The Maine Restaurant That Only Accepts Reservations Via Postcard

To say Erin French has a pretty impressive postcard collection would be an understatement. The owner of and chef at The Lost Kitchen, an acclaimed restaurant in rural Maine that seats about 50, estimates that she now receives 60,000 a year from writers located around the world, and she keeps each and every one of those illustrated notes. But why are people from as far away as Malaysia and Hong Kong inundating French via the tiny town's post office? They're all seeking a coveted spot at one of The Lost Kitchen's farm-to-table meals, which you can only secure by penning a request on a postcard and sending it off in the mail.

French launched The Lost Kitchen in her hometown of Freedom, Maine (population: barely breaking 700) in 2014 following a life eruption: a divorce, the loss of a previous restaurant during that split, and other personal struggles, which she documented in the 2021 memoir "Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking Life From Scratch." It was, ironically, in The Lost Kitchen where she found her footing again. The restaurant, located in a 1800s-era gristmill tucked into the woods, was initially a well-kept secret among Mainers, reaching culinary celebrity status three seasons in. It was then that a nonstop frenzy of phone calls from would-be diners inquiring about reservations prompted French to, surprisingly, not lurch into the 21st century by taking bookings online; instead, she embraced an older form of communication: snail mail.

In Freedom, April is akin to December at the North Pole. A flurry of postcards have arrived at the restaurant expressing hopes and wishes — not for toys, but seats at the table. French and her staff spend the month picking at random and calling each lucky lottery winner to secure a date (The Lost Kitchen typically operates between May and October). Non-selected cards are retained in case a party cancels, but French saves them all. They are vibrant slivers of the authors' personalities.

Prepare to settle in for the evening should you ever win the drawing. Dinner is a marathon, running five hours in length with some 14 courses, but it will never feel like a slog. Everything from bluefin tuna to peaches used with a shortcake could be served, though guests don't necessarily expect those dishes. The menu changes nightly — a custom that bucks most restaurant kitchens' customs.

If you're an ambitious diner with the goal of eating at the country's hardest-to-get-into restaurants, there are resources you can consult. They include a website where users can buy and sell reservations as well as tips on how to snag a chair at Los Angeles' hottest establishments. Should you ever need to call off a booking, though, always be sure to let the restaurant know in advance (ghosting comes with some pretty harsh penalties). In the case of cancellations at The Lost Kitchen, diners just need to have a pen, postcard, and a stamp at the ready.