After the thunder and lightning rolled away on Thursday evening, we drove to Annisquam to attend the soft opening of The Market at Lobster Cove. Springtime New England ingredients have rarely been treated so artfully.
Fava bean toasts were gently sprayed with arugula, hard boiled egg and French Breakfast radishes from Amelia’s mother’s garden up the street.
A carbonara style asparagus pasta, redolent with fragrant fresh herbs was beautifully perfumed with springtime – fresh, real tastes.
The Fritto Misto with aioli we’ve renamed fritto “musto have it again,” because it was a such a light, delicate treatment, featuring the seafood’s sweetness. This is NOT a fisherman’s platter.
Small, deep red strawberries, just a tiny bit mishapen, the true sign of having been picked right out of someone’s garden nearby, peeked out from within a small, homemade biscuit, our strawberry shortcake dessert. Delightful.
A chalkboard behind the bar charts the resources – the baker, farms and cheesemakers – who supply The Market’s local ingredients. I’m guessing it will soon be a place of honor to be on that map. Alice Waters, your students have learned their lessons well.
The Market opened officially last night, and they’re already up serving breakfast as I write this. Yup, they’ll be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so you have all kinds of opportunities to experience how Amelia O’Reilly and Nico Monday infuse truly brilliant imagination, but a light touch, into New England’s traditionally boiled, baked, fried, even overlooked local foods.
