By Everett Potter

Today is the first day of spring and that would normally be a reason for joy, if not for the coronavirus currently sweeping around the world. There are still grounds for celebration, however, because it’s also the day when Chef Erin French, who owns The Lost Kitchen in rural Maine, posts instructions on her website on how to snag a reservation for the coming season.

French opened the remote and celebrated 40-seat restaurant seven years ago and was recently nominated for her fourth James Beard Award (Best Chef: Northeast) in February. With a mostly female staff, the restaurant is open four nights a week for eight months a year with but one nightly seating. Located in the town of Freedom, population 700 or so, the restaurant is half an hour from mid-coast Maine. In a normal year, the doors would open in May. This year’s date is still up in the air … continue reading