From Staten Island Advance , July 10, 2002

Just like a fairytale by Jane Milza
Search leads to couple's own romantic setting
Wake to a picturesque New England landscape, anchored by an azure blue, cloudless sky, quiet country roads and enchanting villages sloping down to the Maine coastline. For an overnight visitor to the Youngtown Inn in Lincolnville, Me., the world suddenly is transformed to a fairyland setting, free of terrorist threats and everyday cares. Manuel and MaryAnn Mercier must have had that in mind during the past decade as they meticulously retrieved elements from the past to create their welcoming inn. The restored bed and breakfast - tucked into the Camden Hills, yet five minutes from the seashore - celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Growing up on Staten Island's South Shore probably influenced the former Maryann Dooley's ambition to find - with her French chef husband - a peaceful country setting for their inn and French restaurant, a place where the couple could work together and raise a family. From the six charming guest rooms, made comfortable with period furnishings and adjoining private baths, to the dining room's classic French menu, the 1810 farmhouse reflects the couple's dedication to a romantic adventure. It's the idyllic setting, the Merciers agree, the perfect place for raising their three sons, Matthew 10; Maxwell, 8, and Morgan, 3."ln my husband's family, all the names begin with 'M,' so I thought I should continue the tradition," said the innkeeper.
"Maine is perfect," Mrs. Mercier has decided, but she still has several reservations: "There's no Pastosa ravioli, no Denini's pizza and no Ralph's ices."
Laughing at her own memories, the Tottenville High School graduate - her class celebrates its 20th anniversary reunion this year - admits now that she recalls still another unfulfilled dream linked with growing up on Staten Island. "I was born the year the Verrazano Bridge was built, and I always wanted to be Miss Verrazano - but that never happened," she said.
The inn's charming venue isn't the only fairytale side to the couple's lifestyle.
Their boy-meets-girl story starts out like a romance novel. The young MaryAnn was just out of high school and commuting daily on the Staten Island Ferry from the Great Kills home she shared with her parents, Bill and Marilyn Dooley, to her job in Manhattan with Autranet,Inc., a subsidiary of Donaldson, Lufin and Jenrette. In the next nine years, she rose to be vice president, responsible for selling U.S. bonds.
"I decided to take a cruise on the Baltic (Sea) with with some of my friends," Mrs. Mercier recalled. "We cruised through Turkey, and that's when I met Manuel. He was one of the chefs on the ship."
When the ship reached port, Mercier returned to his native Paris, but soon accepted the post of private chef for the Wildenstein Gallery in Manhattan. The couple married 11 months later.
As an executive chef on Ocean Cruise Lines, tour'ing through the Baltic states out of Copenhagen, Mercier already had worked under talented chefs all over Europe - from restaurants in Germany and Switzerland to England where he enhanced his training with a stint at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
The chef's story had its own twist, however. At 16, he was vacationing with his parents in Cannes, in the south of France, when he decided to take a summer job at the popular Majestic Hotel. Fascinated with the culinary experience, young Manuel stayed on to begin a chef's apprenticeship in Cannes and a career that eventually would bring him to New England, and U.S. citizenship on May 16. "Our son, Matthew, urged him to do it," said Mrs. Mercier.
The Youngtown Inn's 70-seat French restaurant - with its upscale, yet modestly priced menu - is as popular with local residents as the inn is with tourists. Wide-planked pumpkin pine flooring, multi-paned windows and Windsor chairs tucked into intimate table settings provide an attractive site for dining. The menu draws on the chef's classic French training, offering daily seasonal specials and a price-fixed dinner for $38 as well as a la carte choices. A wine list of French and California wines complements the chef's traditional French cooking.
"The menu emphasizes local products," Mercier' explained, with the hint of a French accent. "One guy brings me baby chickens; goat cheese we buy from a lady who makes it at Appleton Creamery up the road. Seafood from the coast, like tuna and halibut, is for the sushi."
In keeping with Maine's abundance of seafood along with regional specialties the menu often contains such appetizer favorites as Lobster Ravioli, Mesclun Salad with Appleton Creamery Goat Cheese, Native Clams Casino and traditional Burgundy Snails in their Shells. For entrees, diners might find on the menu Ducktrap Salmon Fillet with Potato Crust and Citrus Butter Sauce, Fillet of Sole with Crabmeat and Saffron Sauce or Grilled Black Angus Fillet Mignon with Green Peppercorn and Brandy.
"We spent two years, looking up and down the East Coast for just the right place," said Mrs. Mercier. They found it half way between Boothbay and Bar Harbor, Maine, in a former farmhouse sited on six acres that served as a poultry and dairy farm for seven generations of the Young family.
It's the perfect vacationing spot, said the Merciers, for exploring the midcoast of Maine, taking ferry rides to nearby islands, swimming, boating, visiting the area's quaint shops, the Nature Conservancy and concerts at the Opera House as well as the Lobster Festival in nearby Rockport. In winter, the Camden Snow Bowl is a major attraction.
The collectibles now gracing the guest rooms - dotted with fireplaces and balconies as well as sleigh and queen-size canopied beds - were collected on a piecemeal basis. The second-floor "Common Room" invites visitors to browse through leather-bound books, and a soak up local lore or test out the board games squirreled into a niche beside the fireplace - all this, while sipping complimentary cups of coffee.
"We're always looking for new things," said the innkeeper. "My father made some of the knickknacks we have, and my mother gave me these," she said, indicating the huge ring of 'innkeepers' keys hanging near the massive front door.
Although he's modest about it, Manuel Mercier has done much of the restoration work himself. As clever with a hammer and saw as he is in the kitchen, he installed or refurbished many of the inn's seven fireplaces, turned hsi hand to artistic stencilling and, more recentyl, installed decorative tiles on the kitchen walls. In the end, the interior of the Federal-style, white clapboard building has taken on a French country look.
"It's nothing," the chef says, when asked about his hidden talents. His wife is more generous in her compliments: " He does everything; it's his estate."
Three years ago, Mercier and a sous chef planted 400 grapevines, the beginnings of what the innkeeper hopes will be a full-fledged vineyard one day. "The grapevines are hybrids from Virginia. We hope they'll give us nice table wine for the restaurant," he said.
"When we came here, we had huge chicken barns on the property which were an eyesore, but we had to focus on keeping the restaurant going at first," Mrs. Mercier explained. With time on their side, the couple has since landscaped the property and refurbished the former barns, creating a banquet facility to accomodate 140 guests. Some couples fly into Boston from distant cities, finding it less expensive to be married in rural, picturesque Maine than in their home cities, she noted.
While Mrs. Mercier's sister, Karen Micelli, still lives in Great Kills, her parents divide their time between summering on Staten Island and winters in Spring Hill, Florida. "They usually get a chance to come here to see us sometime during the summer. We look forward to it," said the former Staten Islander.
While the restaurant remains a favorite with local residents most of the year, overnight guests reach it via Route I-95, driving up through coastal Maine. The Youngtown Inn is located on the corner of Route 52 and the Youngtown Road in Lincolnville, 425 miles north of New York City.
Memorial Day to October 30 is considered the high season for rooms with private baths, or suites for families. Room rates range from $110 to $150 in season, and $99 to $140 in off-season. Would-be visitors anxious to know more about the Merciers' 1810 venue, can call (800) 291-8438, or visit the Web site at www.youngtowninn.com.