Jean-Paul at the Fire Pond
Classic French cuisine with Maine regional and contemporary elements. Food comparable to the few other restaurants in this price range that I am familiar with, that is, very good. HOWEVER:
Staff friendly but poorly trained:
I had a wet chair, dirty spoon, an extremely long wait for food, and various lame excuses from both the staff and the chef -- who was schmoozing with customers the WHOLE time. He needs to get a maitre d' and get back in the kitchen; then it will be lovely. Please ignore my ratings as they don't reflect the mixed experience well. Final tip: sit indoors in the evening as there are plenty of mosquitoes.

[added later]
http://www.getawayguides.com/maine/bluehill/dining.htm states that Jean-Paul is a former waiter who took over FirePond in '02 to add evenings in addition to his bistro across the street. So maybe he _should_ be out front, esp. if the servers are still green. But between the delays and the service details we'd rather be comp'd than schmoozed....    [03 Sep 2002 12:32:32]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Crab cakes; chocolate mousse cake.

     ­Eliz