At 414 Madison Avenue in Skowhegan, Maine, there’s a family restaurant that serves some of the best food in the state! It’s called Ken’s and is owned by Randy Dionne and his wife Monique. Ken’s Family Restaurant was originally started by his dad, but the legacy is safe in the hands of Randy and Monique
Randy does much of the cooking, menu-planning, bookwork, and supervises the kitchen, while Monique manages the wait staff, serves as hostess when she can, and performs many other tasks that help make the place a success. Besides her work in the family business, Monique is an avid biker and has for many years taken part in the Trek Across Maine, a 3-day, 175-mile across Maine and has raised thousands of dollars for the American Lung Association of Maine.
Getting back to the Restaurant, home cooking is their specialty, and they do it up right! The menu is varied. You can browse the burgers, sample the seafood, chow down on the chicken, or drool over the desserts. There’s something there for everyone and it’s all good!
On our last visit I had the boneless fried chicken, which is one of their specialties. It comes with coleslaw and fries, but I elected to substitute salad for fries. The kitchen is find with substitutions, and the wait staff go out of their way to accommodate you. The chicken fingers are crisp on the outside, thanks to a nicely seasoned crumb coating, with tender white meat on the inside. The side of coleslaw was very good, and a dollop of cranberry sauce added just the right touch.
My brother decided to try their double cheeseburger. It comes with two patties covered with melted cheese side by side on a sub roll topped with tomato slices and lettuce, with your choice of fries or onion rings. He opted for the onion rings,. Look for those in the accompanying photos, and you can see, he made an excellent choice.
The amazing thing is their fried foods are not the least bit greasy! They are crisp and tasty without a hint of fat. Monique says the secret is they use fresh oil everyday. (whoops, I hope I wasn’t supposed to keep that to myself!)
Hubby went for the broiled haddock, topped with a little butter and breadcrumbs, accompanied by REAL mashed potatoes and turnip. The fish is always fresh and prepared with care. Different vegetable sides depend on what’s in season.
Every time I visit Skowhegan, I have to eat at Ken’s. The visit previous to this, I wanted to keep lunch light, as we had eaten a big breakfast. I ordered the chicken salad plate and was not disappointed. The chicken salad was tasty without an excess of mayonnaise, and it was a generous scoop atop their regular tossed salad with fresh, crisp greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. They also have a delicious fancy fried chicken, which we have taken home with us more than once.
This is fair week in Skowhegan, (August 15-22) and every year, Ken’s has a booth at the Skowhegan State Fair. Those onion rings , boneless fried chicken, and fried clams are popular with the fair goers! If you ever make it to Skowhegan, you absolutely have to stop at Ken’s. It’s heaven for your tummy!
