In the kitchen last Thursday, staff member Ann Nuesse spoke Japanese with Keiko while pulling ingredients from a row of Tupperware containers filled with spinach, asparagus, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and kampyo, a sweet gourd. The Camden native, who worked as a potter's apprentice in Japan, deftly wrapped a narrow strap of dark green, paper-thin seaweed around a plump chunk of smoked salmon, filling an order clipped to a shelf with a wooden clothespin. Another vat held the foundation of all sushi, cooked rice mixed with sweetened vinegar. The taste of the raw materials is used to the fullest. The Bigelows have been delighted to draw a diverse crowd, from Vinalhaven lobstermen to Camden cardiologists.
Good food makes people happy.
Last Thursday, a woman wandered in with her son to check out the menu. Bento while using a nearby public parking lot. It's a charming little place. The food is healthy and interesting, and it's different from any other food in the area. Bento in part because it is, for now, uncrowded, and she can eat lunch with her paperwork from the office spread across a large table.