Rock Gardens Inn Blog

Last Dinner of the Season

At the end of every season, after the guests have gone home, and the Inn has been closed up, we gather all the summer's staff together for one final meal before we all go our separate ways.  This year we celebrated the completion of another great summer by hosting a dinner for our staff here at the Inn.

Our chef, Bill Hanley, prepared a favorite of many of our guests, his beef tenderloin.  Laura made a tasty spinach and artichoke dip.  Cindy brought a salad with fresh, edible flowers from her garden.  And Donna finished the meal off with an incredible chocolate cheesecake.  Throughout the night Paul Hanley showed off his recently acquired bartending skills.  The meal was delicious, and having a chance to relax and talk with everyone who was able to make it was a nice change of pace.

While the beginning of every summer sees both new and returning members of the staff here at the Inn, by the end, inevitably, we leave feeling like family.  We had a wonderful time, and one final, terrific meal; and before the evening ended we watched a beautiful sunset over the water, and the rise of a crescent moon.

What's for dinner?

Both breakfast and dinner are served daily at the Inn (excluding Friday night dinner, due to the lobster bake that takes place that afternoon), and we are quite lucky to have had the same Chefs in our kitchen for more than 15 years.  Bill and Paul Hanley have continuously kept guests raving about the meals, and coming back for more.  And while we make sure to keep many of the guest favorites on the menu, we also know that variety is both exciting, and essential to maintaining eaters' interest.  Therefore, every year we come up with a number of new dishes to mix into the menu.  Here are a couple of examples of a nightly menu including some of our new dishes:

Caesar Salad

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Wine Sauce

or

Scallop Kebabs

Asparagus with Horseradish Butter

Fresh Lemon Rice

Potato Leek and Fennel Soup

Spinach and Pear Salad

Roast Pork Tenderloin

or

Salmon with Mustard and Brown Sugar Glaze

Snow Peas with Toasted Almonds

Scalloped Potatoes

The Lure of Lobster

Maine is known for few things more readily than it is for its freshly caught, and simply cooked, lobster.  Here at the Inn we do a lobster cookout every Friday for our guests.  For some, however, that only scratches the surface of their interest.

Since lobstering is one of the cornerstones of Maine coastal life, it's hardly surprising that many guests express interest in learning more.  Fortunately Rock Gardens Inn is located near several traditional Maine lobstering and fishing villages.  All guests need do to learn more is drive a little way down the road.

And for those whose curiosity matches, or exceeds, their appetite, there are lobstering tours available.  Recently a couple of Rock Gardens guests took one of those tours on the 'Miss Betsy' with Mark and Bill Wells.  Over the course of a few hours they toured the coastline, hauled up lobster traps and checked the catch, learned about what lobsters you can keep and which you have to throw back, and many of the other secrets of the trade.