Nīna June is the nickname of  Chef Sara Jenkins, who was born in Camden, Maine but raised in the Mediterranean.  She uses the background of both places to highlight the products of Maine’s farms and ocean coastal waters with a regularly changing menu.  She is the author of 2 cookbooks and previously cooked for kitchens in NYC.  This is a long place with the back patio seats overlooking the Rockport Harbor.  The open kitchen was on one side and the chef was there to greet the customers and show them to their table.  The walls had bench seating with lots of pillows which matched up with small closely placed small wooden tables that were set with paper placemats and cloth napkins.  Music was in the background, the lights were fairly dim and art was on the walls.  It was a cozy feel and it easily facilitated conversations with your neighbors.  The menu was very intriguing and thus we ordered way more than we could eat but we wanted to try so many things.  As you’d guess, some items were better than others and appealed differently to esch of us.  I’m not sure if any would get a “lick the bowl” rating but I certainly would recommend this place and go back if I’m in the area.  The food is very fresh and well done without dots, smears or added micro-greens and really focused on local.  Let me know what you think when you visit!

Set Up

Food

Leeks were slow-cooked and presented with fresh butter beans, crispy culatello ham, egg mimosa and a vinaigrette.  The leeks were silky in texture but next to impossible to cut with the pathetic knives set at the table.  These were cooked to perfection with excellent flavor but frustrating to try and eat.  The beans were very lightly cooked which made a texture contrast as did the very crispy ham.

 

Escarole was in a salad with apples, walnuts, Brigantaccio cheese, and shaved onions then tossed with a purple mustard vinaigrette.  It was nicely dressed with tons of textures and tasty combinations of flavors.  This was a large plate that appealed more to me than my husband.

 

Radicchio was braised in red wine and placed on taleggio cheese and topped with toasted hazelnuts.  There were two main pieces of the treviso chicory and it was properly bitter.  The hazelnuts added a tasty and fun crunch.  This was perfect according to my husband who loves eating this vegetable in Italy.

 

Housemade bread was a sourdough presented with labne, zaatar and extra virgin olive oil combined in one bowl.  The thick-cut pieces were doughy and dense with a nice crust.  The accompaniments were fine but I preferred the bread alone or to mop of last bits of sauce.

 

The risotto was made with carnaroli rice, foraged wild mushrooms, thyme, mushroom broth and Parmigiano.  The rice was cooked perfectly and the dish had a lovely flavor even though it was not strongly flavored with mushrooms.

 

Lobster spaghetti “alla diavolo” contained house-made pasta, Matt’s wild cherry tomatoes, Maine lobster, garlic, chili and parsley.  This again was a tasty dish but the flavor of the lobster did not come through.  There were a couple of nice chunks on top and some bits within but the tomatoes dominated the flavor profile, which is not bad but unexpected here.

 

Skate was a pan-roasted filet with brown butter, capers, and lemon alongside tiny Umbrian lentils and mustard greens.  The fish was cooked perfectly and was melt-in-your-mouth good.  The broth it was in was a tad salty.  The lentils were nice but the greens could have been cooked a bit more to make them tender.

 

The Plum Cake was purported to be the most popular NYT recipe ever and so we had to try it.  I say purportedly because I can’t imagine it was this recipe.  There was no butter flavor to the cake nor were the plums especially flavorful.  It was served with a scoop of whipped cream that lent it a bit of sweetness because it was lacking too.  This one fell flat for both of us, but other desserts may have been more successful.