I forget how much I love the smell of the Maine woods until I step out of the car onto pine needle-flecked dirt and drink in a big sip of fresh air. I grew up in New Hampshire, just a 15 minute drive from the Maine border, so the delicious smell of salty sea and earth is a homecoming of sorts for me.
I'm here at Hidden Pond, an upscale take on the Maine campground cabin, to spend a week dining and drinking with my mom at the Kennebunkport Food Festival. I've been looking forward to eating food from chefs like TK name from Zapoteca in TK, and TK, and while I was also looking forward to dining at Earth—Hidden Pond's on-site New American restaurant helmed by chef Justin TK in collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Ken Oringer—I had no idea how much I'd fall in love with the property itself and all the thoughtful, unexpected touches.
More than once we borrow bikes to head down the road to the beach, and get lunch Tides Beach Club, a sister property to Hidden Pond also developed by Tim Harrington and his business partner, TK. Tides has a totally different vibe, but is just as lovely—white, blue, nautical and beachy, with a sleek marble bar outfitted with lucite-backed bar chairs. The menu is stoked with well-executed beach foods from lobster rolls to fresh Maine oysters. We order cocktails because why not, and my mom beats me with her selection: watermelon-infused vodka shaken with lemon, simple syrup, and cranberry juice. The ice-cold, rosy pink cocktail tastes like summer, and is a perfect prelude to an afternoon spent lounging in the chairs at Tides.
By the end of the week neither of us wanted to go back to real life—I actually think I said more than once, "Maybe I should move to Maine." Whether I become a resident or not, I know where I'll be making my home-away-from-home next time I'm in vacationland: Hidden Pond. —Cory Baldwin
Goose Rocks Beach: Grab a bike from Hidden Pond and you can peddle the quick 1-mile road to postcard-perfect Goose Rocks Beach, a happily un-crowded sandy cove. Beach-side Tides Beach Club, Hidden Pond’s sister property, provides complimentary beach chairs and towels and even offers chair-side lunch service that you can charge back to your HP room. 254 Kings Highway, Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, ME 04046, (855) 632-3224
The Clam Shack: There’s lobstah, lobstah everywhere on the Maine Coast, but this landmark spot in the middle of Kennebunkport served the best lobster roll, not to mention fried clam bellies, of my trip. Boats bring their wares to the backdoor of the Clam Shack, and then the tiny spot serves the super-fresh shellfish out the window in front. The lobster roll is a full lobster on a hamburger roll, napped with your choice of mayo or melted butter. 2 Western Ave, Kennebunk, ME 04043, (207) 967-3321
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art: Thirty minutes south of Kennebunkport, this petite museum captured my attention as much for its stunning setting as its collection of 20th century American artwork. Floor to ceiling windows fill the entire back wall and the views sweep out over the fishing port of Perkins Cove, past the rocky cliffs, and straight out to the Atlantic. 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit, ME (207) 646-4909 —Melissa Klurman
I'm here at Hidden Pond, an upscale take on the Maine campground cabin, to spend a week dining and drinking with my mom at the Kennebunkport Food Festival. I've been looking forward to eating food from chefs like TK name from Zapoteca in TK, and TK, and while I was also looking forward to dining at Earth—Hidden Pond's on-site New American restaurant helmed by chef Justin TK in collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Ken Oringer—I had no idea how much I'd fall in love with the property itself and all the thoughtful, unexpected touches.
THE ROOMS
Our room is a small private cottage, befit with a screened in porch, one bedroom, a small seating area with a fireplace, a spacious bathroom, and an outdoor shower—more than we'd need for a mother-daughter girls weekend. The décor was rustic but chic, with handsome wooden fixtures, ikat pillows and bedding in dark, rusty reds and greens, antique touches, and salvaged driftwood displayed on the wall as natural sculpture. Next to the seating area, we had the tiniest kitchenette with more than we'd need—wine, glasses, plates, a mini-fridge stocked with yogurt, fresh milk and OJ, a small sink, a coffee maker with locally-roasted coffee from Portland, and granola made right at Hidden Pond.THE FOOD
We dine at Earth our first night in Maine, and it blows my expectations away. I would list the standouts, but every plate that comes out of the open kitchen seems somehow better than the last course: Fried oysters with padrón pepper relish and fried mint whet our appetite as we sip cocktails and look over the menu; an asparagus salad with salsify, lemon curd, and chiccaronnes is as pretty to look at as it is delicious; handmade pasta with rabbit, fiddleheads, TK is elementally satisfying; Maine lobster cooked with yogurt, curry leaves, TK, and meyer lemon butter is a beautiful reinterpretation of classic Maine fare. Just when I think I can't possible fit another bit, my mom, who has a mean sweet tooth, orders dessert. I someone make room and try what might have been my favorite bite of the whole meal: fresh-fried chocolate-covered donuts, perfectly crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside, paired with an anise-TK ice cream topped with dehydrated strawberry streusel. I'm telling you, it sounds crazy, but it was like taking a bite out of heaven.THE EXPERIENCE
The rest of our week unfolds in the same tone as our first night—rosy-toned and relaxing, and full of happy surprises. Every morning the staff drops off a cooler packed with fresh baked goods from earth—mini vegetable quiches, coffee cake made with fresh local fruit (both the strawberry-rhubarb and blueberry were phenomenal), fresh fruit salad, and a thermos of hot coffee—we don't even have to don't even have to use that coffee maker in the room.More than once we borrow bikes to head down the road to the beach, and get lunch Tides Beach Club, a sister property to Hidden Pond also developed by Tim Harrington and his business partner, TK. Tides has a totally different vibe, but is just as lovely—white, blue, nautical and beachy, with a sleek marble bar outfitted with lucite-backed bar chairs. The menu is stoked with well-executed beach foods from lobster rolls to fresh Maine oysters. We order cocktails because why not, and my mom beats me with her selection: watermelon-infused vodka shaken with lemon, simple syrup, and cranberry juice. The ice-cold, rosy pink cocktail tastes like summer, and is a perfect prelude to an afternoon spent lounging in the chairs at Tides.
By the end of the week neither of us wanted to go back to real life—I actually think I said more than once, "Maybe I should move to Maine." Whether I become a resident or not, I know where I'll be making my home-away-from-home next time I'm in vacationland: Hidden Pond. —Cory Baldwin
IN THE AREA
Goose Rocks Beach: Grab a bike from Hidden Pond and you can peddle the quick 1-mile road to postcard-perfect Goose Rocks Beach, a happily un-crowded sandy cove. Beach-side Tides Beach Club, Hidden Pond’s sister property, provides complimentary beach chairs and towels and even offers chair-side lunch service that you can charge back to your HP room. 254 Kings Highway, Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport, ME 04046, (855) 632-3224
The Clam Shack: There’s lobstah, lobstah everywhere on the Maine Coast, but this landmark spot in the middle of Kennebunkport served the best lobster roll, not to mention fried clam bellies, of my trip. Boats bring their wares to the backdoor of the Clam Shack, and then the tiny spot serves the super-fresh shellfish out the window in front. The lobster roll is a full lobster on a hamburger roll, napped with your choice of mayo or melted butter. 2 Western Ave, Kennebunk, ME 04043, (207) 967-3321
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art: Thirty minutes south of Kennebunkport, this petite museum captured my attention as much for its stunning setting as its collection of 20th century American artwork. Floor to ceiling windows fill the entire back wall and the views sweep out over the fishing port of Perkins Cove, past the rocky cliffs, and straight out to the Atlantic. 543 Shore Road, Ogunquit, ME (207) 646-4909 —Melissa Klurman
