THE VAULT
The Isolation Blues;
reflections during covid-19
Today’s post is another casual food review of one of my favorite restaurants in downtown Houlton, The Vault Restaurant owned by David and Kristen Wells. The decor and menu both have a dual west coast-east coast influence, which makes sense since the chef is from the San Fransisco Bay area. And of course, the bank vault itself is the defining feature of the space providing a memorable and unique dining experience. In most food reviews you don’t find mention of background music, but for me, this is one of The Vault’s special offerings, jazz while you dine. Besides being a darn good chef, David is also a professional saxophonist. You will find a great art collection of classic jazz albums on the wall in the back bar area. It’s always cool to hear a song from one of the albums hanging on the wall playing on the sound system.
I’d like to start out by saying The Vault Burger is the best burger I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve consumed a lot of burgers over the years). What sets it apart is Dave’s original sweet onion-bacon jam, the best condiment I’ve ever tasted in my life. You don’t need to order bacon on this burger, there’s already enough in the condiment. I must confess I have a reputation at The Vault for ordering extra “sweet onion-bacon jam” and now they just automatically load it on. Recently, I’ve even started to add a bit of Dijon mustard to compliment it. Another one of The Vault’s signature offerings is their veggie slaw flavored with honey and lime. It is a standout. Linda and I have tried to sample most of the menu over the past two years including Pad Thai, Lobster Alfredo, Fettuccini Alfredo with Sea Scallops and Shrimp and Asian Pear-Ginger Glazed Salmon. Our favorite appetizer is Bagna Cauda, the Vault’s spin on a traditional Italian warm roasted garlic dip; whole spreadable roasted garlic cloves in a warm bath of olive oil, butter, and hint of anchovy. It is creatively served on your table in a cast iron warming dish with warm ciabatta bread for dipping.
Last week we went to The Vault and Linda ordered one of the newer entrees on the menu, a half rack of St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Ribs with garlic mash potatoes and green beans with sesame seeds. The meat was so tender it almost fell off the bone and into your mouth. The flavor was robust and rich. Linda gave me a one-rib sample, but next time I think I need to get a full order of half-rack for myself (see photo below). For my meal I had the street tacos carnitas, which is actually an appetizer but you can make it into an entree with the addition of savory jasmine rice, chipotle black beans and honey-lime veggie slaw. I’ve ordered these several times and I always get the soft taco flour tortilla with fire roasted tomato salsa and a side of guacamole. Ever since I watched a Netflix show recently on street tacos I can’t get enough of these! And for dessert, our favorite finisher are the cinnamon sugared churros with dulce de leche, salted chocolate and vanilla whipped cream dipping sauces. Mmmmmm…The Backwoods Blog gives The Vault 5 stars out of 5 stars.
The Vault also features a rotating variety of Maine brewed craft beers with 3 taps for draft. This week’s selections are Night Nurse Stout from Fogtown Brewery in Ellsworth, Double Dad Pants an IPA from Cushion Brewing Company in Augusta and Swish, a New England IPA from Bissell Brothers in Milo and Portland. I ordered the stout from Fogtown Brewery and was not disappointed. It was full flavor and so dark I couldn’t see the bottom of my glass. Since Dave said Swish was his favorite brew thus far (and since it was currently on tap) I figured I better sample that too. It was clean, crisp with a nice citrusy edge, and even tho it packed an 8%ABV it didn’t hit too hard. And for me, if there’s some jazz playing in the background, the beer is even better. I also like to think that supporting local businesses of all varieties makes our life better in so many ways. As you are shopping for the holidays and celebrating the season remember to shop local and support local.
At The Vault,
Dave
December 17, 2021
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Thanks to this backwoods blog post, we could think of nothing but pork carnitas – had to go to the Vault same day to try them!