Oh swell.  We’ve been getting lots of great comments but we just got a question!  And it’s such a good one, why not make a whole post of it?  Mona asks:

Hi TNE, found you by way of The Wandering Eater in NY. What a fun Site. I love Vermont, though it’s been ages since I’ve last been. Do you have any recommendations for Maine? Mulling a road trip with my mom to the Kennebunk area for my bday. All the best, -M

First of all, I love The Wandering Eater, too.  It’s a joy to read and one of the blogs that inspired me to try my own hand at this sort of thing.

Anyway, onto Maine.  Maine seems to be one of those places to be conquered when it comes to food, and that kind of quest probably takes a lifetime.  I have only been a handful of times but I love how parts of Maine seem to have this strong other-worldliness, like you’re going somewhere like you’ve never been before.  And really, that’s the truth.  Maine has a lot of physical beauty but also a lot of charm and culture that is really very different from other areas just a short ride away.  And the food is good.

First, Maine is loaded with ice cream options.  Not far from all the good stuff in southern Maine is Shaw’s Ridge Farm in Sanford.  I’ll admit now, I’ve never actually been there myself, but I’m linking to Roadfood Digest’s New England Ice Cream Tour because Shaw’s got 5 cones out of 5.  I have recently been to a place that got 2 out of 5 cones and a place that got 4 out of 5 cones on the same tour (posts to come soon, I promise) and Oh.  My.  God.  if this place is really that much better than the 4 out of 5 cone place, it must be some seriously, seriously divine ice cream.  I can’t even imagine how good it is and so far I’ve found the folks over at Roadfood Digest spot on.

The Great Lost Bear is in Portland.  It’s a bit funky, some would maybe even call it a dive but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and would totally recommend it, especially if you like beer or burgers.  The beer selection was overwhelming to me and I’d really like to go back soon to try some of the more unusual food and brews on the menu.  The night I went the DJ was playing obscure hits from the 80’s, mostly synth-pop, which made the experience that much stranger but it was indeed superior to, I dunno, biker bar music.

For lobstah, my first tip would be what used to be the Lobsterman’s Co-op in Boothbay Harbor, but it’s now called Boothbay Lobster Wharf.  The menu looks pretty much the same but it’s quite a drive from the southern Maine area.  I hear lobster prices are way down this year so what I would probably do is ask around with some locals and find out where you can get a simple boiled lobster with butter on a dock somewhere.  I find that once I add in a soggy baked potato, and a usually gross salad bar and whatever else comes with those LOBSTER DINNER specials advertised to tourists, my stomach ends up being water-logged except instead of water it’s dairy fat and seafood juice.  Not fun feeling gross for the rest of the day or evening.

Finally, go to Yummies.  I am not generally big on candy, at all, but even I love this place.  It’s basically a wall-to-wall candy extravaganza and full of stuff you probably remember from your younger years, and probably a bunch of stuff you never imagined existed.  For some reason I get a bit giddy at Yummies, and I usually leave with fists full of bags full of more candy than I could possible eat in an entire year.  Still worth it.

When in doubt, eat anything blueberry. In Maine it’s hard to go wrong with that.

Google Map

Google Map

Google Map

Google Map