F e b r u a r y / M a r c h 2 0 1 8 7 1 hungry eye adobe stock Menu- Busters Anonymous By Olivia Gunn Kostishevskaya Dare to call the shots? When you’re craving a dish and nothing else will do, these top Maine eateries will go off the menu just for you. F inding a five-star meal in Maine is not an issue. We’re in the golden age of a culinary growth spurt, with top chefs serving up award-winning, origi- nal dishes celebrated around the country. Foodies, always ready for the latest trend, can hardly type their hashtags fast enough. But even with all the acclaim circulating, will chefs turn away a diner craving a tried- and-true favorite or regional delicacy? “Any chef, especially at a fine dining es- tablishment, will be interested and proud to have his or her guests taste a unique cre- ation,” says Hugo Aguirre, Director of Food and Beverage at Grace White Barn Inn in Kennebunk. “But without sounding pretentious, when you’re a five-star, five- diamond restaurant, the name of the game is pleasing our guests and going above and beyond their expectations.” Should someone request, say, Lob- ster Thermidor [See “The Curious Incident of the Lobster Thermi- dor,” Summer- guide 2017] sev- eral days before a reservation for a special evening, White Barn Inn will make it, even if it’s off the menu, says Agu- irre, but not before adding that a spectacular alternative is already of- fered by the Inn’s Chef Matthew Padilla, “the Kennebunkport Lobster Fettuccine. It’s very popular.” Some menu selections are eternal. Think martinis. If the classic martini isn’t avail- able on a trendy-tini menu at a great bar, don’t imagine James Bond is going to be turned away. Michelle Corry, co-owner of Portland’s 555 and Petite Jacqueline with husband Steve Corry, says they’ve taken special re- quests at both restaurants since day one. “We need plenty of notice, and it’s often re- stricted to product availability and how busy we are on any given day,” she says. “But we’ve done lobster dinners, past menu items, specialty desserts, cakes, strict dietary menus, and kosher menus for people, just to name a few.” At Petite Jacqueline, French cuisine classics are at the heart of the menu, but visitors might be surprised to see Coq Au Vin–chicken braised with red wine–miss- ing from the list. Not to worry. Chef Nick Dalaimo says he’s happy to serve this mag- ic standard if given at least 24-hours notice. “We’re happy to make good food for good people,” he says. “It’s no problem. While a chef’s first instinct is to be most excit- ed to cook something different,” menu va- garies don’t prevent a chef’s exploring the fragrance of things past, especially since memories are most vividly evoked by the sense of smell. Think Marcel Proust and his madeleines. 1) First, be polite. It’s hard to imagine any chef wanting to disappoint a hungry patron–chefs get hankerings too–but how do you make one of these dinner requests without being that guy? For start- Dare to disturb the status quo and order off menu? PetiteJacqueline will make coq au vin ,whileThe White Barn Inn would be happy to satisfy your craving for LobsterThermidor upon request.