New home restaurant brings European dining to County

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European attitude is catching on in a small northern Maine town. Brenda and Michael Liston have brought fine European dining to Fort Fairfield through their new restaurant, The Inn at One Riverside. The restaurant, located in the Listons’ home, offers seven-course meals every Friday and Saturday night by reservation.

Each evening’s menu consists of champagne and hors d’oeuvres, soup, salad, a seafood entree, a sorbet, a meat entree, imported cheeses with port and selections from a dessert trolley.

“These are things I like to cook,” said Mrs. Liston. “I try to add a real balance of things you don’t find in the area.”

The atmosphere also is unlike any eatery in northern Maine.

The Listons’ house has been redone in Victorian decor. The restaurant is elegant, with gilt-edged china, crystal, lace, lighted candles on the table and a rose on the woman’s plate. Also evident are souvenirs from the couple’s time in Europe, like porcelain figures and Toby jar drinking mugs. Liston and his son, Mark James, wear black pants, vest and bowtie and a long-sleeved white shirt to serve. Mrs. Liston, the chef, wears a high-collared white silk blouse and a long black skirt.

“One guest said it’s like stepping into a storybook,” said Liston. “That’s the feeling we’re trying to create.”

The price is $40 per person, not including wine. Using the dining room, den and part of the living room, the Listons can accommodate up to 16 people. The Listons schedule groups one half-hour apart, so that each one is consistently on a different course.

Opening such an eatery in meat-and-potatoes country like Aroostook County may seem like a risky proposition. But the Inn at One Riverside has been attracting capacity crowds, including repeat business, since it opened June 1, with bookings already made through Christmas. One night, the Listons even set up a buffet outdoors for a garden party of 19.

“We didn’t know for sure that Aroostook County was ready for this,” said Liston. “Fine dining wasn’t common up here. We were told people like to eat and run, but we didn’t believe that. We talked to people for a year, and everyone said to do it. They wanted a place where they could dress up and go out to eat.”

The couple’s love of European-style dining has its roots in his Air Force career, when the couple spent nine years in Europe. Mrs. Liston attended cooking schools in Italy and France.

“We also liked to eat out a lot,” she recalled. “We would come home and try to figure out how something was made.”

When he ended his 26-year Air Force career in October, 1989, after being stationed at Loring Air Force Base, the couple decided to stay in Aroostook County and fulfill their dream of opening a restaurant.

In addition to running the restaurant, the Listons both have full-time weekday jobs, he as personnel director at Cary Medical Center and she as information referral officer for the Family Support Center at Loring Air Force Base. James is a college student and works part time at another restaurant.

Preparations for the weekend begin at midweek. Mrs. Liston estimated that they work for six hours Wednesday and Thursday nights getting ready for Friday evening. They turn around and prepare everything again for Saturday night. But they love what they’re doing.

“This isn’t work,” said Mrs. Liston. “This is fun. I don’t think we could do it if we just thought we should do it.”

On one recent evening, a group of five guests sat talking quietly around the fireplace in the Listons’ parlor, drinking Kir Royal while nibbling on scallops wrapped in bacon and dipping pita triangles into hummus.

In stark contrast, the Liston family worked quickly, but methodically, smoothly negotiating the slalom course that was the small kitchen.

The evening floated by on a stream of culinary delights, many served on silver trays. Savory chicken almond soup was accompanied by steaming hot homemade bread and butter. Next came a spinach and mushroom salad in a tangy honey mustard dressing. (Many of the vegetables and herbs are grown in the Listons’ own garden.) That was followed by the meal’s first entree, Atlantic salmon marinated in sesame, ginger and garlic.

A raspberry sorbet, topped with a mint leaf, came next, to cleanse the pallet before the meat entree. That was tournadoes de boeuf with spring vegetables, a tender medallion of beef ringed with bacon, with a small potato and baby peas and carrots.

Next up was the cheese cart, from which patrons could choose from about eight imported cheeses and an equal number of fresh or dried fruits. It was accompanied by a small glass of port.

Yet, the hardest choice was still ahead, as the two Listons brought out the dessert trolley. Diners may select any combination of the following: chocolate mocha mousse with homemade coffee liquor, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate peanut butter fudge cake, black satin fudge cake or a fresh fruit cup.

The waiters Liston and James were timely presences throughout the meal, whether refilling a water glass, bringing the next course or making recommendations of what foods to sample.

The five eating in the dining room that night were ecstatic and sated, praising the food, service, variety, attention to detail and atmosphere.

“If you enjoy food, then this is a real resource,” said Diane Funke of Presque Isle. “We travel a lot, and we feel it’s the best restaurant north of Boston.”

Her daughter, Renee Swinney of San Francisco, agreed, adding that the restaurant is perfect for either a romantic evening or a business dinner.

“Everything is so elegantly done, yet you feel so comfortable here,” Swinney said.

Nearly 3 1/2 hours after dining began, a silver tray bearing the bill and chocolates made by James was brought out. The Listons saw their guests to the door to say goodbye.

“We don’t see this as work,” said Mrs. Liston. “It’s almost like you’ve had friends in.”

Reservations for the Inn at One Riverside can be made by calling 473-4442.

Dale McGarrigle is a Fort Fairfield native.