Feasting on wood-fired pizza on a summer night at Tinder Hearth has been near the top of our restaurant bucket list for ages, but the drive to Brooksville is just far enough that a day trip never seemed quite doable. This summer, however, we made a point to time our visit to Brooksville to see our friends from North Carolina with Tinder Hearth’s hours, which resulted in one of the most memorable evenings of our entire summer!

The relaxed atmosphere of Tinder Hearth, with its winding paths to hidden picnic tables and happy diners drinking wine from water glasses, is all part of the restaurant’s charm and certainly adds to the overall experience, but don’t let the idyllic setting distract you from the outstanding pizza. Together, we all sampled each of the night’s three pizzas – the meat, the cheese, and the veggie – and none of us, even the little ones, could settle on a favorite while devouring all three pies.

As if an evening spent outside with good friends, delicious pizza, and free flowing wine wasn’t enough, we topped it off with a pair of Tinder Hearth’s homemade chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. It didn’t take long for us to decide that a meal at Tinder Hearth would be a mandatory summer requirement going forward – especially since we have such a perfect excuse to visit Brooksville each summer when the Terhune family comes to Maine.

Photos by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.