I was on a flight recently, flipping through the American Way magazine when the word “Acadia” caught my eye. Turns out that Ryan McCaskey, the chef of Chicago’s amazing two-Michelin starred restaurant Acadia (which we visited and loved a few years ago), opened a “pop-up” restaurant, Acadia House Provisions, this summer on Deer Isle, Maine, just an hour or so from my family’s home in Trenton. I did a little more research, found out it was dubbed the summer’s hottest pop-up restaurant by Forbes Magazine, and immediately started planning a way to work this into our annual summer trip to Maine.

Before eating lunch, we spent some time walking around the charming town of Stonington, where Acadia House Provisions is located.

The restaurant is right on the water, with a large deck area. Reservations are recommended for the tables inside (where we ate) but aren’t necessary for the patio.

My table ordered the clam chowder…

lobster roll…

and lobster grilled cheese sandwich.

I had the lobster “pot pie” which wasn’t really a pot pie at all but rather perfectly poached lobster meat topped with airy whipped potatoes and a delicious biscuit, all sitting in a lobster bisque. It was such an innovative dish and yet also so classically Maine.

We finished the meal with an amazing blueberry streusel, topped with ginger ice cream.

It was an incredible meal from start to finish that was well worth the journey. Lesson learned: always read the in-flight magazine!