So much of what makes Maine special centers on the ocean and all the wonderful things that go with it. With this in mind, my wife and I decided to take a journey on the Casco Bay Ferry and visit the Crown Jewel, a perfectly sweet shop and delightful restaurant on Diamond Cove run by the same creative team that produced Flanagan’s Table.
Following our boat ride, which was filled with beautiful views and the wonderful scent of ocean air, we disembarked at Diamond Cove. From there, it’s just a short stroll past beautiful old growth trees to the restaurant and its small shop. So cool, so bright, fresh and summery! I love this restaurant’s modern yet tropical design. It seems a perfect match to the dream that island life represents.
We began with the deviled eggs. This jazzed-up version featured chorizo and olive to give the creamy delites a nice smoky-savory flavor. We of course had to have oysters, both the raw served with a hyper-local beach rose mignonette and the full of crunch fried sliders served with a tomato jam. One might think we were finished at this point, and we were delightfully content. However, the beauty of a menu full of small bites and shareable plates is that it makes it possible to have it all!
Next up was an artfully-plated shrimp ceviche that tasted even better than it looked (and it was very pretty): great spicing, and the toasted almonds added a lot with their flavor and crunch. So very good, but even better for me was the carrot lox with everything spice vinaigrette and rye crumble. Delightfully crunchy, salty, plus dill! It’s nothing like lox, but then again it is. All the same tastes are there, but in a new way. Yum, yum yum! Opposite in almost every way, but equally over the top delicious was the shrimp toast made with slab bacon and lemon aioli! So deeply satisfying! I came dreadfully close to licking the plate, but by that time we’d made friends with the couple at the next table. So I managed to refrain, but only as to not embarrass my wife. We followed that by sharing the gnocchi verde, which was spectacular! The pea purée was just so full of the flavors of summer, and the gnocchi had such a wonderful texture. Happy, happy! For dessert we had the brown bread egg custard, with ginger candied raisins, maple-brown butter powder, and vanilla creme. So very, very good! Absolutely the perfect way to bring a quintessentially Maine dining experience to a close.
Like Flanagan’s Table before it, this space fills up fast, so best to make a reservation.
Shrimp Cerviche
A view of Maine Island life
Deviled Eggs
Oyesters with beach rose mignonette
Oyster Sliders and Shrimp Toast!,
Gnocchi Verde
Brown Bread!