photo/Figgy DiBenedetto
Earth at Hidden Pond
354 Goose Rocks Rd., Kennebunkport
967-6550
earthathiddenpond.org
Anticipating my folks’ annual autumn visit to Maine, as well as their 51st wedding anniversary and my father’s 78th birthday, I booked a table months ago at Earth at Hidden Pond, which was declared “Kennebunkport’s best restaurant” by … well, their own website. I’d been intrigued to try this classy place’s “farm-to-fork” cuisine for quite a while. Earth never came up in conversations among my Portland culinary circle, but I figured maybe it’s the kind of place that makes out-of-staters feel pampered.
My Midwestern VIPs and I reached Earth last month via a long, dark, winding country road and encountered … valet parking. I tossed the keys to my 12-year-old RAV4 and warned the fella, “No joy-ridin’!’” (I make jokes when I’m not in my element, and I was already feeling kinda poor.)
We entered Earth’s candlelit atmosphere, a dining room packed with plants and woods, living and dried. Rustic elegance is the oxymoron that came to mind. After a roughly 20 minute wait (we were on time; they weren’t) we were seated in the action zone, right by the kitchen. Though I get flustered when people watch me cook, I’m always excited to watch chefs cook for me, and the young’uns in Earth’s kitchen seemed cool as organic, garden-grown, heirloom cucumbers.
We chose the four-course option ($105 per person): first, second, main and dessert. Leading off was a cauliflower soup with poached lobster. It hit all the notes I’d hoped it would: perfectly creamy, with large pieces of diced lobster, a tangle of micro radish greens, and wee, buttery shimeji mushrooms. Every last streak was wiped clean with a decadent square of homemade focaccia.
The second course’s cavatelli was also delicious, though the pasta’s accompanying asparagus pesto, pea shoots and zucchini gave it a summery taste ill-matched to the season. This was my first hint that all was not well on this Earth.
The second hint arrived with the main course, duck breast, and it was a strong one. Though sizable and cooked to the proper temperature, the breast was tough and it still had that annoying sinew line running down the middle. When left in, it’s chewy as hell.
But the saddest part of this dish were the farm-fresh fall veggies I’d been anticipating all night: sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and turnips. The sweet potatoes were four puréed, room-temperature dots on the plate. And the sprouts and turnips? Barely steamed, too crunchy and utterly unseasoned. Others at the table were likewise let down by their side veggies, as well as some undercooked gnocchi and overcooked halibut.
I held out hope for my final course, a cheese plate dubbed “Basque and Brie.” I’ll never snub a decent cheese, but everything else, down to the pre-packaged petit toasts, made me wish I’d ordered the freakin’ sassafras donuts instead. The rest of the table ordered crème brulée, which arrived undercooked and with a dollop of whipped cream (why?).
Our meal at Earth, much like a 51-year marriage, had a beautiful start and a “messy middle,” but ended on a sweet note when our congenial server, Patrick, brought my pops a big plate of warm sassafras donuts as a birthday surprise. And I, his favorite daughter, got to eat one. They were just right.
Earth at Hidden Pond is open daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations are recommended.
