Thursday, July 14, 2011

Wrapping Up in Maine (Food)

As promised, here are the highlights of the food we had during our final week in Maine.

This is a whoopie pie.  I think it originated in Maine, and is also Maine's "official state treat."  This particular whoopie pie is from The Friar Bakehouse in Bangor, and was voted best whoopie pie in Maine by someone somewhere at sometime.  Needless to say, it was pretty good.  It was very very very sweet - so much so that I couldn't eat the whole thing at once - but what I had was pretty good.  It was basically a big oreo, but the cookies were softer and the filling was a little lighter.


Tina and I visited Gifford's for ice cream.  I was surprised there was such thing as a World Dairy Expo and even more surprised that I was never invited to one.  Anyways, we split two scoops of Maine Wildberry (essentially lots of berries mixed with vanilla ice cream) in a waffle cone.  It was delicious.  Just not as good as Maple View (which still stands as the best ice cream I've ever had).


In Bar Harbor, we went to Cafe This Way, and Tina ordered the Pecan Crusted Halibut, which everyone agreed was the best dish out of the four of our dishes that night.  They did a good job with the pecan crusting, and the fish was tasty too.


We also visited the Thirsty Whale in Bar Harbor.  It was mainly bar food - pretty decent bar food, though - but the highlight was the clam chowder.  I didn't get an extensive sampling of clam chowder while in Maine (maybe 3 or 4 different bowls), but this one was the best.  Not too heavy like a lot of chowders I've had, but still chock-full of clams and potatoes.


We ate at The Chart Room near Bar Harbor, which had awesome views (it was right by the water).  Tina ordered the haddock, which is a fish I had never heard of before coming to Maine.  It's a nice, tender and flaky fish, and it became my go-to fish at any meal.


Dysart's Restaurant in Bangor - it's a truck stop restaurant with a unique feel.  Almost like a Cracker Barrel but it's literally in a gas station.  It wasn't a dingy or sketchy place, either - it felt like a family restaurant.  Anyways, the Hot Thanksgiving Sandwich was pure awesome.  Chopped turkey meat and stuffing inside two slices of bread, covered in gravy with a side of cranberry sauce.  Each bite was literally melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  I also got a side of poutine - french fries with melted cheese and gravy on top.  My first time ever trying poutine - not bad.


I heard too many good things about the pies at Dysart's, so I had to try their blueberry pie a la mode.  Even though I was incredibly stuffed from the thanksgiving sandwich and poutine, I made room for the pie and it was definitely worth it.  Surprisingly enough, it was the only time I had blueberry pie while in Maine, and it was a good place to have it.  FYI: blueberry pie is the "official state dessert" of Maine - not to be confused with the state treat, which is whoopie pie.


My parents went to Canada for a few days, and on their way back, they picked up some fresh lobster and clams for dinner.  Like most of the other seafood we had in Maine, it was so fresh and delicious.  No more words to say than that.  These pictures tell most of the story.  Credit Tina for taking these last three.


Yummy lobster.  :-)


Lobster tail meat.


The food in Maine will be missed - particularly all the seafood.  But seeing as how I put on a few pounds during my month in Maine, it's probably better that I'm back in NC for a while.

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