When you live in a small Maine town, the pleasures are many and the same size.

Lots of little things that often involve Maine food. Local trademark specialties from the Mom and Pop owner eatery businesses. Growing up York’s Dairy Bar served onion rings dipped in pancake batter. Large, puffy, fried and seemingly baked at the same time…(stomach growl) and boy, what I would do for a large order to go right now.

And at the take out window of the dark blue and light creme yellow “The Bus” run by Don Savoy, you could get potato skins left on french fries. Supplied by local Maine spud farmers. Fresh cut to order. Just before taking a quick bath in the boiling grease to come our golden brown. Ready to salt, give a drink of ketchup and a healthy sprinkle of vinegar. (Rumble in the belly) Excuse me. Supper is wearing off, and memories are making me hungry as a Maine black bear after a winter’s hibernation.

The pizza burgers at Don’s also a crowd favorite.

Hard to resist and just one more of many that Don served up, dished out. As one of many summer outdoor dining addictive delicacies. Created inside the lighted mobile kitchen. Where kids, families, little leaguers and older ball players, music in the park lovers all crowded round. To take a number. Chit chat and socialize. While starting to drool. Thinking about the order soon to be packed in a plain brown cardboard snack box.

To settle up the tab, walk over, slide on to an empty picnic table bench. Under the large maple shade trees behind Cary Library. Across from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s department. Always thought it was cruel and abusive to tease the inmates, trustees in the orange jump suits. With the fans of “The Bus” pumping out incredible home made cuisine odors in their direction. The smells of summer cooking to endure, desire but not be able to sample while staying at the crow bar hotel for some infraction.

Do you have the problem of ordering the same thing off the menu when you visit a particular establishment? Me too. Should be more adventuresome, branch out and try new things. But the tried and tested standards to curb the hunger are not to be ignored. The items that cause the revisit, doubling back for more because the first time ordered becomes a given, pattern.

Don’s velveeta cheese burgers were a wonderful eeny meeny miney mo choice too. When the dinner bell rang and needed silencing.

And you had a little expendable cash burning a hole in your pocket as a kid on a bike. Meeting your friends. That also had the same idea in a small Maine town. Deciding to join you to put on the feed bag. Fiddlehead and Shrove Tuesday pancakes, round sausage and corn fritter suppers at the local Episcopal Church were memorable too. Right up there with the flavor of the day Sadie’s Donut and an ice cold Houlton Farms Dairy Chocolate milk to wash down a couple during snack time. Or those from a visit to the Donut Deli at the Parkview Terrace.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573
info@mooersrealty.com