The clams are dug by local diggers, and the lobsters come from local traps at this business that seems like the center of activity on the island. One young fisherman, in his eagerness to be counted in the Bailey Island Fishing Tournament, jumped overboard with his big striper and waded ashore with that fish to get it weighed, to whoops of encouragement from Moby's Deck, an outdoor platform with tables for dining and drinking.
That was where I enjoyed a fine meal with friends on a sunny afternoon, starting with steamers ($10.95 for a small bowl) that were tender, fresh and wonderful, rinsed in broth and dipped in the cup of melted butter. Don't forget to slide the sandy skin off the neck of those soft-shell clams before you give them a quick bath, rinsing the sand off in the broth.
The Prince Edward Island mussels ($10.95 for a small bowl), tiny orange oblongs in their blue shells, had a peculiar bitter taste, as if they'd dined on iodine alone - and we did not finish them.
The baked onion soup ($4.95), with one of the restaurant's pleasantly crusty, white rolls broken in half and submerged under melted cheese, held hot, salty, ordinary broth full of soft, cooked onions.
Salads that accompanied two of our meals were large, with a good, mustardy homemade dressing.
Lobster stew ($9.95 a cup, $14.95 a bowl) and lobster dip ($10.95) will get you into the mainstay of the summer faster, but a lobster roll ($14.95), lobster Newburg ($29.95), lobster casserole ($19.95), baked seafood-stuffed lobster ($32.95) are just some of the ways you can dedicate the main course to our icon, our former license plate, our souvenir subject, the still (apparently) thriving lobster.
The boiled 1 1/2 pound classic ($29.95), laid out in orange-red magnificence on a oval white plate, is the best way to eat a lobster, as far as I am concerned. The shedder we enjoyed, with a shell that didn't put up much resistance, was tender and sweet, hardly needing the dip of butter to make a fine meal all by itself.
But lesser Maine celebrities, tiny shrimp and more of the soft-shell clams, deserve just as much applause. The fried clams ($15.95 from the "Lighter Side" category, a matter of smaller portions and no additional salad) were delightful. The crumb coating was crunchy and light, with a fresh taste, and the slender local clams inside were perfect.
Fried Maine shrimp ($17.95 for the dinner entrée, a large serving with a salad), frozen from the winter shrimp season, cannot vie with the fresh flavor of the clams, but they are crunchy on the outside and tender in the middle.
Specials for the day, crabmeat roll ($12.95), diver scallops picatta ($14.95) with capers and garlic butter, and bluefin tuna burger made from locally caught tuna ($9.95), keep the menu interesting for returning customers.
The fries were a little limp, but the coleslaw, finely chopped cabbage in a creamy dressing, was a wonderful way to eat a vegetable. What a pity one of us was avoiding seafood that day. Another idea for someone too obstinate to enjoy the sea might be a steak. Sirloin ($23.95 for 12 ounces) or filet mignon ($26.95 for 8 ounces) may be the preferred meal of some of the lobstermen here, and prime rib is served on Friday and Saturday.
Broiled haddock ($17.95) and scallops ($21.95) make a detour from fried seafood.
A very few wines here are of less interest than the beer, including Allagash's delicious Belgian ales. The lemonade is from a concentrate, the server said, but every single dessert is made there, and among them I can extol the pie.
Blueberry pie ($5.95 with a scoop of Gifford's vanilla ice cream) - bites were snatched away from the friend who hated to share - was full of juicy berries, pleasantly but not overly sweet, in a nicely thin, flaky crust. A special for the day, raspberry pie ($4.95), came stuffed with tart, sweet berries, again in that fine, thin, flaky crust, that seemed to have been painted with a little butter to make it just that much more golden brown and good.
The brownie sundae ($4.95) with its ice cream dripping off the full plate, was too sweet for one of us (who finished it anyway) and its whipped topping tasted far different than fresh cream.
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