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In This Issue
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Even Keel Cafe -
Set Your Course for Great Food and Drink
Walk down Main Street at 7 a.m. in September, and you’ll see a warm inviting glow eminating from the only place open: Even Keel Café.
Come closer, and you’ll smell the Carrabassett coffee brewing. Step inside, and you’ll find an assortment of early risers—island residents and visitors and regulars who know this is the place to start the day right. Whether your craving is for Huevos Rancheros, Lobster Benedict, or Hurricane French Toast, Even Keel can satisfy it. Rather start light? Even Keel offers Homemade Granola and Fresh Fruit, Bagels and Bakery Specials. In a hurry? Call in your order for a Breakfast Burrito or the mini-omelette on an English muffin they call an Egg Sandwich, and Even Keel Café will have your breakfast ready to grab and go.
Lunch starts here at 11 a.m., an hour before breakfast ends, so you can savor a Tofu Scramble while your companion enjoys Even Keel’s fresh Grilled Sea Bass Sandwich or a classic Hot Pastrami. On Sundays, lunch items are offered along with the full breakfast menu from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Brunch.
Because Even Keel serves continuously from 7 a.m. to closing, the coffee is always fresh and hot and food is always available. The café is much larger than it appears from the sidewalk and offers indoor and outdoor dining. You can perch at one of their tall wicker chairs at the counter and watch the busy Even Keel staff cook in the open kitchen or you can sit down at one of their café tables. Tucked behind the restaurant is a spacious bi-level garden patio, with tall trees and whimsical sculpture, surrounded by ivy and brightly colored flowers. In this private enclave you can bask in the autumn sunshine or sit at a shady umbrella table and get away from it all in the heart of everything.
Though lunch ends at 5 p.m. when dinner begins, several of the lunch entrees and all of the salads continue to be served until closing. The Even Keel Cheeseburger, ordered with all the extras (guacamole, sauteed onion, and bacon) makes a tasty dinner and one that will please the kids who are too old to want to order from the Keel’s Children’s Menu. The Grilled Steak Salad with its blue cheese, portobello mushrooms, asparagus, grilled tomatoes is hearty and delicious. And we can’t praise the Grilled Salmon Salad enough! The baby greens and spiced walnuts tossed in a puckery pomegranate ginger vinaigrette is a perfect platform for the fresh grilled salmon.
We like to share Even Keel’s Grilled Pizza—topped with spinach, tomato, garlic, goat cheese, and parmesan—when we stop in for cocktails with friends. Even Keel has a tempting selection of martinis (try the summery “Nantucket Sunset,” the “Mexican Tango,” or the “Restless Dragon”).
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Also great for sharing is the Wonton Crusted Ginger Shrimp, the marinated shrimp are tightly rolled in a wonton wrappers that make a crunchy outer shell encasing the moist shrimp. A citrus chili dipping sauce adds a tasty zing. |
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Lobster Nachos are new to the menu this season and one of our new favorites. Whether you order this to share or keep it all to yourself, this platter piled high with tortilla chips, cheese, veggies, and lobster meat is a version of nachos better than any we’ve had in a long time. Layers of chips, montery jack, black beans, chopped asparagus, roasted corn, and chunks of lobster are baked together so that the chips stay crunchy and the toppings are warm and spread throughout — you don’t end up with a plate of naked chips half-way through your munching. And with lobster instead of ground beef, the nachos aren’t heavy or greasy. Generous dollops of chilled sour cream, fresh guacamole, and chunky salsa are served across the top.
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Crunchy and golden brown on the outside and stuffed full of shredded pork, crisp carrot, and Asian vegetables, the Woo Foo’s Egg Rolls at Even Keel are sure to satisfy your craving without having to fly Chinese over from the Cape! They are served piping hot and not at all oily—you can add some heat by dipping the rolls into the spicy-sweet chili sauce served alongside.
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Cavelle, our pleasant and attentive server, spoke so highly of the Crispy Four Cheese Fritter that we had to try it. Her description was dead-on: the fritter, more of a flattened cheese ball, is formed from a balanced mix of pungent goat cheese, tangy feta, creamy and garlicky boursin, and fresh mozzarella. Rolled lightly in crumbs and then fried, it ends up crunchy on the outside and warm and melty inside. What really steals the show is Virgil Osbourne’s “Aussie” tomato chutney. Made with fire-roasted tomatoes, the chutney is full-flavored with hints of sweetness and a whisper of smokiness. Osbourne tops this treat with wispy fried leeks.
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You can make a meal of the appetizers and light fare at Even Keel, but the entrees are very good, served in generous portions, and reasonably priced. In just a half-dozen items, the eclectic international selection includes chicken, pork, beef, fish, and shellfish.
We were very impressed with the Yucatan Pork Enchiladas. Served in a casserole dish, the rolled corn tortillas are chock full of amazingly moist and tender braised pork. Tomatillo salsa is spread on top with plenty of cheddar cheese is placed over that and broiled till the the cheese melts lusciously into the salsa. The dish is full of Southwestern flavors, spicy but not fiery hot. Alongside it, Osbourne serves very well prepared and authentic black beans and rice.
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For a casual restaurant, Even Keel Café has a very respectable selection of wines—fifteen by the glass and twenty-one by the bottle. And the choices pair nicely with the entrees served.
Vegetable Curry Madras can be ordered vegetarian or with chicken or shrimp. We tried this entree with shrimp, and the curry is so good on its own that adding the plump shrimp was like gilding the lily. The vegetables—carrot, onions, zucchini, summer squash, snow peas, and potato—are deliciously tender-crisp and the mellow curry sauce has just the right amount of heat. Basmati rice is served over the curry, so that you can stir it in and it doesn’t get soggy, and wedges of fried Indian flatbread are served alongside.
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If what you really want is a great steak, Even Keel Café has that, too! Their Grilled Ribeye is a beautifully tender 12-ounce slab cooked to order and served with lots of sauteed mushrooms in a roasted shallot demi-glaze. Buttermilk mashed potatoes are just the ticket to catch the drippings and finish off the sauce. The mixed vegetables served alongside also deserve mention: the broccoli, carrot, asparagus, and squash are all cooked perfectly.
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Owner J. Marshall Thompson wouldn’t dare remove the Cornflake Crusted Cod from the menu—his patrons would revolt! The moist and meaty codfish is rolled in finely crushed cornflakes to give it a crunchy coating. A colorful chilled relish of diced cucumer, dill, red onion, and yellow and red pepper garnishes the cod with fresh garden tastes and crispness. And the fish is served over creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes.
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Even Keel offers a tempting selection of cakes and pies for dessert, along with a fun Buttercrunch Brownie Sundae. All are indulgent and very good. We were especially taken with the Turtle Cheesecake, creamy dense vanilla cheesecake with a layer of fudgy chocolate under the cheesecake and a topping of fresh caramel and crushed walnuts on top.
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The Key Lime Pie is scrumptious: the perfect blend of sweet and tart in a thick creamy filling. If you prefer, you can try the Key Lime Pie Martini that captures these flavors with vanilla vodka, midori, sour mix, and cream.
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Best of all is the housemade Bread Pudding made with Portuguese sweet bread and, according to our server Cavelle, occasionally a pastry or other treat. The thick, buttery pudding is full of cinnamon swirls. Sliced like a cake and served warm with whipped cream and a few drizzles of caramel and chocolate sauce, this is comfort food at its very tastiest.
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Whether you start your day at Even Keel or end it there, this Main Street café is sure to draw you back
Even Keel Cafe
www.evenkeelcafe.com (online reservations available)
40 Main Street • 508-228-1979
Breakfast daily 7 am-noon • Sun. Brunch 7 am-3 pm
Lunch daily 11 am-5 pm
Dinner nightly from 5 pm
Dinner entrees from $18 to $26
(light fare also served at dinner $10.95 to $15.25)
Indoor & Outdoor Dining • Children Welcome
Take-out • Full Bar • major credit cards accepted
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