Northern Nosh

When I moved to Millinocket, Maine a year ago part of the process involved cancelling my utilities.  One inquisitive cable representative asked me where I was moving to…I told her.  After a brief pause in which she may have map quested Millinocket or all together realized she didn’t know where Millinocket was, she finally, plainly asked “Why?”    A typical question for certes and I hated to offer her true curiosity such a clichéd answer, a man.  So I didn’t.  In response, I described Katahdin, the woods, the skiing, and the quiet.  “Nope, won’t be needing cable where I am going “I confidently professed.  Meanwhile, in the back of my mind I wondered…what in the hell was I going to do in Millinocket?

In truth, my excitement over relocating to Millinocket lacked luster.  While in love to my betrothed and moving closer to the Canadian border, not over it like I endeavor someday,  I knew that my proximity to Portland offered a respite from my current removed, agrarian life in New Gloucester as  it involved only a 35 minute drive.   A respite I usually took advantage of only once every three months.   And when I did go in to “town” it was always, always, always to eat.  Yes, I am a foodie through and through, love to dine out, love to have an evening devoted solely to taste, and good company which includes appetizers, desserts and cheese plates, absolutely decadent indulgence in butter, cream, wine, scotch and espresso, conversation, courses and hours spent dining . Portland, Maine is bursting  with amazing cuisine  Favorite haunts included Street & Co, Five Fifty-Five, The Merry Table , Cinque Terre and The Front Room.  My move to Millinocket, in my mind, would be the end of this.

And so I packed, yarn, clothes, dogs, and most importantly my cookbooks, said my goodbyes, grabbed a coffee and trundled on to 95 North.  Moving is hard, it requires significant change without the pre-established network of the former local.  Community is not instant. You have to find it, seek it out, ask about it and make it yourself.   My foodie instincts did not fail me.   I went to what I loved… good food.   Where did I find myself?  The River Driver’s Restaurant.  All that I thought lost was found.  I could have my cake and eat it too.  I could live in a beautiful place, enjoy a small town, not have cable AND dine out on fresh, seasonal, delicious food.

At the River Driver’s we believe in the power of food and community.  We want to provide locals and visitors a dining experience, a place to gather for an exceptional meal and settle in to the northern Maine landscape.  Our menu is a collaboration of resourcefulness and ingenuity as inspired by  our “off the beaten path”  location.  But you will find the best here as reflected in our selection of wines, entrees and homemade desserts.   Willywacks, wilderness, remote, removed  call it what you will, you can get here from there and it is worth the drive.

Holiday Spirit Getaway Package