May 2016 -
Boston, Massachusetts
Concord, New Hampshire
Portland, Maine
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
After months of anticipation of a trip to Maine it was finally my travel day to Boston. I met up with my sweet hubby at Logan International and we walked all around the Freedom Walk in Boston until it was dark. If we'd had more time I would have eaten a few things in the Quincy Market (and hit the Uniqlo). I definitely want to return to Boston and spend a couple of days. I loved being in the middle of so much history: Paul Revere's house, Old Ironsides, ancient cemeteries. It was beautiful. I'd also like to eat in the Italian restaurants and bakeries that we passed on our walk. We ate dinner in The Blackmoor Bar and Kitchen. The clam chowder was delicious and so was the lamb poutine. The pickled onions on the poutine were really delicious and stung my nose in a yummy, pleasant way.
We spent the night in Concord, NH because when we planned the trip we thought we'd have time to explore New Hampshire and Vermont. As the trip started, I realized I wanted more time in Portland and Bar Harbor. Then one of Paul's planned hiking trails was closed because of snow. Travel is one of the best learning experiences for recalculating and making new plans quickly. We drove on to Portland, Maine for two days and Paul decided to spend a whole day hiking the White Mountains our second day in Portland.
Maine!! I love Maine!! Not only is it BEAUTIFUL and chock-full of good food and independent shops, it's the most gluten-free friendly state I've ever been! Upon driving into town we immediately saw Bam Bam Bakery, a whole bakery dedicated to GF and vegan sweets. And every pastry was beautiful and unbelievably creative and delicious! I know this because I went in 4 times and sampled 6 different treats including cinnamon rolls, a chocolate whoopie pie, a lemon meringue tartlet, a choc cupcake with lavender icing, a peanut butter s'more bar, and a choc eclair. Our first meal was at Becky's Diner. When i opened the rental car door I caught my first whiff of Maine. it smelled like salty, sandy oyster shells and fried fish. I'd read that Becky's Diner was a cozy diner with real deal seafood and it was. It was my first lobster roll and they even had GF bread. The lobster roll was good but the haddock chowder was great! (I'd later realize that the sweetest lobster meat is the lobster you crack open yourself). Paul loved the egg sandwich, coleslaw, and fries. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place with friendly waiters, packed booths and a packed counter full of hungry locals.
After lunch we drove and walked all around the Old Port where we stayed. I believe that Portland can be done in a day and a half even if you only have a vague itinerary in mind. There are a million lobster restaurants and pizza joints to choose from and very fun tourist shops all along Commercial Street. For dinner we ate at Otto Pizza and I created my own pepperoni, black olive and Vidalia onion pizza. Paul loves Hawaiian pizzas and his was amazing! Prosciutto, fresh pineapple, red pepper flakes and rosemary were a perfect combination. We also went to The Holy Donut. I'd watched Youtube videos about it. This place was popular and I can see why. The doughnuts are made from Maine potatoes but I only tasted delicious cake doughnut. They had three GF flavors so I tried all of them: cinnamon, pomegranate and sea salt dark chocolate. Heavenly, soft cake doughnuts with good flavors. The texture is even better than the flavor. Paul got a regular chocolate doughnut with vanilla icing and he loved it. As the sun went down we walked out on one of the wharfs and watched seagulls pull fish from nets drying out for the day. These birds were large and calm. Their eyes said, "You've come to the right city to eat, folks."
The next morning Paul drove back to New Hampshire to hike the White Mountains. I hit the streets of Old Port and discovered many treasures. I started at The Holy Donut and enjoyed a chocolate doughnut and truly yummy hazelnut hot coffee with cream and sugar. I found Folly 101 where I bought a pretty apron and cooking postcards. The sales clerk had lived in Paris so we chatted in French for a while. I felt so chic making jokes in French with this lady! I had an iced coffee in The Crooked Mile Coffee House and Cafe. I loved the illustration of the crooked man nursery rhyme hanging on the wall. I went to East End Cupcakes and had a GF salted caramel cupcake. Though tasty, the icing was too creamy and airy. I bought postcards, a squeaky stuffed moose toy for our dog, a coffee mug that says Wicked Good Maine, and some Vermont cheese curds. I also walked down to Standard Baking Company and even though it's not GF it is gorgeous food. I sampled the almond coconut macaroons and they are perfection.
For lunch I went to the Portland Lobster Company and sat outside at the counter facing the water. I ordered a shrimp cocktail and a whole steamed lobster with corn on the cob, slaw and fries. I assumed the lobster would be cracked for me. Nope. I had to figure it out. I felt like one of The Three Stooges trying to take it apart but I pretended it was a giant crawfish and started eating. It was buttery goodness from start to finish. i just wish there was more lobster meat in a lobster. When I was almost done a lady came up behind me and asked me if it was difficult to eat a whole lobster. I told her it was my first one and she said she'd been watching me for 15 minutes and thought I was an expert. We talked for a while and Marty is one of those fellow travelers that you love to meet. She reminded me of the joy of meeting new people who enjoy discovering the world too. She also validated me by gasping with happiness at the descriptions of my past in Memphis and my current life in Dodge City. She reminded me of the goodness inside me that I tend to forget about.
Afterwards I went to the Portland Museum of Art and it was a great museum with 4 small floors of all the greats. I'd never seen Andy Warhol's Man on the Moon as a painting, only as the MTV logo back in the day. After more wandering and snacking it was time for dinner.
When Paul came back for dinner we ate at Hot Suppa! This place was voted Best Southern Food Outside the South and there's a reason for it. Flavor, flavor, flavor is the only way I can describe this place. Yes, it's hard to ruin turnip greens and cornbread but though these were tasty, the bacon deviled eggs made me squeal and so did the giant shrimp in the shrimp and grits. The Bloody Mary and the hurricane we drank were the best I've ever had outside New Orleans. Paul's pulled pork sandwich was delicious too. Hot Suppa was such a treat to discover. The whole day was really perfect.
Bar Harbor, Maine
The next day we drove three hours north to Bar Harbor and I immediately fell under the spell of this extremely photogenic island small town tucked to the side of Acadia National Park. This sweet little place is definitely moving to the top 25 list of all the places I've traveled. We chose our trip to Maine because my husband loves to hike and cave. Acadia was at the top of his hiking list and it didn't disappoint. We stayed at the Grand Hotel on Main Street and it is so charming. We had lunch at The Cherrystone sitting on the patio people-watching. I ordered the lobster bisque and a crab and lobster sandwich. Is there anything better than soup with fish and potatoes in it? I learned that I'm not as crazy about lobster meat on a sandwich. It tastes vaguely like moth balls to me. Lemon juice helps some.
After lunch Paul headed to Acadia to hike the Beehive and I hit Main Street's tourist shops, bookstores, ice cream shops, and coffee shops. Main Street and its side streets remind me of beautiful Franklin, TN and Oxford, MS because they are so perfectly manicured and edited. The enormous old houses that surround Main Street are stunning. It seems a shame that they're only open Mother's Day weekend through mid-October. Maine has very long winters.
I tried blueberry ice cream (there is blueberry everything in Maine) and bought tee-shirts and postcards. I walked into an antique store and had a long conversation with the gray-haired lady owner about Northern politics versus Midwestern politics. Actually she referred to Maine as coastal politics. I took as many pictures as possible because it was just so easy to take beautiful pictures at every step. I bought some maple popcorn and found Canadian maple cookies, the kind my parents and I discovered in Quebec long ago.
When Paul returned from hiking we had pizza at Blaze. I ordered a GF prosciutto, fig and gruyere pizza that was pretty tasty. The gruyere and prosciutto together were amazing. Afterwards we walked around Main Street some more and looked out at the harbor. It gets dark early and light very early.
The next morning, our last day in Maine I woke up at 4:45 to get to breakfast at 5:30. I'd noticed that Maine Big Breakfast served GF pancakes and opened early. I couldn't wait! Surprisingly the pancakes were meh but the GF English muffins with the homemade strawberry-rhubarb jelly sent me into an intense foodie reverie. Good grief what a great combination! The eggs, bacon, and sausage were delicious too. So were the Boston baked beans that came with breakfast but I couldn't eat everything. This place was one of my favorites and the waitress was super sweet. When Paul woke up we drove to Acadia to hike a short but somewhat challenging hike along the cliffs. As we walked along the sandy beach and scrambled over large rocks there were wind chimes softly floating over the water from a distant island. Since it was foggy it was a beautiful haunting appropriate soundtrack for our hike.
We were starving after the hike so we found Route 66 Restaurant in Bar Harbor and chowed down. This restaurant looks like an antique store or museum. It's cuckoo and fun. There's 1950's music playing and every nook, cranny and available wall space has ephemera on display. And the food is good! Tasty nachos, a delicious blueberry sangria, really yummy lobster and corn chowder and my favorite: baked scallops. These scallops were my favorite dish of the trip. They were baked in butter and crumbled crackers.
For dessert we went to the unbelievably charming and pretty Project Social for crepes. My husband loves Nutella and strawberry crepes and I was willing to eat gluten just to have a blueberry crepe. (For the record, I do have Celiac but sometimes I'm willing to risk a terrible mood swing and a headache to eat something I'm not supposed to.) These crepes and the beautiful table setting, decor, and food made my foodie heart grow three sizes. After one more stop in the very cute and hip Choco-latte Cafe for a Mexican hot chocolate we headed to Bangor, Maine to spend the night and catch our flights home the next day. We stayed in the charming old Charles Inn Hotel. It reminded me of a shabbier Colonial version of the Tremont in Chicago. We had a terrific Thai dinner at the downtown Thai Siam before calling it a night.
In short, I loved Maine. I loved discovering it with Paul and I loved that he could hike and I could wander the streets finding new regional flavors of our beautiful country. I can't wait to return "down east" again.
Boston, Massachusetts
Concord, New Hampshire
Portland, Maine
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bangor, Maine
After months of anticipation of a trip to Maine it was finally my travel day to Boston. I met up with my sweet hubby at Logan International and we walked all around the Freedom Walk in Boston until it was dark. If we'd had more time I would have eaten a few things in the Quincy Market (and hit the Uniqlo). I definitely want to return to Boston and spend a couple of days. I loved being in the middle of so much history: Paul Revere's house, Old Ironsides, ancient cemeteries. It was beautiful. I'd also like to eat in the Italian restaurants and bakeries that we passed on our walk. We ate dinner in The Blackmoor Bar and Kitchen. The clam chowder was delicious and so was the lamb poutine. The pickled onions on the poutine were really delicious and stung my nose in a yummy, pleasant way.
We spent the night in Concord, NH because when we planned the trip we thought we'd have time to explore New Hampshire and Vermont. As the trip started, I realized I wanted more time in Portland and Bar Harbor. Then one of Paul's planned hiking trails was closed because of snow. Travel is one of the best learning experiences for recalculating and making new plans quickly. We drove on to Portland, Maine for two days and Paul decided to spend a whole day hiking the White Mountains our second day in Portland.
Maine!! I love Maine!! Not only is it BEAUTIFUL and chock-full of good food and independent shops, it's the most gluten-free friendly state I've ever been! Upon driving into town we immediately saw Bam Bam Bakery, a whole bakery dedicated to GF and vegan sweets. And every pastry was beautiful and unbelievably creative and delicious! I know this because I went in 4 times and sampled 6 different treats including cinnamon rolls, a chocolate whoopie pie, a lemon meringue tartlet, a choc cupcake with lavender icing, a peanut butter s'more bar, and a choc eclair. Our first meal was at Becky's Diner. When i opened the rental car door I caught my first whiff of Maine. it smelled like salty, sandy oyster shells and fried fish. I'd read that Becky's Diner was a cozy diner with real deal seafood and it was. It was my first lobster roll and they even had GF bread. The lobster roll was good but the haddock chowder was great! (I'd later realize that the sweetest lobster meat is the lobster you crack open yourself). Paul loved the egg sandwich, coleslaw, and fries. I really enjoyed the vibe of this place with friendly waiters, packed booths and a packed counter full of hungry locals.
After lunch we drove and walked all around the Old Port where we stayed. I believe that Portland can be done in a day and a half even if you only have a vague itinerary in mind. There are a million lobster restaurants and pizza joints to choose from and very fun tourist shops all along Commercial Street. For dinner we ate at Otto Pizza and I created my own pepperoni, black olive and Vidalia onion pizza. Paul loves Hawaiian pizzas and his was amazing! Prosciutto, fresh pineapple, red pepper flakes and rosemary were a perfect combination. We also went to The Holy Donut. I'd watched Youtube videos about it. This place was popular and I can see why. The doughnuts are made from Maine potatoes but I only tasted delicious cake doughnut. They had three GF flavors so I tried all of them: cinnamon, pomegranate and sea salt dark chocolate. Heavenly, soft cake doughnuts with good flavors. The texture is even better than the flavor. Paul got a regular chocolate doughnut with vanilla icing and he loved it. As the sun went down we walked out on one of the wharfs and watched seagulls pull fish from nets drying out for the day. These birds were large and calm. Their eyes said, "You've come to the right city to eat, folks."
The next morning Paul drove back to New Hampshire to hike the White Mountains. I hit the streets of Old Port and discovered many treasures. I started at The Holy Donut and enjoyed a chocolate doughnut and truly yummy hazelnut hot coffee with cream and sugar. I found Folly 101 where I bought a pretty apron and cooking postcards. The sales clerk had lived in Paris so we chatted in French for a while. I felt so chic making jokes in French with this lady! I had an iced coffee in The Crooked Mile Coffee House and Cafe. I loved the illustration of the crooked man nursery rhyme hanging on the wall. I went to East End Cupcakes and had a GF salted caramel cupcake. Though tasty, the icing was too creamy and airy. I bought postcards, a squeaky stuffed moose toy for our dog, a coffee mug that says Wicked Good Maine, and some Vermont cheese curds. I also walked down to Standard Baking Company and even though it's not GF it is gorgeous food. I sampled the almond coconut macaroons and they are perfection.
For lunch I went to the Portland Lobster Company and sat outside at the counter facing the water. I ordered a shrimp cocktail and a whole steamed lobster with corn on the cob, slaw and fries. I assumed the lobster would be cracked for me. Nope. I had to figure it out. I felt like one of The Three Stooges trying to take it apart but I pretended it was a giant crawfish and started eating. It was buttery goodness from start to finish. i just wish there was more lobster meat in a lobster. When I was almost done a lady came up behind me and asked me if it was difficult to eat a whole lobster. I told her it was my first one and she said she'd been watching me for 15 minutes and thought I was an expert. We talked for a while and Marty is one of those fellow travelers that you love to meet. She reminded me of the joy of meeting new people who enjoy discovering the world too. She also validated me by gasping with happiness at the descriptions of my past in Memphis and my current life in Dodge City. She reminded me of the goodness inside me that I tend to forget about.
Afterwards I went to the Portland Museum of Art and it was a great museum with 4 small floors of all the greats. I'd never seen Andy Warhol's Man on the Moon as a painting, only as the MTV logo back in the day. After more wandering and snacking it was time for dinner.
When Paul came back for dinner we ate at Hot Suppa! This place was voted Best Southern Food Outside the South and there's a reason for it. Flavor, flavor, flavor is the only way I can describe this place. Yes, it's hard to ruin turnip greens and cornbread but though these were tasty, the bacon deviled eggs made me squeal and so did the giant shrimp in the shrimp and grits. The Bloody Mary and the hurricane we drank were the best I've ever had outside New Orleans. Paul's pulled pork sandwich was delicious too. Hot Suppa was such a treat to discover. The whole day was really perfect.
Bar Harbor, Maine
The next day we drove three hours north to Bar Harbor and I immediately fell under the spell of this extremely photogenic island small town tucked to the side of Acadia National Park. This sweet little place is definitely moving to the top 25 list of all the places I've traveled. We chose our trip to Maine because my husband loves to hike and cave. Acadia was at the top of his hiking list and it didn't disappoint. We stayed at the Grand Hotel on Main Street and it is so charming. We had lunch at The Cherrystone sitting on the patio people-watching. I ordered the lobster bisque and a crab and lobster sandwich. Is there anything better than soup with fish and potatoes in it? I learned that I'm not as crazy about lobster meat on a sandwich. It tastes vaguely like moth balls to me. Lemon juice helps some.
After lunch Paul headed to Acadia to hike the Beehive and I hit Main Street's tourist shops, bookstores, ice cream shops, and coffee shops. Main Street and its side streets remind me of beautiful Franklin, TN and Oxford, MS because they are so perfectly manicured and edited. The enormous old houses that surround Main Street are stunning. It seems a shame that they're only open Mother's Day weekend through mid-October. Maine has very long winters.
I tried blueberry ice cream (there is blueberry everything in Maine) and bought tee-shirts and postcards. I walked into an antique store and had a long conversation with the gray-haired lady owner about Northern politics versus Midwestern politics. Actually she referred to Maine as coastal politics. I took as many pictures as possible because it was just so easy to take beautiful pictures at every step. I bought some maple popcorn and found Canadian maple cookies, the kind my parents and I discovered in Quebec long ago.
When Paul returned from hiking we had pizza at Blaze. I ordered a GF prosciutto, fig and gruyere pizza that was pretty tasty. The gruyere and prosciutto together were amazing. Afterwards we walked around Main Street some more and looked out at the harbor. It gets dark early and light very early.
The next morning, our last day in Maine I woke up at 4:45 to get to breakfast at 5:30. I'd noticed that Maine Big Breakfast served GF pancakes and opened early. I couldn't wait! Surprisingly the pancakes were meh but the GF English muffins with the homemade strawberry-rhubarb jelly sent me into an intense foodie reverie. Good grief what a great combination! The eggs, bacon, and sausage were delicious too. So were the Boston baked beans that came with breakfast but I couldn't eat everything. This place was one of my favorites and the waitress was super sweet. When Paul woke up we drove to Acadia to hike a short but somewhat challenging hike along the cliffs. As we walked along the sandy beach and scrambled over large rocks there were wind chimes softly floating over the water from a distant island. Since it was foggy it was a beautiful haunting appropriate soundtrack for our hike.
We were starving after the hike so we found Route 66 Restaurant in Bar Harbor and chowed down. This restaurant looks like an antique store or museum. It's cuckoo and fun. There's 1950's music playing and every nook, cranny and available wall space has ephemera on display. And the food is good! Tasty nachos, a delicious blueberry sangria, really yummy lobster and corn chowder and my favorite: baked scallops. These scallops were my favorite dish of the trip. They were baked in butter and crumbled crackers.
For dessert we went to the unbelievably charming and pretty Project Social for crepes. My husband loves Nutella and strawberry crepes and I was willing to eat gluten just to have a blueberry crepe. (For the record, I do have Celiac but sometimes I'm willing to risk a terrible mood swing and a headache to eat something I'm not supposed to.) These crepes and the beautiful table setting, decor, and food made my foodie heart grow three sizes. After one more stop in the very cute and hip Choco-latte Cafe for a Mexican hot chocolate we headed to Bangor, Maine to spend the night and catch our flights home the next day. We stayed in the charming old Charles Inn Hotel. It reminded me of a shabbier Colonial version of the Tremont in Chicago. We had a terrific Thai dinner at the downtown Thai Siam before calling it a night.
In short, I loved Maine. I loved discovering it with Paul and I loved that he could hike and I could wander the streets finding new regional flavors of our beautiful country. I can't wait to return "down east" again.
