Lobsters
Acadia ChicagoAcadia National Park is one of the most most popular national parks in the country and this summer, visitors even remotely interested in food have a new reason to visit. Take the one-hour detour to Stonington, Maine on Deer Isle for a taste of Chef Ryan McCaskey's new restaurant, Acadia House Provisions. In Chicago, McCaskey's Acadia has two Michelin stars and is the most underrated fine dining destination in the city. Granted, McCaskey won't be serving 12 courses of tweezer food in Maine, but he promises that Acadia House Provisions will have the best lobster roll, chowder, seafood tower, shortrib and buttermilk fried chicken that you've ever tasted. He's even bringing back the deconstructed lobster pot pie with mashed potatoes and lobster bisque that landed on the cover of Chicago Magazine when Acadia first opened in 2011.
Lobster "Pie"
Anthony TahlierWhile Acadia aims to bring the flavors of Maine to Chicago, diners can now go right to the source during the most vibrant and bountiful dining season. McCaskey has spent summers in Maine since he was six years old and his parents still have a house on the ocean with their own beach, dock and sailboat. His culinary career began here at Goose Cove Lodge and he considers Maine as much his home as Chicago.
South Stonington
Acadia Chicago“The whole community knows me,” he says. “It's such a special, magical place for so many reasons. As a kid, we would stay for two weeks to a month every summer. The same people booked every year so we'd see the same families. You'd date somebody for a month and then not see them for the rest of the year until the next summer.” As an adult, his summer trips to Maine are therapeutic – an opportunity to unwind from a stressful career and hectic lifestyle, chilling out by a bonfire, taking a dip in the oceanand going on long hikes fueled by wild blueberries picked along the way.
Lobster Roll
Anthony Tahlier“My backyard is filled with oxalis, lichen and wild chamomile just growing in my driveway,” he says. “Spruce tips as well in the spring. We buy spruce tips here in Chicago from a farm in Michigan, but in Maine I could get 20 pounds of spruce tips in a minute.” McCaskey plans to source everything except sugar from Maine, and most of the produce and seafood from within a 40-mile radius.
Blue Hill Mussels
Anthony TahlierNot much has changed in rural Maine since McCaskey was a teenager just getting his start cooking professionally. There are still just three restaurants in tiny Stonington; Acadia House Provisions will be the fourth. “The routine before was great,” he says. “You'd get up in the morning, get your cooler, and drive to all the farms and go down to the docks to get your lobsters. Bring it back to the restaurant by 11 a.m. and you'd just cook based on whatever you could get. The only difference that I've known from then until now is that a lot of the farms have a route where they'll deliver to you.”
Short Rib, Peas and Carrots, Barolo Jus
Anthony TahlierThanks to a favorable 10-year lease, Acadia House Provisions isn't going to be a one-off event. McCaskey is planning to make this an annual occurrence and is focused on building a strong team to make this successful longterm. He's not the kind of chef that just slaps his name on something and calls it a day either. For the last eight years, he's only had one restaurant, fine-tuning it to near perfection. This summer, he'll be flying back and forth between Chicago and Maine all summer, juggling operations.
Acadia House Provisions debuts June 21 and will be open through Columbus Day. While it's certainly worth a detour if you're in Maine, it might even be worth a trip in itself. The closest airport is Bangor, 90 minutes away and it's three-hour drive from Portland.
Burnt Cove, Maine
Acadia Chicago
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