8492-R1_MSA_September2023

Destination Spotlight - Al By Darlene

(Continued from Cover) ably. Repeat customers, word of mouth, topped with their tradi tional home cooking, daily spe cials all made from scratch and Leitha’s recipes have them lined up at times waiting for a seat and coming back. Two Rivers serves breakfast all day long with menu items such as “The Moosetowner”, loaded omelets, eggs benedict, crepes and their signature butter milk pancakes that are the size of a dinner plate. Their award-win ning burgers are made from fresh ground beef, purchased from a local grocer and are rated one of the best in the state by Down East Magazine. Hand cut French Fries sliced from potatoes purchased at a local farmer’s roadside stand, sizzle in the fryers, drawing them in. Snowmobilers pile through the doors hoping to have arrived in time for their famous Chicken Stew or Fish Chowder which is always a good way to warm up. Recently, Down East Magazine also ran an article about Leitha’s famous Lemon Filled Cookies. It reads like this, “At Two Rivers Lunch, in Allagash, Leitha Kelly has folded tender sugar cookies around dollops of lemon curd ever since opening the diner, in 1976. Before that, her mother made the same cookies. And before that, she says, her mother’s mother proba bly made them, and so on. Kelly’s daughter, Darlene Kelly Dumond, runs Two Rivers now, but Kelly, at 80, still bakes the lemon cook ies, which have devotees ranging from the hunters who come in every fall to stock up before trips into the woods to the woman who moved away to California and had a batch shipped cross-coun try so she could share them with her coworkers. “You realize how important those simple recipes that were carried down from gen eration to generation are,” says Dumond, who learned to cook the diner’s repertoire by watching her mother add a “tad” of this or a “ladleful” of that. “They’re sooth ing and comforting and so good.” Homemade desserts continue to be served using recipes handed down from one generation of All agash ladies to another and Mrs. Kelly who is now approaching 85

proudly bakes their customers favorite array of pies using her mother’s delicate crust recipe. Many customers sign the guest books that have adorned the front counter for years leaving reviews such as, “The best omelet we’ve ever had. We had the loaded omelet three mornings in a row, it is big enough to share.The grilled cheese was perfectly grilled, and the tomato rice soup was the per fect accompaniment to dip the sandwich in. Homemade bread makes for great toast and even better French toast. If you’re in the mood for pancakes you only need one, it’s bigger than the plate and that’s just breakfast.” “It doesn’t get any more homemade than Two Rivers Lunch! Homemade bread and stews to tempt you! They treat you like family there, and make you feel like they’ve known you for years! “This is the place to go if you like to know the history, pres ent time or foretold future of the town of Allagash! Pay close atten tion to those locals that sit at the front booth, they have the best stories! The food is delicious! The ambiance is exactly what you’d expect, and if you’re lucky, you’ll find a sweet treat homemade by one of the beautiful founders of this great establishment; Leitha! Totally worth the trip “up North.” “They were so incredibly nice; they saw that my friends and I were in a tough spot while snow mobiling in the region, and they did everything in their power to try to help us. Can not say enough good things about them!!!” Everyone that finds their way upriver to the little place feels right at home. Folks here remem ber your names; they sit at the “locals” table in the front each morning awaiting the sound of the first sled arriving through the morning powder for with you comes the report of the goings on in the world outside of their forest retreat. Friends are made, tales are told while you unplug and unwind. Mr. Kelly recently remi nisced quoting a remark that was made about the early days when the sledders first started to arrive, “Holy boy, here they come, just a sevener (a local term used for

moving fast) ain’t they.” Everyone would step outside to see them.

to enjoy an up close and personal experience with the dogs and the mushers. The Annual Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby is usually held the last full weekend of January and again another fun weekend on Glazier and Beau lakes that are part of the trail system.

The little restaurant recently added Wi-Fi, a credit card machine and cellular service now reaches Two Rivers Lunch thanks to the help of their friends in Augusta. Two Rivers Lunch is open for breakfast and lunch from 7am to 3pm Wednesday through Sun day, but if snowmobilers arrive at our doorstep after hours, they will find a note directing them to the Kelly family homestead, the Moosetown Riders, and a list of emergency numbers.They leave a door always unlocked so a weary snowmobiler can enter, use the phone in an emergency, grab a drink or even lay their heads down on one of the comfy beds in the attached bunkhouse until a rescue arrives.The motto out here on the last frontier is “You get here, we’ll get you out.” Two Rivers Lunch andTylor Kelly’s Camps ( 207-398 4478) are open year-round with their newly renovated riverfront cabins overlooking the St. John River equipped with full kitchens, bathrooms, Wi-Fi, televisions, propane heat and large parking areas for sled trailers. They are both located directly on ITS 92 and always prepared night or day to help with emergency gas, lodg ing and transportation out.

The family patriarch Tylor Kelly has been collecting Allagash log ging artifacts, memorabilia and antiques most of his life. His dream was to build a museum here in Allagash to showcase his collections. Over the past sev eral years, with the help of fam ily and friends, that dream has come true. Papa and Mama Kel ly’s Museum officially opened the doors so you can now visit it as well. The museum sits next door toTwo Rivers Lunch. As we mentioned earlier the Escourt Trail through to the Cana dian border is once again open thanks to the Moosetown Riders Snowmobile Club making last season the most crossed interna tional border by snowmobiles in the region. Now you can travel ITS 92 to Allagash, have breakfast or lunch atTwo Rivers Lunch, sled to the border entering Canada for food or fuel when it is open and return to stay in one of our many lodging spots that are now open in Allagash year-round. Two Rivers Lunch located at 75 Dickey Rd, Allagash, Maine is the last place to grab a square meal and a round cookie before enter ing the northernmost stretch of the North Maine Woods. The cof fee is always on and the friendly smiles you encounter are FREE! To reach the Kelly’s for trail con ditions, restaurant questions or reservation call Darlene at 207 231-1328 or 207-398-3393 Peace, love and you’ll be Braaap ing in the Gash

This restaurant is also home to the Can-Am International Dog Sled Race, which is a 250-mile race with dog teams arriving in Allagash atTwo Rivers Checkpoint #4 the first weekend of March each year. The team’s layover for a five-hour respite to strategize before departing on to the last leg and finish line in Fort Kent. It is an exciting weekend to be here

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