photo/Figgy DiBenedetto
The Alna Store
2 Dock Rd., Alna
586-5515
thealnastore.com
On a cold and wet Saturday in January, my friend snagged two early bird seats at The Alna Store and invited me for an “over the river and through the woods” adventure. Located in the Lincoln County town of Alna, not far north of the stretch of Route 1 between Wiscasset and Damariscotta, what began as a country store is now a cozy open-concept restaurant and mercantile. The place was packed when we arrived at 5 p.m.
Candles, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, and long-stem roses in a water carafe characterized the interior. It felt kind of like Queens meets Country Living, but hey, I love me some kitsch! Then the menus were placed, and it became clear we were not in your typical trattoria. There were dishes you’d customarily find on any Italian-American menu, but everything was slightly skewed.
Take, for instance, the garlic bread ($12).In lieu of a semolina loaf, Alna’s version is house-made milk buns with copious amounts of garlic butter, parmesan and fresh parsley. The chopped salad($15) that followed was reminiscent of chopped salads past, but subbed Castelfranco radicchio (the pretty, pink-veined one) and arugula where wilted romaine may have been, and hefty slices of artisan soppressata in place of Genoa salami or the like. Nothing quite hits in this vitamin-deficient time of year like a hearty winter-green salad. This one was almost a meal in itself, but we persisted.
Oysters are a Midcoast must, and Alna’s baked oysters($4 each) were like a buttery love letter to their Rockefeller cousin. With a dash of Sambuca, local wakame seaweed in place of spinach, and pecorino chive breadcrumbs, there was just enough garlic bread left to clean every shell down to its shiny underbelly.
Also fresh from the sea was the acqua pazza ($36), a substantial cube of cod stewed in fennel, tomato and chicken broth, placed atop a slab of whole-wheat molasses focaccia. Just two glorious bites took my buddy out; the rest went home for “second dinner.”
And what Italian-American menu would be complete without meatballs and … polenta ($29)? You could put just about anything over polenta and I’d eat it, but crown it with globes of locally raised beef and ricotta in a red sauce, and Mamma Mia! — I’m a happy gal.
Shortly after dessert arrived, one of the owners came by to chat, possibly drawn by our moans over the spumoni ($14), layered gelato with candied fruit and nuts. “I guess you all understood the theme, huh?” he said, and explained that during the winter months they change the theme of the restaurant every so often.
For my next visit, I took my sweetheart for an early Valentine’s dinner. February’s theme was Japanese, and the food was just as delicious.
Observing the staff from our bar seats, we were struck by how smoothly The Alna Store runs. Everyone seemed relaxed and downright happy. That’s by design, say owners Jasper Ludwig and Brian Haskins, who also have a sister restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. “We challenge the idea that profitability in the service industry necessitates the exploitation of labor, resources, and agriculture,” their website declares.
Though the challenges of running this “off the beaten path” restaurant keep them in Maine more often than sunny Arizona, their goal of running both businesses “without exploiting the earth, our communities, nor employees, while focusing on sourcing from our bountiful local food systems” has been quite successful, they told me. Ludwig and Haskins are genuinely grateful for their crew, and it shows.
So take a scenic drive along Route 1 before the summer traffic hits, bust a left on Route 218 (if you’re coming from the south), and prepare to be surprised and delighted.
The Alna Store serves dinner Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. and brunch Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made on their website.
