francine

Photo credit: Gourmet.com

We had the opportunity to eat at Francine in Camden over the holiday and these photos do no justice to the atmosphere and exquisite food. First I forgot my camera so the shots are a wee bit fuzzy on Big B iPhone, but despite this I had one of my top five meals ever. Gourmet Magazine reviewed Francine saying this:

"An utter lack of pretension is not a description that can be applied to many establishments in the chichi tourist mecca of Camden, Maine, but this 25-seater in a slightly drab converted bicycle shop is so low-key that you could walk past the door and not realize that one of the finest restaurants in the state lies within. Chef-owner Brian Hill understands the soul of a real bistro. He keeps his menu as spare as the decor—four starters, four mains—but his flavors are intense and imaginative. Swiss chard soup, silky with just a tickle of bitterness. Pan-roasted steak with Provençal herb fries that’s all about a hunk of beefy, grass-fed meat. Sweet littlenecks with peas so recently picked you can still see where they were attached to the pod. And because it happens to be the very height of the season, strawberries that seem to be warm from someone’s sunny garden, with incomparable maple walnut ice cream".

I could not agree more and we got to share our table with some of our favorite people. Not to mention one of these favorite people works at the bistro and had 7 desserts delivered at the end of our evening. 

You must make a date to visit the bistro if you live within a drives distance to have a true foodie experience.