Restaurant Review: Cook's Lobster House

Cook's Lobster House
Route 24, Bailey Island

Most coastal Mainers have a list of favorite seafood shacks, often broken into categories for best lobster rolls, fried clams, lobster stew, or fish and chips. Knowledge of the best seafood shacks is closely guarded by locals who are tired of fighting off tourists. B, for example, once gave a tourist couple false directions to our favorite spot. (He was justified; they wanted to find “Hera’s Secret.")

Summertime is also the season of friends and relatives visiting. These lovely, lovely people want more than a Freeport shopping trip. They want lobster, served at an authentic, picturesque seafood shack. If they are of a certain age, economic bracket, or overall agility, your favorite shack may be a little too ... rustic. I learned the hard way that my upscale urban friends did not want to wait in line to eat lobster rolls at sticky picnic tables.

So, where to take your seafood-craving, finicky guests? If you're up for some old-school lobster pound kitsch, take them to Cook’s Lobster House, located in Harpswell on Bailey Island. This is a restaurant where you can count on being seated in a reasonable amount of time, food is served on plates instead of plastic baskets, and no one has to whack a lobster with a wooden mallet. Cook’s Lobster House is the perfect place to bring your relatives and friends who want Maine without the mess. In fact, Cook’s has been voted Maine’s best seafood restaurant for over a decade.

The scenic drive to the restaurant winds through Harpswell, crossing over Great Island and Orr’s Island. Sharp eyes may spot blue herons and osprey fishing along the coastal route. The drive ends just past the Bailey Island Bridge, a unique cribstone bridge made from a latticework of granite. The restaurant is situated on a slender peninsula on Merriconeag Sound. This prime location affords ocean views from virtually every window in the restaurant. There is an outdoor patio, too.

Be forewarned: the restaurant is very popular. Tour buses and the Casco Bay Lines ferry make regular dining trips to Cook’s Lobster House. They do not take reservations unless the party is 25 or greater. Thankfully, the dining rooms are sprawling, including several additions and a gift shop. The decor is unapologetically old school. Honey varnished pine booths, navigational chart lampshades, lobster trap decorations, and a smattering of tenacious, spiny plants decorate the interior. The placemats give directions on how to eat a lobster. (If, by chance, you haven’t eaten a lobster before, do not follow the directions on the mats! Instead, ask for help from your knowledgeable server.)

The menu is extensive, providing a solid range of both classic steakhouse and seafood shack options. Appetizers are priced from $5.95 - $14.95, from lobster dip to bacon wrapped scallops. There is a healthy variety of chowders, too. Dinners include classics like Fillet Mignon and Lobster Newburg, most priced over $20. Classic shore dinners come in various permutations of lobster, clams, mussels, and/or shrimp with copious sides. These generally fall in the $40 range, and will keep your relatives happily occupied and stuffed. There’s also the somewhat daunting lobster menu, broken down into categories by stuffing and lobster size. Diners can get a simple steamed 1 1/4 pounder or a seafood-stuffed 4 pound gargantuan. (The latter is the most expensive item on the menu at $86.) The lobster, like most of Cook’s seafood, is fresh and local. The menu includes illustrations of "their" lobstermen’s buoys, some of which are visible out the window in the Sound.

I would like to say that the varied and expensive menu options at Cook's Lobster House are excellent. I can't. I believe most of Cook's menu is targeted to elderly patrons and tourists. Personally, I avoid menu items that are overpriced or over-reaching for the restaurant. My indication that Cook's might over-reach with their menu: the rolls. They are the classic "restaurant rolls" that companies sell frozen, in bulk. They indicate comfort with mediocrity, volume over quality. If I am going to order an expensive meal, I want fresh, well-made food. Most of the menu at Cook's does not inspire confidence that I will get what I want.

I did say most of the menu, however, not all of the menu. Head right to the “Lighter” and “Hearty Sandwiches” sections of the menu. Don’t be alarmed; “lighter” at Cook’s isn’t healthier. Most of the items are fried, but the portions are smaller, as in one person will be stuffed instead of a small village. The options include simple seafood choices like fish and chips, lobster rolls, clam rolls, and fish sandwiches. The food on these menu sections are less expensive, and more honest. I may not have faith in Cook's more expensive items, but I do believe they can make righteous fried seafood plates.

On my recent family reunion-inspired outing to Cook’s, my entire family wisely ordered from the Hearty Sandwiches menu. Five of us got fried fish sandwiches, rightfully called “a local’s delight." The sandwich was served on a soft bun with a huge, crispy triangle of fish curling out of it. The fish, freshly caught in Beal’s Cove, was tender, flaky, and delicious. It came with requisite tartar sauce, a pickle, and your choice of fries or cole slaw and chips. I recommend the cole slaw, which Cook’s calls “world famous.” It is a mixture of chopped white and purple cabbage that has a light, sweet, tangy, almost lemony flavor. It’s mayonnaise free, super crunchy, and worth the title. If you are still hungry after dinner, there are classic Maine dessert options, including strawberry shortcake and indian pudding. I haven't tried the desserts yet, but they seem humble enough to be made locally. I personally stick to the free, chocolate coated mints available on the way out.

Cook’s Lobster House is open year-round, seven days a week, serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 am to 9:00 pm. They serve beer, wine, and liquor. Most major credit cards are accepted. Contact Cook’s at cookslobster.com or 207-833-2818.

Restaurant Review: Buck's Naked Barbecue

Buck’s Naked Barbecue
586 Route One, Freeport, Maine

For a number of years, I have held definitive opinions about barbecue. Never mind that I am from Maine, which only grants me permission to be knowledgeably opinionated about lobster rolls, blueberry pie, and baked beans. I believed that barbecue should be sweet and sticky, covered in sauce, and require wet-naps. So, the first time my boyfriend, B, took me to Buck’s Naked Barbecue, I was feeling a bit sulky. This restaurant describes itself as righteous about barbecuing meat naked, without “nasty, chemical laden sauces.” Hmpf, I muttered to myself, arms crossed. This is going to be a boring, dry dinner. For the record, I was wrong.

Buck’s Naked Barbecue serves up tender meat that has been smoked for between eight to fourteen hours. The meat becomes tinged with pink from the long, slow cooking process, which also makes it soft and outrageously delicious. Although the meat is naked from sauce, most cuts are barbecued with a dry or wet rub. Then, for whiners like me, there are the collection of homemade barbecue sauces on each table. They cover the different regional variations from a Carolina sauce of vinegar and mustard, a North Carolina style vinegar, blueberry barbeque, and the classic house sauce, which is a tangy sweet sauce with a spicy kick of chipotle at the end. While wet naps aren’t provided, there’s a utilitarian roll of brown paper towels on every table, too.

The paper towels are one of the many indications that Buck’s is a down-home, down-to-earth restaurant. Having recently relocated up Route One in Freeport (just off exit 20 on I295), the restaurant is expansive, with large open rafters and a solid roadhouse feel. The interior is decorated with authentic local kitsch on the walls. Funky, painted window frames hang from the rafters, creating a visually creative division of space. There are a variety of tables and big, comfortable booths, in addition to a bar, a quirky children’s play area, and a juke joint downstairs. The juke joint has pool tables and a performance space. It’s usually packed on weekend evenings, when local favorite musicians like The Band Beyond Description and The Jerks of Grass perform. I appreciated the dark leather couches in the waiting area, because there can be long waits on busy summer evenings.

Thankfully, when B and I arrived for dinner on a recent weeknight, we didn’t have to fight crowds. We were seated near the open kitchen, to B’s delight. Within minutes, our waitress had not only rattled off the healthy selection of beers on tap, but had delivered our drinks. You need a drink to manage the menu! It’s huge, including everything from a children’s menu to salads to fooze: food with booze. For example, a house-made Bloody Mary comes with a rib on top of the glass. Buck’s menu ambitiously covers a range of regional cuisine, from southern fried chicken and catfish to southwestern chili relleños to St. Louis ribs. Unless you are an unwavering vegetarian, your menu options are extensive.

B and I wrangled about the appetizers. I wanted fried prime rib nuggets or fried okra, he wanted taquetos or buffalo sausage nuggets. (To be honest, I misread the menu, and thought the buffalo sausage nuggets were made from buffalo, not doused in buffalo sauce.) We settled on taquetos; small fried tortilla bundles stuffed with shredded pork, cheese, beans, and mangos. A very spicy pico de gallo joined them. I thought they were disappointingly bland, mushy, and regrettably filling. B liked them enough, but agreed they weren’t spectacular.

We didn’t have to wait long after the taquetos for our dinners to arrive. I ordered the Smoked Sampler ($16.99) which included a quarter rack of baby back ribs, two beef ribs, four chicken wings, corn bread, and two sides. This mountain of food arrived with three plates. I was a little overwhelmed, and really regretting those taquetos, when everything landed on the table. Oh, but the food was so delicious! The ribs were covered in a crisp dry rub which uniquely blends the comfortable flavors of a spicy barbecue with Christmas cookies. The rub was so good that I left my ribs naked. (I sincerely hope that cheerfully devouring naked ribs says “I’m sorry, I was wrong,” in boyfriend-speak.)

B ordered a combo plate of jerk chicken and cowboy sausage with sides of braised greens and onion rings ($13.99). His meal looked scary to me, with piles of strange looking black meat. I should have known that looks are deceiving at Buck’s. The chicken’s wet jerk rub was warm, gingery-sweet, and finished with a sharp, spicy bite. It was succulent.

I dug the wings out from under the slabs of meat in front of me. In my opinion, these are the best wings in Southern Maine. The meat was smoked pink and tender, with a healthy tightness not usually seen in chicken wings. Even the skin - usually the sketchiest part of the wing - was luscious. I ordered them with buffalo sauce (there are many options for the wings), which was a dark, thin rose color. They actually made me feel a little embarrassed for all those neon orange wings I’ve eaten in the past. The sauce was delicious, too, with a feisty kick that lingered. I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food, though, and I ended up downing several glasses of water while I ate them.

The sides were a mixed bag of outrageously delicious to bland and disappointing. The sweet potato fries were fantastic, tossed with a cinnamon and sugar coating. They tasted like they had gone to a summer carnival. I loved them, but B grumbled that they were too sweet. The cornbread was northern style, sweet and dense and crumbly with a great density to it. My cole slaw was innocuous and mildly disappointing. B liked his braised greens. I took his word for it, because braised greens are my idea of a punishment. In contrast, B’s onion rings were coated in a surprising cornmeal crust. They had a great, crunchy flavor burst. I picked as many as I could off his plate before he shooed me back to my own dinner.

My meal really was enough to feed the state of Rhode Island. By the time I dug into the beef ribs, I was running low on steam and stomach room. It didn’t help that the beef ribs looked like caveman clubs. As I gnawed on the giant bone, I realized B was watching me with a look of raw horror on his face. “I take it this isn’t a first date kind of place?” I asked. B laughed. “No. NO. Do NOT bring a new date here,” he said. Then he picked a piece of sausage out of the braised greens. “Don’t bring a vegetarian here, either,” he added. “Even the greens have meat in them.”

It took a couple hours to plow through my dinner, but I eventually surrendered and brought half home. All in all, dinner came to $65, including two rounds of drinks and appetizers, but not the gratuity. We each had enough leftover for large lunches. Our waitress recommended turning the ribs into sandwiches the next day. “They’re a pain to make,” she said, “but on a split buttery roll with barbecue sauce, they’re delicious!” Barbecue sauce? At Buck’s? Why would you want to do that? Thoroughly converted, we waddled to our car, happily stuffed and satiated.

Buck’s Naked Barbecue is open seven days, from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., serving lunch and dinner. Cash and credit are accepted. Limited vegetarian and vegan options. Handicap accessible. Call at 865-0600, or visit their website at www.bucksnaked-bbq.com.