Food = comfort.

Many people equate one with the other. It’s a simple formula that stood Agnes Tripp well over the past 20 years that she has been cooking home-style dishes for people from Washington County and beyond.

For the past decade or so, Tripp has been the owner, cook and oft-times bottlewasher of Sam’s Cafe, which began in Jonesboro but has been on Route 1 in East Machias for the last six years. (She also previously cooked for eateries in Jonesport and Harrington.)

An early question that comes to mind is “Who is Sam?” That would be a nickname for Tripp that has stuck since her childhood. When the roll was called in school, she was listed as Smith, Agnes Mearl. Take the first letter of each name, and there you have it.

Sam’s Cafe is located in Tripp’s home. It’s easy to find. After leaving metropolitan Machias, cross the East Machias town line, then Sandy’s Sales on the right. Across from Dickinson’s Feed and Grain sits a neat but nondescript little house.

The sign on the front lawn announces “Sam’s Cafe” in professionally done lettering, with the hours (7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Sunday) written in by hand. The house doubles (no, triples) as a gift shop, offering, among other things, “Puzzles for Sale.”

Head up the steps to the front porch, which offers additional seating during the summer season, and through the door. There, to the left, is the gift shop. But you’ll hardly get inside before you’re greeted with a hearty “How y’all doin’?”

You have just met Sam, er, Agnes hard at work in her kitchen. With her dark hair contrasting with her cook’s whites, the North Carolina native seems much younger than her 62 years. “Just go on in and take a seat. Someone’ll be in to take your order,” she requested. Yes’m.

The dining room doesn’t seem much different than a number of such restaurants throughout Maine. There’s a country feel to the interior. There are three tables which seat a total of eight people. There’s a self-serve coffee pot with a pegboard of mugs near it. There’s a cooler for milk, soda and lemonade.

Still, there are some touches that localize it. The TV in the corner is set on local access Channel 12. There’s a bulletin board on which customers advertise their wares and causes.

And, of course, those other places don’t have Tripp. Or her cooking.

So what’s on the menu? The only item that screams Southern is grits. It’s more appropriate to call what Tripp creates home cookin’.

Breakfast is served all day long. The expected sandwiches are available. Then there’s a specials board. On this day, that includes quiche, chicken pie or meatloaf dinners, chili and grilled cheese sandwiches or soup and grilled cheese sandwich. For dessert, there’s pecan and apple pie and a rotating assortment of other treats.

“I got some good advice from a lady that came here, who had a cafe in New York City,” Tripp said. “She told me, ‘Keep your menus simple.'”

So let’s try the chicken pie dinner. It starts with side dishes of tomatoes and cranberry sauce, along with a biscuit. Then comes the main course, a wedge of chicken pie, all meat (“I don’t put vegetables in it, because no one likes the same ones,” Tripp explained), accompanied by saucer-size servings of mashed potatoes and green beans and smothered in gravy. It’s not a portion that the hungriest appetite is going to handle easily, but it’s all stick-to-the-ribs good. How about a lemonade to wash that down?

A couple of plaques on the wall go a long way to explaining Tripp. One says, “Sam’s philosophy: It’s going to happen, there’s nothing you can do about it, so … start each day with a smile and get it over with.”

Like that mythical bar in Boston, Sam’s truly is a place where everybody knows your name. Tripp chats up regulars and semi-regulars, finding out what they’ve been doing, regardless of how long it has been since she has seen them. She has a knack for making people feel at home. She’s everyone’s favorite aunt, the one that can cook and entertain.

Another sign reads, “American by birth, Southerner by the grace of God.” Therein lies a tale.

Originally from Red Springs, N.C., Tripp was a housewife who helped run a marina.

“The employees were always sitting at my table at dinner time, and that’s where I learned to cook,” she said.

Tripp got divorced, and with her adult children on their own, she was ready for a change.

“I wanted to start over and do it my way,” she said.

Tripp came north 20 years ago, with a former beau who owned property in Washington County. That relationship didn’t work out, but she formed a longer-lasting one, with the natives.

“I fell in love with the people,” she said. “They are the most giving and gracious people, who have stuck with me through everything.”

Tripp soon found out that people enjoyed her cooking.

“Because there’s so many people from away who came, many from the Midwest and South,” she said. “That’s all it took was to find out that I made grits and did scratch cooking with local produce. Everything’s cooked right now, and they can watch me cook it.”

Surprisingly, fall is Tripp’s busiest season, when the tourists go home and the regulars come back. (She is aided by servers Jean Bergeron and Helen Smith.)

“That’s when all my college kids come back,” she said. “They like it, because it reminds them of grandmother’s house on the weekend. They’ll bring in the new class, and introduce them. They’re so well-mannered and gracious. Several of my kids have graduated and gotten jobs in the area.”

Agnes Tripp has found herself a new home in Washington County. Now she returns the favor.

“I’ve been blessed with faithful customers and friends, because I’m still in business,” she said.

As you leave, Tripp says, “Y’all come back now, y’hear.”

That’s a safe bet.

Sam’s Cafe is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Cash and local checks accepted. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.