Its been a long time, everyone, but we're back and we're happy to be looking at new places and experimenting in the kitchen.  
     For our first review, we chose a place in Belfast, Maine called Darby's.  There is a lot of history to this place, and it was opened in 1865 and has been in constant operation ever since.  They are extremely proud of the place, and they should be.  The barback, tin ceiling and walls are all original, and they give the dining rooms a warm, cozy feel.
     We decided to stop in and make a dinner out of some appetizers.  Our choices were chicken wings and something they called "baked cheese", a recipe for which they found in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  We were going to try their pot stickers as well, but due to a mild allergy to an ingredient, we chose to avoid them.  
     The wings were as crispy as I had asked for, and the sauce was superb.  Darby's did the lowly Buffalo Wing proud with these wings.
     The "baked cheese" was a combination of carmelized onions, Jarlsburg cheese, heavy cream and other ingredients and then baked until the top was brown and bubbly.  This is served with crisp toasted baguette slices for dipping or spreading.  This was, hands down, one of the best appetizers I've had anywhere, ever.  We walked out of the place raving about it and trying to figure out what we could do to it ourselves.  Make no mistake folks, this is one we are going to attempt and it will be making an appearance here before long.  
     Lastly, but by no means least, was the service.  The people were as warm as the decor, and the whole experience was amazing.  Our bartender (we sat at the bar) was attentive and friendly, and was quick to refill drinks while keeping up with everything else she was required to do, which appeared to be quite a bit.  She was never frazzled or flustered, and exhibited genuine concern for her customers.  
     I think, though I'd have to go back to check, that Darby's is my first perfect score as far as the overall review goes.  This place is That Damn Good.  

Steve's Rating:  ***** 5 out of 5 Stars

Goodbye

This blog is now closed. It may reopen sometime in the future in a different form, but for now, goodbye

Restaurant Review - Cacciatore's in Fairfield

     What do the enterprising food bloggers do on Christmas Eve?  Go and do their shopping of course because they're too damn lazy or forgetful or have too much other stuff going on that they didn't get it done before then!  And what else do they do? Go eat lunch at one of their favorite restaurants in Waterville (Now Fairfield), Cacciatore's.

     Cacciatore's is an Italian restaurant that started in a strip mall on Kennedy Memorial Drive in Waterville, at least that's where we originally found and fell in love with it.  They have since moved into a building in Fairfield, and are still putting out amazing food.  This place is one of those places that more people should know about.

     We stopped for lunch on our way home from Christmas shopping and I decided to try a cheeseburger.  I know, I know "But Steve, you're raving on about how great an Italian place this is, and your order a Cheeseburger?  What the Hell is wrong with you?"  Well, I know about their Italian food thank you very much, and I know its fantastic, I don't need to eat it again to know that.  A burger, on the other hand, is easy to screw up and hard to do well, and I like to use them as a measuring stick.  And man did they do well.  The burger came out with onions UNDER the cheese, so the cheese melted and held the onions on firmly, LOVE that, and they didn't use a burger bun, they used a length of garlic bread instead.  And not just the bread they use to make their garlic bread, the actual garlic bread, which gave more layers of flavor to the burger.  The fries were hand cut and also excellent, there just weren't enough of them.

     Service has always been great, very friendly and comfortable.  They don't hover like some places do, but they certainly don't forget about you either.  You don't quite feel like family, but you feel pretty damn welcome.  Cacciatore's deserves more attention than they're getting.  I'd hate to see a great place sink because not enough people knew them or their food.  If you are in the Waterville area, find them, and eat their food.  They could use the business, and I sincerely hope we can give them a bump here.  My rating of Cacciatore's is a solid 4.75 out of 5 stars in my opinion.  Go find these folks.  They really are great.

I really hate to break the flow of Steve's review, so I'm putting my comments at the end. This is a great little place that serves some very nice food. I kinda got spoiled living in New Jersey because of the very hardcore Italian food I could get there, but for Central Maine, this is easily the best Italian food I've had. 


I also had the French Onion soup, which I love, and Insalada Caprase. I know that the caprase is out of season, but I wanted to see what they would do with it. I was surprised at how good it was. Both the tomato and basil tasted very fresh which was a pleasant surprise. 

I'm going to give the food a 4 and the service a 5. Please try this place, I think you'll enjoy it.   

Easy Chicken Wings by Steve

     I love love love chicken wings.  I just do.  I've always thought that chickens were incredibly polite to evolve with little handles for the food they provide us.  Living in Buffalo for over 6 years provided me an appreciation for not just hot food but chicken wings.  Methods of cooking vary, but almost all include deep frying, which imparts a lot of extra fat into the wings.  Taking directly from Alton Brown, I decided to bake them.  Now, this allows for a vast selection of seasonings that you can't use when deep frying, so you can develop a wide variety of wings without having to drown them in sauce to impart flavor.  Baking also allows for crispiness, which I love in wings.  I personally order wings "so crispy I can drive nails with them".  That usually ensures I get them close to crispy enough.  So, all that being said, go get some wings, experiment with flavor profiles, and above all, have fun!

                                 

Baked Chicken Wings

2lb. Chicken Wings, separated or not, doesn't matter

Seasonings of your choice

     Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Liberally season the wings with the seasonings of your choice and lay out wings on parchment paper in a single layer.  Bake the wings for 45 minutes.  Remove wings from oven, flip wings over, and bake for an additional hour.  Remove wings from oven, put them in a bowl and toss with sauce if desired.  Enjoy crispy wings!