This Maine Restaurant’s Menu Includes Camel, Rabbit and More

If your idea of winter comfort food is a burger, some goulash and maybe a little camel, Poland Spring Resort has you covered.

Yes — camel.

Mel’s Hilltop Restaurant at Poland Spring Resort is staying open year-round again after trying winter dining for the first time in about 50 years last season. And Executive Chef Robert Gushue is having some fun with the menu.

Along with smash burgers and more familiar favorites, Gushue has experimented with wild game burgers featuring camel, rabbit, venison and lamb.

And apparently, the camel was a hit.

According to an article in the Kennebec Journal, Gushue says the meat is lower in fat than beef and high in protein, though availability can change depending on what he’s featuring at the time.

The unusual offerings don’t stop there. The menu has also included a Bavarian pretzel charcuterie, pork blanquette, and plans for colder-weather dishes like pork shank and Hungarian goulash with dumplings.

Owner Cyndi Robbins brought Gushue aboard last year as part of an effort to keep Mel’s open through the winter, and the experiment proved popular enough to continue.

The restaurant also became a winter hangout with game nights, and some evenings were reportedly busy enough that customers had to be turned away.

Snowmobilers may also be able to ride directly to the restaurant again this winter thanks to a nearby trail connection, while Nordic skiing on the resort’s groomed golf course trails is open to the public for free the KJ explained.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to finish a day of skiing or snowmobiling with a camel burger in Poland, Maine, apparently this is your chance.