If one must overindulge in lobster, the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, a Relais & Châteaux property with a five-star rating and Relais Gourmand status, is the place to do it. ``Around here, there's not a problem with richness," said chef Jonathan Cartwright. Not only is lobster featured prominently on Cartwright's menus, but the inn will arrange anything lobster-oriented their guests might desire, from a trip with a local lobsterman to a lobster picnic. Breakfast might be poached eggs on Kennebunkport lobster hash or a lobster omelet. Lunch, served poolside, might be Cartwright's version of a lobster roll. ``We do it in a lavosh bread as a roll up," he said. ``It's made with diced lobster meat, cayenne, lemon juice, crème fraîche, mayo, diced cucumber, and tomato."
Playing with lobster can be a chef's Maine course
Lobster is always on the White Barn's four- or six-course, fixed-price menu, and Cartwright often offers a lobster amuse-bouche to awaken the palate. His signature lobster dishes are in ``The White Barn Inn Cookbook" (Running , 2003). Lobster spring roll, with carrot, daikon radish , and snow peas in a Thai-inspired spicy sweet sauce, is an appetizer . Cartwright describes his steamed Maine lobster on a bed of homemade fettuccine with carrot, ginger, snow peas, and cognac-coral butter sauce entree as ``a typical American melting pot," with Asian, Italian, and French influences.
``I'm sure if we did a lobster dessert, we'd sell that as well; perhaps a lobster souffle with vanilla ice cream," Cartwright mused. ``People just can't get enough of it."
Contact Hilary Nangle, a freelance writer in Waldoboro, Maine, and author of ``Moon Handbooks Coastal Maine" and ``Moon Handbooks Acadia National Park," through her website www.hilarynangle.com.