid the intriguing galleries and shops of Congress Street is Green Elephant, a great stop for lunch or dinner. Although everything on the menu is vegetarian, Green Elephant is best known for its Asian-fusion cuisine. According to general manager Ben Baird, Green Elephant is vegetarian “in a way that accommodates everyone.” And at Green Elephant, “everyone” includes those who are soy-free, gluten-free, and vegan (eggs are actually the only non-vegan item on the menu). Everything on the menu is clearly labeled, and there is a separate, soy-free menu as well. Among the most popular dishes are the Indian and Thai-style curries, which also happen to be vegan and gluten-free. Kids will enjoy the soy nuggets and fresh vegetable rolls with sweet dipping sauce.

Southern Midcoast

The iconic L.L.Bean flagship store in Freeport attracts visitors from all over the world, so it’s an ideal spot for the diverse offerings of the 1912 Cafe. Located near the gigantic boot in the largest of L.L.Bean’s four Freeport locations, 1912 Cafe is independently-owned and operated by Therese Drapeau, who decided early on that the menu would always offer a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free items. “We are very sensitive to people with allergies and dietary needs, and our staff is very well-informed,” she says. Any sandwich or wrap can be made gluten-free, and one of the homemade soups and chowders is always gluten-free. The cafe’s clam chowder, which is gluten-free by design, won a recent competition. Other popular menu items, such as the

Katahdin and Allagash wraps, contain locally-sourced ingredients, such as Pineland Farms cheddar and tomatoes from Maine. 1912 Cafe is open whenever L.L.Bean is open, and that means 365 days a year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and during snowstorms.

For a taste of Mexico in Maine, swing by El Camino in Brunswick. El Camino calls itself “a recycled, Mexican low-rider chic cantina that focuses on using locally grown and sustainably raised produce, meats and seafood,” and its food has won accolades from local critics and customers. Many items are or can be prepared gluten-free or vegetarian. Nosh on nachos—homemade corn tortilla chips with organic refried or black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, salsa and Mexican crema, or the Grande Salad, which is filled with organic veggies and beans. The meat eaters in the crowd will enjoy the Maine crabmeat quesadilla or the Maine-raised, ancho-chile rubbed skirt steak.

Midcoast

Camden is a hot spot for dining in the region, and no restaurant there may be hotter right now than Long Grain. The New York Times praised Long Grain for its “superior Thai cuisine,” noting chef Ravin Nakjaroen’s use of seasonal, local greens to complement his handmade broad noodles. This is not a typical Thai restaurant—everything on the menu is handmade, fresh, and utterly delectable, and options abound to please both meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Be sure to call ahead for reservations.

Check out Chase’s Daily in nearby Belfast, a vegetarian and vegan breakfast and lunch spot that is about as local as it gets—its delicious dishes are assembled using the many varieties of vegetables that owner Penny Chase’s family grows on their own farm year-round. Honey, maple syrup, and cheeses from other local purveyors help round out Chase’s menu, which represents “authentic food from many parts of the world,” as Chase puts it. Using these primarily local ingredients, the Chase family makes everything from scratch, including all soups, breads, dressings, sauces, and salsas.

The decision to focus on vegetarian cuisine arose from dietary needs among the chase family members. The restaurant is indeed a family affair. Penny and her husband and daughters bought the location in Belfast after the girls spent years of growing vegetables and baking for farmers’ markets. At first, chase’s Daily was a market, and then it expanded to include a breakfast and lunch café. These days, dinner is offered once a week, on Friday nights. For Penny chase, the Friday dinners are the ultimate family gathering. “The whole family is there for the dinner service,” she says. “We do it just the one night, so that we can all be there together, doing it well.”

Downeast and Acadia

Acadia national Park is one of Maine’s most naturally stunning locations, and what better place to open a restaurant that celebrates the bounty of the region? That’s precisely what Eden Restaurant, in Bar Harbor, has done. Through connections with local farmers, owners Lynn and Mark Rampacek have developed a spot that focuses on locally-grown and harvested vegetables and is entirely vegan.

Eden takes veganism seriously, but the focus is really on exquisitely-prepared food. The Bento Box, for instance, is an artfully-arranged traditional Japanese five-section plate that includes organic Heiwa tofu from

Belfast, seaweed from Winter Harbor’s ironbound island seaweed company, and bok choy and edamame from a local farm. The restaurant makes its own seitan and tempeh and avoids mass-produced meat substitutes. “People don’t know how good tofu or seitan can be until they’ve tried the homemade variety,” says Lynn Rampacek.

Eden is sensitive to those with food allergies, and gluten-free items are always available.

Vegetarians and seafood lovers alike will not want to miss the Burning Tree, an unpretentious restaurant that has long been committed to local and sustainable food. Allison Martin developed the concept of the Burning tree for her senior project at nearby College of the Atlantic, well before many restaurants had embraced the idea of sourcing locally and sustainably. ‘Why not harvest the gardens and waters of Mount Desert island?’ she wondered—a radical notion 25 years ago. Since that time, the Burning tree has partnered with numerous farms and fisheries in the area. Just about every kind of vegetable that can be grown in Maine and every kind of seafood that can be found in the Gulf of Maine show up on the menu, from kale to clams to Maine shrimp to Swiss chard. The restaurant owns nine garden plots on Mount Desert island, and Martin even sends out her wait staff to fish for whatever might be running at the moment, like mackerel or squid. The mouthwatering menu includes the vegetarian Gorgonzola Bombolini, a raised dough that is barely sweetened, then stuffed with gorgonzola, deep-fried and served with a beet salad and almond butter, an unusual but harmonious combination. The Hen clam Pasta is a classic Italian white clam sauce preparation using gigantic hen clams that the restaurant staff harvests themselves when the tide is very low. A perennial favorite is the Crispy Kale and Oven-Roasted

Littleneck Clams topped with pine nuts and chevre from Seal Cove Farm. The staff at The Burning Tree includes a gluten-sensitive baker and sous-chef, and the wait staff knows which items are gluten-free or can be prepared that way. Every dish, Martin asserts, is made with “a lot of love.”

Mountains and Lakes Region

Bethel’s charming Main Street is home to a surprising number of restaurants, and among them, DiCocoa’s is a standout for its dedication to vegetarianism and to cultivating community. Every Saturday night during the winter, the café hosts a “Gentle Dinner” highlighting one area of global cuisine. During the meal, the chefs explain how each course was sourced and prepared. DiCocoa’s is also home to Friday night Mexican dinners, which feature authentically-prepared dishes; a film series about sustainable living; vegetarian cooking classes; meetings of the Boondocks Buying Club (a local food coop); and the Free Market, a summer and fall farmers’ market that sets up in the restaurant’s driveway.

DiCocoa’s delicious and nutritious goodies are created using many local and organic ingredients. The Crown O’Maine Organic Cooperative is one of the restaurant’s major suppliers, as are a number of local farmers. All egg-based dishes, including the house-made gelato, incorporate local and organic eggs, and other local farms supply greens year-round. Yogurt, cream, and butter all come from Maine dairies. Most vegetables and condiments are Maine-made or sourced. Nearly all of the ingredients in DiCocoa’s baked goods are organic, as are the corn products, beans, and rice used in the Friday night Mexican dinners, which are, as owner Cathi DiCocco puts it, “as organic as they can be.”

 

MORE GOOD EATS

The following restaurants & cafés feature plentiful vegetarian and healthy dining options, as well as some of the tastiest food in Maine.

 

York County

Bandaloop
2 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport

Cornerstone
228 Main Street, Ogunquit

Dahlia’s Delights
137 Main Street, Biddeford

Earth at Hidden Pond
354 Goose Rocks Road, Kennebunkport

Frankie & Johnny’s
1594 US Route 1, Cape Neddick

New Morning Natural Foods Café
230 Main Street, Biddeford

Owen’s Farmhouse
17 Main Street, Kennebunk

Roost Café & Bistro
1300 US Route 1, Cape Neddick

The Chef & The Gardener
345 North Street, Saco

Tulsi
20 Walker Street, Kittery

 

Greater Portland

Bueno Loco
240 US Route 1, Falmouth

Green Elephant
608 Congress Street, Portland

Kamasouptra
28 Monument Square, Portland

Local Sprouts
649 Congress Street, Portland

Little Lad’s Bakery & Café
482 Congress Street, Portland

Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe
5 1/2 Moulton St and 28 Monument Square, Portland

Pepperclub/The Good Egg Café
78 Middle Street, Portland

Roost House of Juice
11 Free Street, Portland

Silly’s
40 Washington Avenue, Portland

Zen Chinese Bistro
45 Danforth Street, Portland

 

Southern Midcoast

1912 Cafe
95 Main Street, Freeport

El Camino Cantina
15 Cushing Street, Brunswick

Frontier Café & Cinema
14 Maine Street, Brunswick

Henry & Marty Restaurant
61 Maine Street, Brunswick

She Doesn’t Like Guthries
115 Middle Street, Lewiston

Solo Bistro
128 Front Street, Bath

The Fresh Batch
20 Bow Street, Freeport

The Tavern at Brunswick Station
4 Noble Street, Brunswick

 

Midcoast

3 Crow
449 Main Street, Rockland

40 Paper
40 Washington Street, Camden

Chase’s Daily
96 Main Street, Belfast

Long Grain
31 Elm Street, Camden

Nebo Lodge
11 Mullins Lane, North Haven

Primo
2 South Main Street, Rockland

The Lost Kitchen
108 Main Street, Belfast

Treats
80 Main Street, Wiscasset

 

Downeast and Acadia

86 This
2 State Street, Ellsworth

Cafe This Way
14 1/2 Mount Desert Street, Bar Harbor

Morning Glory Bakery
39 Rodick Street, Bar Harbor

Mother’s Kitchen
1502 US Route 102, Bar Harbor

Two Cats
130 Cottage Street, Bar Harbor

Eden
321 Main Street, Bar Harbor

Burning Tree
69 Otter Creek Drive, Otter Creek

Havana
318 Main Street, Bar Harbor

 

“Good Eats” ran in the Summer/Fall 2013 issue of Green & Healthy Maine