Hattie's has chowder and more to fix you right up

Hattie's Chowder House, a refuge from cold weather, offers a friendly welcome at the door, and hot, creamy lobster stew and clam chowder ready to restore almost anyone's good nature.

The restaurant also serves the most delicious pie around.

The plain dining room is decorated with pots of pachysandra at the windows, which are hung with wooden blinds. Its composite tables are sturdy and metal-backed chairs comfortable, basics that so many spots don't bother to get right.

A small group at the bar talked happily under lighted holiday candy canes. The bartender, Bruce Mayo, who is also the manager, has attracted regulars who congregate here throughout the week. One thing they can count on is a decent glass of Perrin Cotes du Rhone red wine ($6) from the south of France, off the small wine list.

Gritty's and Shipyard ales are offered on tap, and Mayo's cocktails are well-respected.

Opened in Hallowell in 2000 as a small sandwich and salad shop, Hattie's Chowder House expanded in May 2003 into rooms adjacent to its original space. Hattie, also known as Harriet, Schmidt and her husband David had previously run The Weathervane Restaurant (not part of the chain) in Readfield for 17 years.

The move to Hallowell allowed their nephew to buy the restaurant in Readfield. "We wanted to get out of the business and get into marketing our lobster stew. It took us a year to go through the process of getting licensed and the whole nine yards," Schmidt said.

This holiday season the mail order business is going strong. Hattie Schmidt was overseeing the shipment of 75 quarts of lobster stew on the Monday before Christmas, when she spoke to me.

"We decided to open this little sandwich shop to do our lobster stew, and just got right back into it," she said, confessing that she liked the restaurant business.

She attributes its success to consistency. Most of her menu is the same as it was when she ran The Weathervane, which is no longer owned by anyone in her family.

Thick, cheesy Parmesan and artichoke heart dip ($6.99) had the right DNA for winter, full of the tangy flavor of sharp cheese. White bread, toasted and spread with herbed butter, accompanied the dip.

Mild lobster stew ($6.99 for a cup, $12.99 for a bowl) featured a tender, fat claw and other pieces of lobster meat. Its rich broth is infused with a delicate lobster flavor.

Making the lobster stew can't be rushed, Schmidt said. "We've tried doubling batches, but it just doesn't work." She said it takes 3 1/2 hours, from start to finish, to pull out the flavors and the color of the lobsters. "You don't want to boil it – that toughens the lobster meat. You want it tender."

Clam chowder ($3.59) is simple, with a thin broth made with evaporated milk and water. Filled with cubed potatoes, it is made with chopped clams that the restaurant buys frozen. It lacked the briny flavor of some clam chowders made with fresh soft-shelled clams, but was still satisfying.

Spinach salad ($7.99) had the bacon left out for a vegetarian companion – who had little to choose from on the seafood- and meat-filled menu. But this salad with fresh mushrooms, feta, sliced hard-boiled egg and balsamic vinaigrette on the side was fresh, and the spinach leaves were tender.

The small version of the fried seafood platter ($13.99, and $16.99 for a regular portion) held exceptionally delicious scallops, moist and fresh. Small, tender Maine shrimp were another virtue of the assortment, and the clams were perfectly acceptable, but the haddock was tough and a little dry. Crisp ranch fries, house-made spears of fried potato, are an alternative to premade french fries. A cup of coleslaw made another good side.

Haddock with lemon butter ($12.99) and stuffed filet mignon, wrapped in bacon and topped with blue cheese, with mushroom and red wine sauce ($23.99) are two attractive examples from a menu that deserves greater exploration.

Hattie's lobster stew, clam chowder, seafood chowder and haddock chowder are sold on its Web site and by phone. The frozen quarts head out all over the U.S., shipped with regular ice, inside cartons containing Styrofoam inserts (overnight shipping costs $24 and more).

But so far the mail and Web order business doesn't offer the pie – and fruit pies are one of the best things at the restaurant.

Strawberry rhubarb pie and blueberry pie (both $4.59) use a good premade crust, but rely for their excellence on frozen berries and on rhubarb that Hattie Schmidt froze last summer. A deft hand with sugar, and the recipe that Hattie Schmidt's aunt taught her, kept the fruit in the foreground – and the strawberry rhubarb was the better of the two.

Bitter coffee ($1.59) might have been out of a pot that sat on the heat for too long.

N.L. English is a Portland freelance writer and the author of "Chow Maine: The Best Restaurants, Cafes, Lobster Shacks and Markets on the Coast." Visit English's Web site, www.chowmaineguide.com.

Hattie's Chowder House