If you’re reading this right now, congratulations! You’ve made it! We are alive on planet Earth in the year 2025. It is January. In MidCoast Maine it is frigidly cold. It is still getting dark very early, but having passed the winter solstice the days are incrementally longer. There is a subtle shift in the light and the sense of renewal is, for some, setting in. On December 31st, at the stroke of midnight, we drove out the old year and welcomed the new. Some of us made resolutions. Many looked back at what we listened to, accomplished, ate, where we traveled, who we were, in order to get a sense of who we are becoming. The year ahead is all promise at this point. What will it bring? What will be popular? Anything could happen! We have been studying the trends in our industry across the cultural landscape. It’s fascinating to try to predict what foods and drink will catch the zeitgeist. Are you ready for new ideas, meals, music, destinations, ways of being? Here’s what we are looking forward to and watching out for in the twelve months ahead. The journey is happening now. Our MidCoast Maine inn is the jumping off point. Won’t you join us?
Sweets
According to a number of sources, including The New York Times, desserts will take inspiration from The Middle East this year. The brand marketing firm Carbonate is predicting that kataifi, shredded phyllo dough, a key component in baklava, is the ingredient everyone will know soon enough. All sorts of elaborate, decadent pastry creations can be built from simplest start. Another Middle Eastern delicacy that is peaking in popularity is the pistachio. Pistachios are grown in dry, hot climates, such as Greece, Turkey, Iran, and Southern California. They are being concocted in cocktails and added to chocolate, infused into ice cream and ground into butter. If you are looking to improve your health this year, consider including the beneficial protein of these nutritious little nuts which help gut health and can manage blood sugar highs and lows. They are rich in antioxidants, which reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Adding a handful of pistachios to your diet is a good idea whether you are leaning into pleasure or physical perfection. We are blessed with a pastry chef who knows her way around this workhorse ingredient. Margaret Cifti has steeped herself in knowledge from the Turkish baking tradition and loves making cold baklava, interesting ice cream, and vegan sweets that will please the entire crowd, with pistachios on top!
Sauces
Dipping sauces have been having a moment for at least the last year, or possibly forever. Who doesn't love a variety of condiments for dunking fries, nuggets, mozzarella sticks, and other hors d'oeuvres and appetizers? Fast food chains with viral popularity promoted by social media like Raising Cains and Chipotle are selling savory sauces the kids crave and love to post on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. The Japanese mayonnaise brand Kewpie has applications far beyond Japanese cuisine these days. And more international food favorites are being incorporated into fast casual restaurants and high end dining democratically, so everyone can discover new combos and complements. Romesco, harissa, tzatziki, and toum are flavor packed condiments you ought to know. Romesco is from Spain and contains roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, and garlic. Harissa is a North African spice blend that is smoky with a sweet pepper mild heat. Greek tzatziki is strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and herbs. Toum from Lebanon is a creamy garlicky spread that is seriously addictive. The Causeway has featured many of these during our Winter Passport Series Dinners when international cuisine takes center stage in Spruce Head. If you attend one of The Craignair Gallery's openings, with free flowing wine and a party atmosphere, you will definitely get to try these saucy little umami bombs that add texture and flavor to cocktail hour.
Sips
With the latest warnings from the U.S. Surgeon General, we have to wonder - is drinking going out of fashion? In short, no. Everything in moderation, as the ancient Greeks advise. We drink not to become intoxicated but to appreciate, to taste, to experience, to savor. From the Maine beer being brewed all over our state to the vivid fermentation of grapes into wine, to the subtle art of alcohol distillation there is art to the process and beautiful humanity in the history. Not to mention, gathering. If there is one trend we saw predicted again and again in our reading it was that everyone is looking for more connection. Confronting loneliness and isolation for all Americans, from teens to elders is an important issue. We can address the issue directly and hospitably as hosts, innkeepers, and restaurateurs. We invite you in. Join us. Bring your family. Meet your friends. Get together with fellow enthusiasts, like-minded neighbors, kindred spirits. Find something in common. Delve into discussion. We love to facilitate dates, dinners, and parties of all kinds. Our selection is well-curated. And our list of non-alcoholic drinks is robust. Whether you want to sip a Seedlip mocktail looking at the ocean or crack open a genuinely delicious N/A beer with your burger, we have fantastic imbibing options at The Causeway.
Simple Seafood
The cuisine of the year, according to the San Francisco based brand marketing firm Carbonate is simple seafood. Nothing ostentatious. No Gilded Age or Regan ‘80’s baroque oysters Rockefeller or fish drowning in French cream sauce. Eat seafood that is local, which is always best for the environment and for taste. Think bellying up to an outdoor raw bar or that roadside fish taco you had somewhere in Baja when you were young and free. Using your bare hands to crack open a lobster tail or clam shell. It's carnal, visceral, a tactile physical experience. When fish is so fresh it needs little elaboration. A squeeze of lemon. A hit of hot sauce. A drizzle of caper tarter. At The Causeway weekly Sunday brunch we are serving a perfect haddock sandwich. Crackling batter fried and flaky white fish on a soft brioche bun with crisp lettuce and juicy tomato. Oysters on the half shell are always on the dinner menu. There are numerous oyster farms on the MidCoast peninsula near Rockland, Maine where we live that provide gorgeous bivalves to our seaside restaurant. Aquaculture is vital here. Greg, one of the owners and Gil, the Executive Chef both go out on the water on days they aren’t in the kitchen, behind the bar, or at the host stand. Oysters are sustainable, communal, and a delight for all the senses. Couldn't be simpler. Dive in!
GET WILD in 2025
The tastemakers and culture oracles are calling for more togetherness, more parties, more authentic connection this year, and we are here for it! Let The Causeway be your third place on the St. George Peninsula. We have all the necessary accoutrements from cozy chairs, a crackling wood fire, a fine bar with top shelf liquor, world class farm to table food coming from the kitchen, sandy beaches, books, games, art, live music, and local wine and beer. You can be yourself and dress up, or let your hair down. Come as you are, or show up in costume for one of our monthly dinner party events. Discover something new or order your favorite dish for the thousandth time. Meet up with family and make new friends. We’re always up for a wild swim in the freezing ocean, or staying up late to watch the stars, or if we’re lucky the northern lights. The Aurora Borealis has been putting on quite a light show lately. Nature is never closer or more immediate than when you are here. The ocean is our backyard and the woods are walking trails all around. Meet the neighbors, who might be pet ponies or wild deer or an artist with a fascinating back story. Float in the sea. Nap under a fan. Bring your dogs to Clark Island, where they can run free. You just never know what you are going to find in Spruce Head, Maine. But we assure you, it is going to be astonishing and beautiful. It's time to get wild!
No matter what you anticipate from this year, it’s always good to prepare for the unexpected. You can look back to aggregate trends, extrapolate and use data, research what flew and what flopped, but there is always the element of surprise waiting to enter the chat. The x factor, the next major unknown global event, the smallest butterfly’s wings that will have chaotic, wide-ranging implications. It’s fun to make predictions and watch as they come true. Or follow the trendsetters who discard an idea in an offhand fashion which will trickle down to the teens at the mall before you can say Lululemon. More than anything, we are looking forward to new flavors and old friends, luxuriating in traditions, in the things we know we love, and taking risks on vacations, destinations, foreign cities, or adventures in our own backyard. We want to be experience everything, to travel near and far, to stay home, to go out, to cook, to eat, to engage in good conversations over great drinks, to dance in the kitchen and under the stars. Cheers to a new year together in Spruce Head! Book your Maine vacation at a cozy coastal bed and breakfast straight away! Time flies when we're having fun!