Jake and Lindsay’s Wedding: Love and Gluttony Part I

Warning: This entry contains a lot of non-food related writing. Please don’t be angry.

The Thursday before Memorial Day I headed up to Islesford, Maine for Jake and Lindsay’s wedding. I was feeling pretty out of sorts that morning and frankly, was not feeling up to leaving NYC. But I had made a commitment, so I schlepped my gigantic bag to JFK to catch my 9:35A flight to Portland, Maine on Jet Blue (this, by the way, is an amazing deal – only 47 dollars each way), and let's just say I'm glad I did. Inside the Jet Blue terminal I milled about, looking for something to nosh on and ended up just getting a coffee from the Dunkin Donuts airport shack. Then I ran into Newell, Sus, Adam Perloff, Marni, Heather, Scott and the lovely Andersons. I noticed Marni eating some sort of bite-sized wrap situation, which reminded me that I was still in dire need of sustenance. Even the little wrap thingy looked good to me and as a general rule I avoid wraps like the plague. I would imagine my feelings for wraps are similar if not the same to the groom’s feelings about paninis. Regardless, I went to the place where M got her wrap and after walking around indecisively for what seemed like half an hour, though I’m sure it was really only four minutes or so, I emerged with a bag of spicy wasabi peas and some sort of gross Genoa salami and provolone pre-packaged antipasto. I blame a low blood sugar induced brain fever for the selection of the latter.

On board the plane, which was running half an hour behind schedule due to a mysterious last minute equipment change, the in-flight snacks were biscotti and Terra blue chips. I had the chips. So did Sus, though I think she may have spilled hers…

Once we deplaned in Portland, it was pretty much all downhill in terms of making the last ferry to the island, which was at 4:30P. Due to a series of, shall we say, unfortunate events, some of them in our control, some of them not, we ended up missing the boat. Literally, not figuratively. Newell, who was the rabbi for the nuptials, started to sort of freak out. After speaking to the groom on his cell, he started talking nonsensically about needing to be on the lookout for some tall scruffy man named Luke. This mystery man, a drifter if you will, would be on a blue and white boat with an outboard motor, and was our LAST CHANCE to make it onto the island! As it turned out, Luke was not just some random man of the sea, trolling about looking for inept New Yorkers to rescue and/or harass – he was the groom’s COUSIN! A rather relevant detail the good rabbi chose to omit, causing his panic to needlessly infect all those around him. Oh, and not only was this Luke character a cousin, but he was SO cousinny that there was actually a dinner being hosted at his house that very evening for all of the wedding guests. Jeeze Newell! Suffice it to say, I really don’t think he would have left us shivering on the dock in Northeast Harbor, turning on each other and wishing we had never been born.

After settling in on the island, we strolled over to the aforementioned dinner, which was incredibly delicious and set the tone for the rest of the weekend’s eating. Here’s what I ate:

♥3 – 5 slices of pretty rare, very tasty steak
♥2 crab cakes (On the second go-around I grabbed one for Sus, so it may have looked like I ate three, but I didn’t. Also, I chatted with Marci (sp?), aunt of the groom, mother of Luke, hostess and magnificent crab cake maker, about what made her crab cakes such a taste sensation. The answer: go easy on the filler and just use a lot of actual crab. Hmm…the best things are always so simple.)
♥1 tongful of salad
♥2 Geary’s Pale Ales

For dessert, I think I saw some blueberry cobbler and brownies. Both looked delicious, but as many of you already know, I do not eat dessert. This is not for reasons of health or fitness, so please do not hold it against me.

After dinner we headed over to the beach for a great bonfire / keg party situation. I believe the kegs were from a local brewery. Possibly Bar Harbor Real Ale, but honestly, I may just be making that up. In fact, I’m pretty sure I am. Regardless, it was very tasty. I also noticed a lot of people taking enormous swigs of Patron all around me. Like, seriously CHUGGING it. I watched one girl take a TWENTY-minute pull… Huh? Was it an optical illusion, or poor spatial/time perception on my part? I found it utterly confounding, but I was glad to see it nonetheless. Lots of joie de vivre on the beach that night and my surly mood from the morning had pretty much subsided. By the next installment it will be gone entirely.

Next Installment: Night before wedding dinner at the Islesford Dock Restaurant with our wonderful hosts Dan and Cynthia Lief, proud parents of the groom. I ate and drank so much I almost DIED.