MA to ME

[birder53]

I studied the New England forum to get my vacation dining plans in place. Daniel's travels and dining were truly inspirational and daunting. How does he manage to eat like that?? We spent four nights in Portland and four nights in Bar Harbor, with a few stops along the way.

We started off from central NJ the morning of Saturday, 9/24. The plan was to have great lobster, lobster rolls, fried clams and chowdah over the next 10 days. We got to Joe & Lenny's Fish Tale in Madison, CT prior to opening. No problem, we meandered along Rt. 1 to their Westbrook location in time for their opening. We ordered 1 lobster roll and one order of fried whole clams. Great stuff! Next stop was Johnny Ad's in Old Saybrook. We ordered the fried clams here and thought they were better than Joe & Lenny's. They were actually our favorite clams of the whole trip! At this point we realize we cannot eat the fries that come with the clams if we are to survive!

Our destination for that day was Boston to meet up with a nephew who attends school there. After taking us on a walking tour of the city we ended up by Quincy Market around dinner time. Nephew suggested the oldest oyster house in Boston since we like oysters, but it didn't look very appealing. We headed off to the north end without a clue other than nephew saying you cannot get a bad meal here. At this point we were tired and hungry. Stopped to look at the menu at one place when a young woman came out to show us the new fall menu they had just put in place that day. They menu looked wonderful, but I had to wonder about a place where they ambush potential customers in the street. Anyway, we went in and had a truly wonderful meal at Bacco on Salem Street. An appetizer of roasted pears with paper thin prosciutto, gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar was wonderful. Entrees uncluded a perfectly cooked veal chop and an excellent sea bass. Good Negroni before dinner and good espresso after.

On Sunday we headed from Salem, MA to Portland, ME. Lunch on the way at Woodman's of Essex of fried clam strips (hubby decided he didn't care the for clam bellies!) and a lobster roll. That lobster roll was one of the best of the trip! The clams were good, but not as good as Johnny Ad's. Dinner in Portland at Cinque Terre. Good Negroni and Manhattan from the bar. The oyster appetizer was outstanding! Damariscotta oysters with a mignonette of diced granny smith apples and white balsamic vinegar. Entrees of grilled tuna and branzino were good, but not as inspired as the oysters. Good espressos.

We spent a rainy Monday at the Portland Art Museum, which is a wonderful place. They have a very good cafe with some interesting salads, wraps and soups. The Rockwell Kent exhibit was pretty amazing. Next stop was the Portland Public Market. I don't know if it was just the hour (@2:30) but there wasn't very much to be had there. I was expecting something similar to the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia or the Pike Place Market in Seattle. It is teeny tiny compared to these. Dinner at DuckFat. Casual but amazing. We had pulled pork and duck confit panini along with those incredible fries. Two dipping sauces - garlic aioli and horseradish mayo. We split on the favorite sauce but those fries were the best we have ever had. Tried the homemade gingerbrew - nice!

Tried Becky's for breakfast on Tuesday. Lots of atmosphere, decent coffee but my mushroom omelet was loaded with slimy canned mushrooms. Lunch at Two Lights Lobster Shack. I know this place has lots of fans, but these were the worst lobster rolls of the trip. The lobster meat was bland, not sweet. Oh well... Our luck continued at dinner at Mims Brasserie. Two of the worst cocktails we have ever had. (And the cocktail list looked so promising!) My $11 Sidecar made with Remy Martin tasted of nothing but juice. Hubby had something called a Foghorn ($8) which was also mostly juice. Well, we came here for oysters as we were told they had a good selection here. A half dozen of gay islands, winterpoints and island creeks were fresh didn't seem cold enough. The accompanying cocktail sauce and horseradish were pedestrian after the wonderful mignonette at Cinque Terre. Another appetizer of warm goat cheese was tiny and boring. Entrees of Halibut, Scallops and a side of scalloped potatoes did not make up for the poor beginning. Service was lacking here as well. We skipped coffee and dessert and looked forward to the next day and better luck.

Wednesday we headed to Freeport, ME for a little shopping and another loster roll. We did very well at Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster. The wait for our food seemed too long, but we were well rewarded with excellent crab and lobster rolls. We started to forget last night at Mim's! Dinner at the Old Port Sea Grill. (We did consider Hugo's, but hubby didn't care for the menu. It was a bit too ecletic as far as he was concerned.) We ate in the bar area (no waiting!) and enjoyed icy cold oysters and good entrees of shrimp and halibut. It wasn't memorable, but it continued our recovery from Mim's.

Thursday we headed toward Port Clyde. Dinner that evening was at Primo in Rockland. Outstanding - everything from the beautiful grounds and building to the excellent service and food! The cocktail service lived up to the drink list here. A negroni and manhattan were well made. Appetizers of roast beet and duck confit salad with apples, toasted hazelnuts and gorgonzola (this for the man who found Hugo's menu intimidating!) as well as the oysters three ways(roasted, fried and raw) were amazing. Entrees of wolffish and pork saltimbocca were as good as the appetizers. Desserts were amazing! Hubby sat with a bowl filled with cinnamon sugar coated zeppoles which he refused to share. My pecan pie with a side shooter of bourbon was truly decadent.

Somewhere in here we stopped at Red's for a lobster roll. Only two people ahead of me in line! Great lobster roll. Not my favorite, which might actually be the one I had at Woodman's, but the lobster meat was sweet as could be.

Saturday - Trenton Bridge Lobster for our first lobster of the trip. Two 1 1/4 pounders - no butter or lemon for us! They tasted like the ocean - wonderful and sweet. I was sorry we hadn't ordered larger ones. Dinner in Bar Harbor at Rupununi, which was recommended by one of the women working at DuckFat. They had Damariscotta oysters, so we had a dozen. Wonderful. Entrees were a great flank steak with chimchurri and grilled salmon.

Sunday - Long road trip to Pemberton to eat at Crossroads by the dam. The lobster roll was amazing! It had a little mayo, but was just loaded with lobster meat. The lobster stew was rich and buttery. There was more lobster than stew in my cup! It was good, but I think I prefer lobster bisque over stew. Just my personal preference - I'm not a big butter fan. They still had blueberry pie, which hubby loved, but it was cold, which doesn't appeal to me. The fried clams were good, but Johnny Ad's is still tops in my book! Dinner at Jack Russell's Brew Pub, which almost across the street from where we were staying. Good steaks, cold drinks and entertaining diners. We ended up in a dining room with a group of 20 folks from Indiana who were on their annual get-away trip. They had been drinking longer than we had, so it took awhile before we joined in with the singing.

Monday - hiking in Acadia National Park followed by Jordon Pond House ice cream cones for lunch. After taking in a beautiful sunset atop Cadilac Mountain, we went looking for a lobster dinner back in Bar Harbor. There were 30 - 40 minute waits each place we went and we were too hungry to wait. Went to Miguel's Restaurant on Roddick Street, where we had enjoyed good Mexican food years ago. We were seated right away and eventually received chips and salsa. The chips were way too salty and the salsa was bland. A side of guacamole seemed to be very fresh with large chunks of avocado but no great flavor. My entree of Cochinita Pibil (pork) was falling apart tender but covered with a sauce that was over salted. Hubby had pork taquitos that were just okay. The pitcher of frozen margaritas did help distract us a bit from the food.

Tuesday - breakfast at Cafe This Way in Bar Harbor. Good omelets and coffee. They serve Carpe Diem's Thunderbolt brew. Good way to start the day. Lobster rolls at Cafe Drydock in Southwest Harbor. Tried a cup of chowder - mostly potato. Decent lobster rolls. Tried a local pumpkin ale - nice flavor but very filling. I'm not a beer drinker, but just wanted to try something else that was local besides the lobsters. We went for an early dinner at Stewman's in Bar Harbor for a final lobster dinner. Two 2 1/2 pounders. Good but not as sweet as the lobster at Trenton. Maybe the larger lobsters aren't as sweet??

Wednesday - heading home in the fog! Stopped for lunch in Wiscasset again but this time we ate at Sarah's. It just wasn't the kind of day to eat outside and the line at Red's was at least 15 long. The roll at Sarah's is huge! They bake all their own breads here and while the roll was delicious, it was a bit more bread than was needed. The lobster was sweet and wonderful. Very different from Red's but another winner. We ordered two cookies to go - pumpkin oatmeal raisin (awesome!) and chocolate chip.

Thanks for all the folks who have posted here, especially Daniel! This forum was filled was tons of information and great suggestions for making sure you eat well on vacation. We did well on the lobster rolls. We had trouble with the fried clams - so very filling - and we didn't try all the recommended spots. We only had clam chowder at one stop. So much food and so little time. Reasons for another trip!

[johnnyd]

Nice trip!

Nice to see Primo serving up some respectful wolfish, a much maligned but tasty "trash fish". Pecan Pie with a bit of bourbon sounds perfect.

Becky's is mega-popular for slimy canned mushrooms and that grilled hash that sort of reminds you of dogfood. When you want a grilled cheese, tuna melt or a greasy breakfast, no one does it better.

[Daniel]

Great trip and report.. How good is Trenton Lobster Pound? I think it might be the best lobster I have ever had!!! Is the lobster roll at Woodman's with Mayo? Thank you also for you kind words but, I must say, to thank me is to thank everyone on the board who has provided me with the information I needed to start my trips.. www.HollyEats.com was a big one, and johnnyd got me wanting to go to New England, but everyone on the New England board is really so helpful..

Edited October 11, 2005 by Daniel (log)

[birder53]

Great trip and report.. How good is Trenton Lobster Pound? I think it might be the best lobster I have ever had!!!  Is the lobster roll at Woodman's with Mayo?  Thank you also for you kind words but, I must say, to thank me is to thank everyone on the board who has provided me with the information I needed to start my trips.. www.HollyEats.com was a big one, and johnnyd got me wanting to go to New England,  but everyone on the New England board is really so helpful..

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Woodman's lobster roll a very light coating of something - maybe butter? It just tasted of fresh lobster. It was so light it was barely there. I don't think it was mayo. Whatever it was, it didn't get in the way!

I used HollyEats in addition to your prolific logs! I also printed out someone's (can't remember who!) list of places to eat in CT to ME and used that in addition to all the other reports from New England. I've been to Maine many times, but this trip had a different focus than all the others.

[Holly Moore]

I used HollyEats in addition to your prolific logs!

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I figured that was the case when I saw the meal at Crossroads, one of my Maine favorites. Glad you made the long Down East northern trek.

Sounds like you ate well all along.

[scordelia]

I am surprised you actually ate at Miguels'!

Only summah people do that. Us year-roundahs only drank there. We knew better.

[birder53]

I am surprised you actually ate at Miguels'!

Only summah people do that. Us year-roundahs only drank there. We knew better.

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I'm surprised, and sorry, that we ate there too! I do recall having decent food there, but that was over 15 years ago. We were just looking for a place we could get seated at without a long wait. Blame it on being too tired and hungry to think straight. We were surprised at how crowded some of the restaurants were given the time of year it was.

Just where do the "year-roundahs" eat in town? I know we'll be back.

[scordelia]

Just where do the "year-roundahs" eat in town?  I know we'll be back.

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The Thirsty Whale on Cottage for fried clams--it's that grubby looking bar, but the clams are heaven!

XYZ in Manset for Mexican--they rock!

Gaylan's Galley on Main for a more elegant evening--great prime rib if you are getting tired of seafood, awesome mussels, great lobster stew (and they do not chintz on the lobster) and indian pudding (the indian pudding is only available in the off season)

The Burning Tree in Otter Creek--focuses on seasonal, local ingredients (fiddle heads in spring, huckleberries in fall--that kind of thing), wonderful food and solid wine list

There is also a good Thai place on Cottage (name escapes me), but the house specialty was a green curried lobster that was awfully good.

Cafe Bluefish on Cottage has some fun dishes like lobster strudel.

After a good hike, popovers and homemade ice cream at the Jordan Pond House was a fave.

Union River Cafe in Ellsworth has good lunches and delicious clam chowder (there is a lot of thyme in it).

George's on Cottage--it's the most upscale place in Bar Harbor. Expect to pay $100 a head, but the food is very good. Surprisingly open all year, it was the place (and only) to go for a special, sophisticated dinner.

Edited October 19, 2005 by scordelia (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Swell report! Say more about DuckFat -- I'm intrigued!

[birder53]

Swell report! Say more about DuckFat -- I'm intrigued!

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DuckFat is a tiny little storefront about a block beyond Hugo's. The building was covered with scaffolding and we almost didn't go in! The inside is bright and cheery in contrast to the construction work outside. Inside you place you order at the counter and then either grab a seat at one of the two tables or at a long counter against a wall. Most of the business appeared to be take out. We spoke with the chef, Andrew as we were leaving. He was talking about the seasonal changes he was getting ready to make to the menu, specifically the soup. It was a dismal rainy evening in late September and he was thinking about warmer and heartier fare.

DuckFat Check out their menu here. It's small and casual but the sandwiches were great and those fries. The beignets and dessert panini sound good, but we we're just to full. Next time we go, I'm getting my own order of fries. No sharing!