FEAST

The Migis Lodge version of Maine, characterized by luxury and finesse, marks a tradition. Some families have been coming for generations, and many arrive during the same week every summer.

Chef John Strain relishes all twenty-three years he has worked at Migis Lodge. Strain is a magician when it comes to serving plain and sophisticated meals simultaneously. “I make a loin of lamb covered in a pistachio-nut crust on a ragout of fried lentils and wilted radicchio with minted lamb demi-glace,” he says, “and I offer the same lamb broiled, plain and simple.

The windows of the pine-paneled dining room look past serene pine trees to the lake. “The nicest spot on Sebago Lake,” Strain calls it. A Friday-night lobster bake, which features clam chowder and steamers, is held at a waterfront cookout area that includes a grill and buffet line.

On Saturday nights, thirty desserts and a huge variety of seafood and salads are available, not to mention prime rib and lobster.

If you are not a guest, a dinner reservation is necessary; after Labor Day, there is usually more space in the dining room. And one more detail: Migis Lodge does not accept credit cards.

Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake
South Casco, Maine
207-655-4524
www.migis.com

At the Oakland House Seaside Resort, walk-in dinner guests are as welcome as the folks strolling in from the cabins. When making a reservation, you can choose the dining room without small children overlooking the garden or the one for families from which, once your little child finishes her meal, you can watch her play outside.

Sally Littlefield, who co-owns the inn with her husband Jim, says that the 2007 menu is broader than it has been in the past, offering shrimp scampi, halibut with herb butter, and seared rib-eye steak with sautéed mushrooms and tempura onion rings. Prime rib is served on Saturday nights, and those with more simple tastes can find Beef Stroganoff and macaroni and cheese.

Lobster bakes are held alongside Eggemoggin Reach on rainless Thursday nights, and they feature seafood chowder, hamburgers, hot dogs, and corn bread, as well as brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Fruits are the main attraction in the inn’s desserts—ricotta cheesecake with strawberries, a plum-almond tart, mango custard, profiteroles with St. Andre cheese, and mangos drizzled with a reduction of port.

But the most perfect last course offered at Oakland House may be a walk on the beach after dinner.

Oakland House Seaside Resort
435 Herrick Road, Brooksville, Maine
207-359-8521 www.oaklandhouse.com

At Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor, the soignée tranquility of its formal restaurant, 88 Grandview, is the perfect setting at the end of a summer day. Around the corner is Bogie’s Hideaway, which serves casual, bistro-style meals.

This summer’s menu reflects changing tastes. As co-owner Angelo DiGiulian says, “There’s been a shift more toward classic American cuisine.” Less butter and cream is being used this year, and straightforward dinners like lobster and steak are featured on the menu.

Many guests come from big cities and are accustomed to fancier cuisine; when they come to Maine, they want to relax. “Fashions are shifting,” DiGiulian says. “People paying $350 a night come in looking for a lobster on a plastic plate.

New to Spruce Point Inn is chef Al Hynes, with experience at DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant in Portland, Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, and The Breakers in Palm Beach.

His recipe for clam chowder, featured on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, regales customers on fog-bound evenings at Bogie’s Hideaway.

After a leisurely cocktail overlooking the ocean, you might choose 88 Grandview’s beef tenderloin “Oscar” with asparagus, crabmeat, and béarnaise sauce. Hynes also makes several compound butters that turn shrimp scampi into something extraordinary.

The Spruce Point Inn Resort & Spa
88 Grandview Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
207-633-4152 www.sprucepointinn.com