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Best Kept Secrets
    Pepperland Café, South Berwick, ME
    Chapman Cottage, York Harbor, ME
    Duckfat, Portland, ME
    Bonta, Hampton, NH

In South Berwick, Maine the word is out -- Pepperland Cafe is the place to dine for lunch or dinner. Located at 279 Main Street, in the former Flynn’s Market (a longtime local landmark), and across from the Sarah Orne Jewett house, this dynamic little restaurant offers comfort food cuisine with a strong southern twist. The folks running Pepperland successfully blend a variety of regional themes into their cooking, thanks to their own backgrounds. Lindsey Altshul, owner and manager, hails from New York City; co-owner and chef John Medlin is from San Antonio, Texas, while the other chef/partner, Kevin Hahn, live in South Berwick.  

Pepperland Cafe opened in July 2005. "We’re open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until everyone is fed," smiles John. "We also offer a Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. And everything we serve is available for take out."

The food is creative yet homey, and has a strong local following. They regularly sell out of their homemade meatloaf with mushroom gravy, their crab cakes and Hawg Wings. 

"Our crab cakes are very popular, and it takes patience to make them the way we do," says John. "We don’t use a lot of breadcrumbs, but what we do use we add in as small amounts over 20 minute intervals. This gives the cakes time to shape up. We use lump crab meat and we serve the cakes with a three onion remoulade of scallions, Vidalia and Bermuda. They come with a southwestern succotash of grilled corn, red pepper, Spanish onion, and a Mexican oregano mixture. You can also get our crab cakes for brunch as a Benedict, with a poached egg on top and hash browns on the side."  
 

Hawg Wings are like Buffalo chicken wings, but come from small crosscut pieces of pork shank. They are braised, floured and fried, then topped with a traditional buffalo hot sauce, and served with ancho cabbage slaw, crispy polenta, and bleu cheese dressing. "The secret to the polenta is that we serve it crispy on the outside and like a corn mush on the inside," says John. "It’s a unique taste." 

They are famous for their crisp Vidalia onion rings with hot mustard aioli (try eating just one!), and for their pork chops. "People just love the pork chops," says John. "We see folks grazing on the bone! We cook the chops in a cast iron pan, then add a prosciutto bourbon sage demi glace, and serve them with collard greens sautéed with onion and bacon oil. We always make sure that our vegetables and potatoes are in equal portion. You’ll get a full plate here." 

Another favorite is their chicken-fried steak with sausage gravy, homefries, eggs, toast and coffee, which is available for brunch. Or, try their Asian Chicken Salad which is tea-smoked, free-range chicken tossed with mandarin oranges, cabbage greens, cashews, wontons and a sweet chili vinaigrette for a perfect luncheon meal.

Most of what we use is made right here--like our jellies, jams, breads and sauces--or organically grown from local producers," says Lindsey. "We feel that makes a difference. We get our chicken, pork and farm fresh eggs from Kellie Brook Farm, and our beef from The Farmer’s Shed here in South Berwick. Our goat cheese comes from Heart Song Farm in Gilmanton Ironworks, New Hampshire. We also run a very ‘green’ restaurant. We do all our own recycling--you won’t see any styrofoam here; we even have a compost pile that is used to feed the pigs. 

"I was involved in an organic market project before coming here," he continues. "So my focus in opening Pepperland Cafe is to use local produce and to build a bridge with local growers and suppliers. We want to be a part of the community, as a place to eat, and as a business partner." 

OUTSIDE LINK: Pepperland Cafe official web site
(207) 384-5535.

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Chapman Cottage
York Harbor, ME 

Heading up the Maine coast to York Harbor, be sure to stop at Chapman Cottage. Located in a beautiful 1800s house, the small, intimate restaurant has two dining rooms, each comfortably furnished in a Colonial country style with hardwood floors, white-clothed tables, and large fireplaces. Both offer lovely views of the sweeping grounds and stately old trees. Chapman Cottage opened three years ago, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. They offer an eclectic menu with a little bit of everything. Paul and Donna Archibald are the owners, and as chef, Paul changes the menu in April and October.

"People love our food, that’s for sure," says Paul. "But they also love the ambience. We’re very relaxed here. We don’t rush people. We invite you to linger. We want people to enjoy themselves and relax. That’s what dining is all about."

Be sure to start with a salad as there are three tempting offerings: An heirloom tomato with French bleu cheese and balsamic vinaigrette; a lovely combination of goat cheese, sweetened dried cranberries, roasted walnuts and baby greens topped with a champagne vinaigrette, and the house salad, which is cucumbers, carrots, golden raisins, and greens, served with a sherry vinaigrette. 

Chapman Cottage makes all their own breads and rolls, including a sweet roll that is irresistible, but don’t fill up on bread as the main courses are exceptional.  

The diverse selection of entrees includes a Seasoned Risotto with Lobster, Diver Scallops and Shrimp; Duck Breast with Plum Wine Sauce; Dover Sole with a beurre blanc sauce, and their famous Seasoned Diver Scallops. "The diver scallops I get are enormous--each one is 1.5 to 2 ounces," explains Paul. "We serve them five to a plate, so it’s quite a meal. Guests just rave about this dish. I can’t keep it in stock. We only serve 32 people per night because our dining area is small, yet we go through 24 pounds of scallops in a week!"  

All the portions are more than fair--the aforementioned duck breast is 10 ounces; they offer an 8-ounce boneless steak fillet in red wine sauce, and one-half rack of Australian lamb (15 ounces) in a port reduction sauce.  

The desserts are as tempting as the entrees." We make a fresh cobbler with various fruits and vanilla ice cream," says Paul. "And we also do a cheesecake which is available plain or with strawberries, peaches, or raspberries, depending on what’s in season. This is not a New York-style cheesecake; it is more of a cordon rose style, very light--it just melts in your mouth." 

OUTSIDE LINK:Chapman Cottagee official web site
(207) 363-2059,.

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DUCKFAT
Portland, ME

Heading north to Portland, Maine, be sure to stop at Duckfat, a great little bistro/sandwich shop located at 43 Middle Street. The restaurant is tiny, so while seating is available, it is also limited. No worries, though, everything is available for takeout.

According to restaurant manager Matthew Smith, Duckfat’s unusual name came about because duck fat is used in some of their signature dishes.  

"Rob Evans, our executive chef and owner, started frying French fried potatoes in duck fat and they became very popular," he explains. "Rob also uses duck fat at his other Portland restaurant, Hugo’s, so he decided go with that name for this place. We use about 35 percent duck fat in our frying, and the rest is canola oil." Evans was named one of Food and Wine magazine’s top ten chefs in 2005.  

The restaurant focuses on offering casual, quick menu choices, but with everything made with artisanal quality.  

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