The Maine Restaurant That’s One Of The Most Unique In America
Everyone agrees that Maine has no shortage of great restaurants. Some of them are trendy spots similar to cutting-edge restaurants you’ll find across the country and the world, while others are true Maine originals. But there’s one little place that stands out even among the other one-of-a-kind restaurants. We wish we could say nobody else has noticed, but the secret is out. Good luck getting a table.
Thirty miles from Augusta, in tiny Freedom (population 721), you'll find the Lost Kitchen. Or maybe you won't find it -- as its name implies, the restaurant is notoriously hard to locate.
The Lost Kitchen is located in an old grist mill. Converted mills whose exteriors retain their old industrial look are nothing special in Maine, but once you're inside, you'll find that not much has changed on the inside, either.
The restaurant is owned and operated by Erin French, who started it as a supper club in her apartment in 2010 before moving downstairs and turning it into a restaurant the next year. The grist mill is the Lost Kitchen's third location.
Fewer than 20 percent of all restaurants have female head chefs, so the Lost Kitchen already stands out. But this restaurant takes it much further -- with the exception of a single dishwasher, every staff member is a woman.
A popular concept in high-end restaurants is the chef's table, where a select few customers get to eat at a table in the kitchen. Well, at the Lost Kitchen, every customer gets to sit at the chef's table -- the food is prepared in the center of the restaurant.
After the restaurant moved into the grist mill, it didn't take long for word to spread. This year they started taking reservations for the 2017 season at midnight on April 1. By 12:30, it was fully booked for the remainder of the year.
This little restaurant in an isolated little Maine town has gotten big attention from the national media. It's been featured in such publications as Martha Stewart Living and Food & Wine.
The Lost Kitchen has been named a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award. It hasn't won yet -- but a short film about the restaurant, Uncharted, did win a James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award for 2017. So as much excitement as there's already been, it looks like this restaurant's fame is only increasing.
Michelle has lived in many places, but counts Maine as one of the best. In addition to the smell of ocean water in the air on rainy days in Portland, she loves puppies, photography, funny people, the Maine Red Claws, traveling, fresh tomatoes, Cambodia and filling out forms. For questions, comments and inquiries please email: mstarin@onlyinyourstate.com.
