A new favorite tinned seafood

And other recent discoveries from the grocery aisles of Maine

Still reporting on Maine over here in this corner of the internet.

Maine’s flexible “cottage food” laws make for a rich offering of homebred businesses dotted throughout the state. On our drive up Route 1 from Portland to Acadia National Park we saw a variety of road side stands offering a variety of goods: candles, soap, eggs, cookies, pies, furniture, seafood, not to mention a bevy of farmsteads. (I loathe the word “bevy” but couldn’t think of a better one.)

Most of the stands are perched roadside, unmanned; customers make their selections and either drop cash in a lockbox or send payment electronically. In one case, we pulled off for some soaps and ended up doing our shopping inside a garden shed turned boutique.

In many states, making food in the home for resale is heavily restricted or impossible. The whole experience was resolutely old school. I love the freedom it gives, and the sense of possibility. You have a great scone recipe? You could be in business in a couple weeks.

I wanted to share some of my favorite discoveries from the grocery stores and markets of Maine. While I didn’t buy any of these by the roadside, several are homegrown operations, and in some cases, still being produced out of the home.

Each item is linked below:

Gulf of Maine Conservas

We had a great meal on our last night in Maine at Portland’s well respected Hunt & Alpine Club. I’d always thought of the place as a cocktail bar, but the food was absolutely on par with many great restaurants. What started as a martini stop turned into a full blown dinner, and an introduction to Gulf of Maine Conservas.

Tinned seafood has been having a slow burning moment for years now. I’ve long been shouting about my devotion to Ortiz Tuna, and my pantry is stocked with Sardines from Zingerman’s house line.

At Hunt & Alpine they served Gulf of Maine’s Smoked Eel and Bluefin Tuna. Both were outrageously good. Memorable. I went back to the hotel room and in a Martini fueled stupor ordered $500 worth of them both. I’ll use the Eel to replicate the famous Smoked Eel Sandwich from Quo Vadis in London, and the Tuna for a simple Nicoise Salad.

Wildfish Cannery

Wildfish was another discovery served at Hunt & Alpine, served simply with baguette, aioli, and fresh herbs. At the restaurant I tried the Smoked Coho salmon, but for the house I stocked up on the non-smoked Classic Coho. I’ll use it for Salmon Patties (because I’m turning into my mother) and for an easy Salmon Salad.

Lucy’s Granola

Lucy’s is sort of the mothership of homegrown Maine products - it was on the shelves at every market, co-op and grocery store I visited.

I heard some murmurs that the recipe was from Cook’s Illustrated, but really: does that matter? Certainly not when I'm on the road.

I’d like to say I bought this delightfully simple, crunchy granola for a healthy breakfast, but really I just bought it to snack on between ice cream and crab rolls. I don’t think I had it with milk even once.

This photo my wife took can confirm. I love the eyes closed, caught in a sort of satisfied but also probably self-loathing moment:

Little Lad’s

I first found Little Lad’s at a small market in Southwest Harbor, searching for a “healthy” cracker for my son. Little Lad’s whole schtick is taking well-loved, known brands, and reinventing them without the crap ingredients you can’t recognize. They’ve got We-Eat Thins, Cheese Isn’ts, Corn Thins, and Graham Crackers, our personal favorite.

After that initial sighting I saw their products everywhere. Another favorite was their Herbal Popcorn, flecked with dill and tossed in nutritional yeast. It was a great snack with cold beer.