Over the years, Maine has built a reputation for itself as being one of the best food states in the country. In fact, Bon Appetit magazine just made things official by naming Portland the 2018 best food city in the USA. We’ll take it! Given the attention we’ve been getting, it shouldn’t be entirely surprising that TIME Magazine also recently recognized the state as having one of the best restaurants in the world. Of all the choices, this one is highly deserving.

The Lost Kitchen, located in tiny Freedom, Maine, is not a newly found gem, but rather a hidden little spot that's grown in popularity over the years.
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
Owner, Erin French, is from the small town, but like many Mainers she spent a few years away before returning. After time in California for medical school and the birth of her son she returned to Maine, working in catering and baking.

Around this time she began an underground supper club operating out of her home in Belfast. The dinners were almost always sold out, leading eventually to the start of a more formal restaurant set-up in the same building that played host to the supper club dinners.
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
After a few trials and tribulations and the loss of this building, she moved things into an Airstream to begin again. The dinners continued, but instead of being indoors they happened in fields and at local farms.

Eventually, she found her way back to Freedom, purchasing the local grist mill to open current iteration of The Lost Kitchen.
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
The folks that work here are a tight-knit group, all sharing French's love of locally sourced ingredients for her self-created recipes.
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
Did we mention that she's completely self-taught? While her recipes come from her family and childhood, they've all been made uniquely hers over the years. Meals are uncomplicated, but delicious.

The dining room itself feels tailor made for friends. It's cozy, even on the sunniest of summer days and the simple, elegant details can't be overlooked. No matter how hungry you are!
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook

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LynnieD1996 / TripAdvisor
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
Because the restaurant is so small and because French takes so much pride in her work, you'll see her working in the kitchen perfecting dishes just before they're brought out to excited guests.

"Excited" is a bit of an understatement given the restaurant's popularity. When the season opens, they're used to fielding so many phone calls that it's common for callers to be met with a busy signal for hours. To combat that and to bring an air of vintage to the operation, this year they took reservations only by postcard!
The Lost Kitchen / Candi Hovey via Facebook
While the restaurant is now completely booked for the rest of 2018, it's worth understanding how wonderful this place is so that you're ready for next year.
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
Trueblue2000 / TripAdvisor
Dishes are a thing of beauty!
The Lost Kitchen / Facebook
But, if you just can't wait for an in-person meal be sure to grab French's cookbook to try some of her recipes yourself. Including this rhubarb cake.
MaineGuy777 / TripAdvisor
But, we recommend doing what you can to make it in for a visit. Just be ready to practice patience. It might take a few years!

While it won’t do much good for this year, Lost Kitchen is located at 22 Mill St. in Freedom. While you wait for reservations to open again (or, work on trying to make friends with someone who already has one!) check them out on Facebook or visit their website. You can order the cookbook here.

Maine has received praise for lots of different types of eateries, from the fancy to the casual. This soft serve spot in South Portland was also named the best in its field and we totally agree!

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