Islesford Dock Restaurant – perfection of a summer evening on the water

            The last time we ate at the Islesford Dock Restaurant on Little Cranberry Island was about 35 years ago. I remember it as a classic lobster shack with seafood fry baskets and whole lobster meals served on red and white checked oilcloth-covered picnic tables. Over time it was closed, reopened, then exquisitely re-imagined. Yesterday evening, generous friends with a boat provided transport for a re-visit.
            The weathered, wood-clapboard buildings, old-timey fishermen’s pier, remote island simplicity, burgers and fries, and fresh lobster offerings remain, but additional cuisine rivals any five-star venue in Bar Harbor or Portland. Fresh steamers, local oysters, seafood carbonara, lobster burrata salad, spicy tuna salad with pineapple dressing, halibut with lemon, capers, and beurre blanc... My mouth waters just remembering. And the cocktail menu!
            Of course, the perfection of a summer evening on the water – clear air, sparkling, low-angled sunlight, soft breeze on bare skin, excellent company – that part only comes together by serendipity, once in a blue moon, when everything falls into place and you do your best to immerse in the deliciousness of present-time.
 
My 60th year in 60,000 words
Day 340: 178 words, TOTAL = 56,086; 3,914 remaining