March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Eat-A-Pita serves up a pocketful> Southwest Harbor eatery features gourmet fare

If the old saying “you are what you eat” is accurate, then people dining at Eat-A-Pita value food that is healthy and pleasing to the eye.

As subjects to Chef Marc Grudzielski’s follies at this Southwest Harbor restaurant, customers enjoy a generous taste of creative gourmet fare that’s arranged artfully on a plate with fresh herbs and a sauce that’s light and delicious.

“People are tired of crappy food,” says the 40-year-old Belgium-born chef, who, in his first season at Eat-A-Pita, is attracting a steady flow of customers. “Healthful food is sweeping the country. People are starting to look for places where they can eat well.”

Among Grudzielski’s signature dishes are roasted half duckling with raspberry coulis sauce; poached Atlantic salmon encrusted in black and white sesame seeds, with stewed ginger and cucumber; and boneless lamb loin dressed with rhubarb and onion chutney.

Eat-A-Pita’s name is deceiving for the Main Street restaurant that got its start six years ago serving up pita pockets in a tiny shop in Bar Harbor. The eatery now features breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“It’ll take the whole summer to eat my way through the menu,” one customer marvels, viewing the extensive menu before deciding to order a strawberry smoothie and a pita jammed with curried tofu, red onion, carrot, parsley and fresh garlic.

“You get these huge, gobbley things that you need two hands to eat with. It’s tricky to figure out how you’re supposed to eat it,” Donna Denis says, watching her friend contort his fingers to embrace a pita filled with marinated chicken and honey mustard sauce.

This year, it is Grudzielski’s culinary creations that have people flocking at night to Eat-A-Pita, where they can dine on gourmet food at affordable prices in a casual setting.

Inside, antique school chairs are tucked into hand-painted tables. The booths are decorated with stenciled vegetables. Dried flowers and baskets hang from the ceiling. Old French bread oven paddles, stained glass parlor doors from Europe and an assortment of eye-catching artwork covers the walls.

Outside, there are tables with umbrellas and comfortable chairs. The restaurant seats up to 54 people.

“People get what’s comparable to four-star dining without the expense or the dress code,” the chef says, taking time out from preparing his evening’s offerings.

Born in Verviers, Belgium, Grudzielski’s roots lie in culinary arts. At an early age, he helped in the kitchen of his parents’ 10-table restaurant. Later, he studied cooking and painting at university. He learned a lot of different styles of regional cooking by traveling throughout Europe.

Over a decade ago, Grudzielski moved to the United States, working in restaurants in Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. Six years ago, he took a position in Bar Harbor and then opened his own restaurant in Trenton before joining the Woodwards in Southwest Harbor.

Nancy Woodward co-owns Eat-A-Pita with her husband, Ron.

“The most unusual thing about Marc is that he is a great chef, supernice guy who has a wonderful sense of humor,” she says. “That’s unheard of in this industry. Most chefs kind of have an attitude.”

No matter what kitchen he works in, Grudzielski remains a strong advocate of flavoring food without overpowering its natural taste, keeping it light and healthful, and making it look as good as it tastes.

“One of the most important things in cooking is to respect the food,” he says. “A lot of cooks are killing all the nutrients out of food because they cook it too long at a high temperature. Others drown out the taste by adding heavy sauces.”

“I say to those who work in the kitchen, `Treat your food like you treat your parents — with a lot of respect,”‘ he says earnestly.


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