WOW
We arrive in Portland on the 17th and leave the 19th.
Bar Harbor the nights of 19-23 for hiking and falling apart after D’s complicated
wedding over the former two weeks–part in Portland, Oregon and part in Boston.
I now have a reservation at the Press Hotel in Portland and Bayview in Bar Harbor.
We love lobster but will admit love crab even more.
I was last in Bangor, Maine in somewhere around 1976 or so for the First International
Vegetarian Conference!!! My BF and I camped and I just barely remember seeing the Atlantic
so we must have driven over.
But the most interesting fact is that when D’s BFF was a Junior I had that book–111 best colleges
or whatever it was called. I blindly picked out the College of the Atlantic for her (?NO ONE here has even ever heard of it). She applied and graduated from there and is now in charge of a special Elephant at an animal reserve and loves her life. I am so happy to finally see where she spent 4 years of her life.
Be sure to check out the Carriage Roads. If you get away from the coast, you can find some beautiful places to hike and avoid the throngs of people. No vehicles are allowed on the Carriage Roads.
If you want to have tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House, which overlooks Bubble Pond, you have to make reservations. http://acadiajordanpondhouse.com/book-now/ I used to really like going there, but it’s been so mobbed the last few years that it’s kind of lost its charm for me.
Oh, LL Bean runs a free shuttle on the island. It’s convenient and I highly recommend it over trying to park your car, especially at popular places like Thunder Hole and the Pond House.
If you’re into something different/a bit alternative, think about Local Sprouts in Portland. And the Museum is great.
I second Harraseeket Lunch, for the picnic benches under an awning experience, next to a small harbor of lobster boats.
I think it kind of depends what sort of experience you want- local color or a finer level. And if you’re thinking of driving Route 1, McLoon’s Lobster Shack in Spruce Head near Thomaston is special to us. Look it up. It’s not far off the main route, but will really give you the Maine thing, past little villages, boat repair, vistas.
Second the recommendation for tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House.
A young woman from my town (who was a finalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year (2017) has a restaurant in Brunswick that’s very good. It’s Taon Yuan. Brunswick (also home of Bowdoin College) is about 25-30 miles from Portland. This same young woman opened a casual restaurant in Portland–Bao Bao Dumpling and is scheduled to open a third restaurant in Portland–Lio–that opens this summer.
Yes, the popovers at Jordan Pond House are so good, it’s worth the wait. However, when you go in Sept, the crowds will be less. I always allow room for 2 popovers, they are so light and delicious.
Great suggestions! If you have time, I recommend the Schoodic section of Acadia National Park. It’s the next big penninsula east of Mount Desert Island and while it’s a bit smaller, it is gorgeous. It is also less crowded (by a LOT) and has a great new bike path, visitors’ center, etc… The views of MDI (Cadillac Mountain, etc) are amazing from some of the hikes.
You could stop by the picturesque village of Corea and have “Lunch on the Wharf”. Food is nothing special, (lobster rolls, grilled cheese, ice cream, etc…standard stuff) but it’s good and the setting is beautiful. It is literally on a wharf on Corea Harbor. (Not sure it’s open in September so you’d have to check.) Enjoy!
We used to camp on Mt. Desert annually, and do a lot of hiking. What you do there really depends on whether you like to do hikes, ranging from short and easy to more challenging, as opposed to stroll.
The carriage roads, while pleasant for strolling or biking, don’t have as much in the way of views.
One of the great things about the hikes in Acadia is that the mountains, although not very tall, have bare summits which means spectacular views over the ocean and surrounding islands. One of my favorites is Penobscot Mountain. The trail starts right near the Jordan Pond house. You can hike up to the top of Penobscot at whatever speed works for you, celebrate you arrival by eating a light packed lunch, and make your way down to the trail that runs along the shore of Jordan Pond, which you follow to the Pond House itself for a well-deserved afternoon tea with popovers on the lawn. If you are feeling more ambitious, you can continue from the top of Penobscot to the top of neighboring Sargent Mountain, and from there also go down to the shore trail and on to your popovers.
The Press Hotel is cool, with unique hall decorations. At least, the public areas are: I’ve never seen the rooms. It has a great bar.
Gelato Fiasco is wonderful. I forgot to mention that I’ve heard that The Front Room is also a very good breakfast/brunch spot.
We rarely go out to eat these days, I’m sorry to say, and I’ve definitely picked up some tips from this thread!
I have fond memories of Fore Street and Duck Fat - our “go to” destinations when in Portland doing camp drop off or pick up years ago. But I found some new places too through either yelp or gayot (my favorite non-Zagat restaurant site). Just mentioning it in case you can’t get a reservation at Fore Street. Also they have a very comfortable bar - you can always eat there. Pork tenderloin was amazing.
Personally, I have never had a bad lobster roll in Maine, although the best ones I’ve had have all been at the food truck next to the ferry on the island of Vinalhaven. I adore lobster rolls, and when Maine I have them for lunch and dinner and often for afternoon snack as well.
Nor have I ever had a bad ice cream cone in Maine, from which you can infer–accurately–that pretty much all I eat when in Maine is ice cream and lobster rolls. I have been known to have blueberry pancakes for breakfast, however.
I consider myself more than a little food-quality-obsessed. I keep mental lists of restaurants in several categories (ice cream, lobster rolls, biscuits, chicken wings, pie, as just as few examples). I am hard-pressed to remember a bad meal in Maine, and we went regularly for many years (the kids went to summer camp there and DH’s father lived there until his death). My advice would be: eat at the tiny little places in the small towns. They need the business and the food is usually great.
Ok…odd man out here. I would suggest you stop at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro. It is NOT fancy in any way shape or form…a real Diner. BUT they have a huge selection of delicious homemade pies. It’s on Rt. 1, so if you are driving…you should go past it.
Truthfully, the food is Diner food (well…except they have good soups), but the pies…well…it’s hard to choose the kind to have.
We have relatives in Maine, and my reward for the long drive is PIE.
I used to live right outside of Portland and I’m with @Consolation - lobster at Two Lights. Great lobster and you can’t beat the scenery.
We liked The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth for breakfast and Walter’s for lunch. I think I would be the 15th poster to suggest Fore Street. We also liked Back Bay Grille and Hugo’s.
I do not particularly like lobster rolls. I like whole boiled or steamed lobster. But If I am going to have a lobster roll, it has to have a toasted bun and warm butter.
@NoVADad99, Peak’s Island is a lot of fun. It’s great for walking/running/biking. Be sure to go to the far side of the island. Beautiful homes and views. There’s a cool Civil War museum, too. You can take a golf cart tour that is very interesting. There’s a good ice cream place close to the dock. When I go to Peak’s Island, I can see why people come from all over the world to visit Maine.
My second choice would be Great Diamond Island. There used to be a fort on the island. The officers’ homes have been renovated and are fun to see. There’s also an excellent restaurant. But that would be the second place I would go, after Peak’s.
I was going to mention a favorite place in South Portland, but they since have closed their doors sigh. If you get to Brunswick, try the Brunswick diner, fell in love with it many years ago, my S was at bowdoin for a festival last year and said the food is still great (and he raved about Gelato Fiasco, which had a place right near the college).
If driving, I recommend taking a trip up to the string of Islands in casco bay that ends in Bailey’s Island, it is a nice drive and Bailey’s Island is fun. My wife (then GF) and I spent a couple of weeks at a cabin there many years ago, and it is still kind of neat as of the last time we went there.
@NoVADad99 Neither is right near Portland, but in the general area, here are 2 suggestions on islands with some history to them. Both were artists’ colonies among other things. The areas from which they are accessible by ferry are worth exploring as well in their own right.
Actually was down east yesterday. It was rainy so zero line at Red’s but couldn’t stop as was meeting family for dinner up the coast. The “Maine state bird” was out in force so bring your bug spray.
