Delicious Dinner!

For me, spending a ton of money on a great dinner is a lot more than how the food tastes. The food has to be great, yes. But the service, atmosphere, cocktails, and company must also exceed expectations. I sort of predicted that I would get just such an experience when we parked at Arrows on a rainy Saturday evening and were quickly greeted by a smiling man carrying an umbrella to take us into the building. (Side note: If you put the address into your GPS for this restaurant and name the city as Ogunquit, you won't find it. Try York instead.)

Before we walked through the door we were greeted by another person with an amuse bouche (I didn't even get a picture--I wasn't prepared!) of watermelon feta salad with balsamic vinegar. I have seen this prepared on tv several times and could not imagine that it would be in the least bit yummy. In my opinion, I was right. Having said that, I was very happy to have had the chance to try it because I had seen it prepared and raved about so many times. You're thinking to yourself "EW! Watermelon and FETA?" You're right.

Service is definitely a consideration at Arrows. They welcome you at the door with a tray for your amuse bouche dish. There were always a team of people walking through the restaurant with water, bread, etc.) When we sat down a man with a watering can full of breadsticks (no water) came through. They were not spectacular. They were crunchy and fun on the ends but sort of chewy and soggy in the middles.

The cocktails at Arrows are great. I had a Bombay Sapphire and tonic and a grapefruit mojito. Delish. I clearly enjoyed them.

The bread basket had a choice of either a garlic roll or a honey wheat roll. The garlic rolls were far superior. We had the artisinal butter tray, which had a Vermont butter and two from France. They were all great.

My sister ordered a crab parfait for a starter, which was Maine peekytoe crab with summer melon, citrus, and Vietnamese coriander.

Two other people ordered the Arrows 'non traditional' Peking duck in three courses; crispy duck skin with fried leeks and hoisin;

mini steamed bun with "hot sauce", scallions, pickles, and boiled peanuts;

and duck broth with morels and poached ginger.

I had bits of this and the duck broth stole the show. It was rich and flavorful and we all wished it was a winter day and we could curl up with a huge bowl of this and watch snow fall.

For dinner, one of my friends ordered grilled Maine lobster tail with lemongrass butter; butter poached lobster claws and knuckles with red curry, Singapore crepe with garden vegetables, and grilled Thai corn on the cob. The lobster was perfectly cooked and the rest looked delicious. She said it was all very tasty. My sister ordered the wood grill roasted rainbow trout wrapped in Arrows prosciutto (yes, they make their own) filled with leeks, with prune gnocchi, a rich meat stock and frisee.

(sorry this one is a little dark, I tried to adjust the light). My sister loved this dish. I thought the prosciutto overpowered the fish. She assured me I was wrong.
Another friend and I both ordered the red wine poached tenderloin of beef with warm frisee salad and onion rings; sautéed calves liver with crispy bacon, Yukon gold potato salad, and onion marmalade.

This was definitely the star of the show for me. The beef melted in my mouth; the liver was creamy and tender. The potatoes were perfectly vinegar-y and perfect with the sweet sauce. Win win win.

For dessert, we had Garden treats--green pea ice cream with an almond cone and whipped creme fraiche, Sweet "wintered" over parsnip creme brulee with lemon grass sauce, red raspberry gelee napoleon with chocolate crisps and a thyme-nutella sauce, and chocolate mint shake with marshmallow.

The creme brulee was fantastic; maybe the best I've ever had. The pea ice cream tasted too savory for me, and too much like peas. I didn't try the rest but there was none left so I assume it was good.

We also had a trio of ice creams; ricotta, mascarpone, and creme fraiche with corn meal pancakes and a preserved strawberry balsamic compote.

All these ice creams, while yummy, tasted the same to me. Again, I was assured that I was wrong.

We also had the hot chocolate cappuccino with down east sizzlers (upon discovery it was a cross between a beignet and a dough boy [fried dough for those from away]), rhubarb jelly donut, and a churro.

Again, these were just ok. My dad makes the best donuts in the world so the pastry chef here had some stiff competition. The rhubarb jelly was great though.

At the end of our meal the chef came out to talk to us and he was very nice and it definitely added to the experience to get to meet the person who cooks for you. I wish more chefs did that, it left an impression for sure.

On the way out the door we were given these extremely light, delicate, and beautiful lemon madeleines. They were better than any dessert on the menu if you ask me. They also gave me a copy of the menu so I could share all the details to go with these pictures.

Overall, a great experience, a great meal. There also was a bottle of wine with dinner, a lot of laughs, and a great evening with friends. Was it the best dinner I've ever had? No but it was definitely top 10 and I would definitely suggest Arrows to anyone who loves a dining experience. Thanks to my friends for joining me!