Pine Tree Market

As per Wikipedia (and mirrored by just about any other publication that describes the town of Northeast Harbor): «The village… has long been a quiet enclave of the rich and famous». Feel free to walk down to the harbor a few blocks away to see a marina full of more yachts than working class boats or just check out the main stretch of town and see all the high end art shops and lack of tourist nic-​nacks and pubs to realize what type of area you’re in. Pine Tree Market takes full advantage of this when it comes to their prices but not necessarily their quality. They know that with the exception of a few things you get get at the gas station convenience store across the street there’s really no other place to go in the area for groceries. I don’t remember all the prices but $ 16 for a 6 pack of beer is just the tip of the iceberg here. With prices so high you would think you were in a place like Hawaii where everything needs to be flown in from far away but that’s not the case here. It’s also not the case that they’re using that money to modernize or clean up the place because it’s a very small dated small town New England grocery store, which would normally be charming if they weren’t trying to get $ 7 for a pint of blueberries. On top of the other downsides the service wasn’t all that friendly. Do yourself a favor and if you plan on staying in the Northeast Harbor area for any period of time, get your grocery shopping somewhere on the mainland before making it to your final destination here.

We have been shopping at the Pine Tree Market every summer for the past ten years. While it has always been expensive, the quality, selection, and ambiance made it worthwhile. I am sad to report a serious decline in quality and selection with a serious increase in prices. I was shocked to see a 12 ounce NY sirloin steak priced at $ 45. One could get that cooked to perfection served by a tuxedo-​clad waiter at a top NY steakhouse for the same price. I thought that was an extreme peak of over-​priced, until I spotted the single veal rib chop, a serving size for one person, for $ 48.00. I settled on a vacuum sealed package of Murray’s chicken thighs at a reasonable price, only to discover the next day when I opened the package, that they were spoiled, despite an ok Sell By date. The PTM used to have wonderful local vegetables, but this year there were very few choices of any decent vegetables, local or not, and again, the prices were horrific. This is all a shame because it is a local landmark.

A great old school market in Northeast Harbor. However, the real gem is in the kitchen in the back of the store. Betheny Troyer, a French trained chef not only bakes spectacular fresh baguettes but also develops specialty menu items that change daily. Betheny helped us very last minute with a dinner party for 7. She completely saved the day with a menu of incredible shepherd’s pie, roasted artichokes and the best gazpacho I have ever had in my life. This is the truth. Very reasonably priced.
There are a number of new fancy pants caterers in NE Harbor that are too busy for last minute inquiries. I would take Betheny’s low-​key high-​end cuisine over any of them.