After four years, Abby Miner has hit a stride with her eponymous restaurant at the Brewer Dauntless Marina in Essex. Thanks to a cohesive staff, a streamlined menu and good organization, she says it’s been a successful summer at her restaurant with an enviable river view.
The Waterford native formed a strong relationship with food and cooking early, growing up on a farm where her family grew pesticide-free produce and “canned everything,” she said. Learning the tenets of farm-to-table cooking well before it was trendy, she took that knowledge and appreciation with her to restaurant jobs throughout her adult life.
Miner had been running a catering business for 13 years at the Essex Corinthian Yacht Club when she heard that the former Crow’s Nest space at the Brewer Dauntless Marina was available and seized the opportunity to make it her own.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could have a successful restaurant,” she said.
Since opening in August 2011, Abby’s Place has earned a following of regulars and seasonal visitors alike for its breakfasts and lunches, along with summer-season dinners during the peak warm months.
The chef-owner describes her restaurant’s menu as “healthy, classic American cuisine.” Breakfast (entrees priced at $8.75 to $15) begins with lighter fare like muffins or fresh fruit parfaits and yogurt. House specialties include orange-infused French toast; bagels with Scottish smoked salmon; an omelette with marinated tomatoes, basil pesto and feta; and “fluffy puffy” pancakes, leavened with a little extra baking soda.
Lunch features Abby’s signature clam chowder, its “almost-famous” market-priced hot lobster roll with claw and knuckle meat sauteed in clarified butter, and a variety of fresh salads: arugula, watermelon and feta with or without shrimp, pecan with goat cheese, and cherries, walnuts and cranberries with gorgonzola. A colorful antipasti plate offers herb-marinated tomatoes, Genoa salami, fresh mozzarella drizzled with pesto, marinated artichoke heart and olives. Sandwiches, wraps and burgers are also popular, with house-roasted turkey breast, pastrami, batter-fried cod and crabmeat salad. Items range from $5 to $14.
Abby’s capitalizes on the busy summer months by offering dinner Wednesday through Saturday nights, available Memorial Day through Labor Day. Entrees ($19 to $27) rotate frequently, but beer-battered fish and chips and indulgent lobster macaroni and cheese with cavatappi pasta are mainstays. Pastas and chicken dishes are common, and a recent special of pan-seared salmon fillet was brightened with a mango, papaya and pear relish and steamed asparagus. Seasonal vegetables like zucchini and corn are often sourced from Miner’s family’s farm, she said. Guests have been enjoying their meals with bottled beers, wines and signature cocktails featuring rum, gin, vodka, tequila and local liqueurs.
The restaurant maximizes its water view, seating up to 60 people on its inviting outdoor deck shaded by umbrellas. Inside, an abundance of natural light showcases the dining room’s cheerful décor, done in hues of turquoise and lime with nautical accents on the walls and glittery green dragonflies attached to the room’s support columns. Blue, green and silver Christmas ornaments hang from the drop ceiling, matching the corresponding checkerboard floor, and table vases full of bright zinnias pop with color.
Miner said her clientele is a mix of visitors to Essex — families visiting the Steam Train and the Connecticut River Museum, or Griswold Inn guests looking for hearty breakfast dishes — and locals who are year-round regulars, particularly residents of the nearby Essex Meadows retirement community. Abby’s Place is also family-friendly, with children’s meals offering fresh fruit, Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and Wikki-Stix craft toys.
In the midst of the fourth full summer season at Abby’s Place, Miner says her “heart and soul” are fully invested in the restaurant bearing her name.
“I have always wanted to have my own place,” she said. “I don’t have a partner, and I don’t want one. Ultimately, if I fail, if I succeed, it’s me.”
>>Abby’s Place, Pratt Street in Essex, is open Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday night features a DJ from 5 to 9 p.m. Hours will change after Labor Day. 860-767-0560, abbysplacect.com.
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