Archive | July, 2012

Maine Cubed: Boothbay Harbor- Dockside Grill

10 Jul

Our trip to Maine concluded with a visit to Boothbay Harbor, a town on a peninsula about an hour from Portland.  I heard it was beautiful, but a bit too crazy during peak season, so I was happy to be there when it was just before the high time.  We decided to take a Whale Watch on Cap’n Fish’s. We looked it up on our GPS and wound up at the hotel instead of the actual whale watch, but luckily they also sold tickets. We asked them for a recommendation on where to have breakfast, and they sent us to a property behind the hotel on the dock called Dockside Grill.

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A sign on the door sited apologies that they were closing early, about an hour later than the current time. We got in and realized that this meant they were out of a lot of items on the menu.  But we’re not picky!

The inside was a very casual diner atmosphere, almost greasy spoon-like.

Mike got the Meat and Cheese omelette and said it was “an omelette.”

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They were out of everything I wanted but I wound up getting a lobster omelette (that came with cheese that I believe was swiss) and some pepper-less potatoes.

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I actually really enjoyed mine. Only in Maine do you pull up to a random diner and get an entire hunk of claw in an omelette. Mine was a wee bit watery, and if not for the lobster quality itself it would have been a pretty average omelette, but you can’t resist this.

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Overall, it was a fine breakfast, but if I hadn’t taken pictures of it, I probably wouldn’t have even remembered we ate there.

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

Total Nom Points: 5.5 out of 10

As a sidenote, we had over 15 sightings of whales on the Whale Watch later that day, as well as a seal sighting and just an incredibly wonderful time.

Maine Cubed: Wiscasset- Red’s Eats

5 Jul

There are few places in Maine as “famous” as Red’s Eats.  It is a small stand on Rt. 1 in Wiscasset that serves lobster rolls known far and wide. I have seen lines that are over an hour long.

We were looking for lunch on our way up the highway and noticed that the line was only half a block long (very good by Red’s standards). So we found some parking and hopped on.

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Their lobster roll is known for having an entire lobster’s worth of meat inside and made the “authentic” Maine way with lobs of meat on a toasted hotdog bun. It comes with butter or mayo on the side to dip in.  The “authentic” lobster roll is a point of contention, with some people saying it needs 1 leaf of lettuce and/or some mayo mixed in, but Red’s is really all about the meat.

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You step up to a window and suddenly notice that there are about a million people inside this little shack

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We ordered the fried clams along with our lobster roll.

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The clams were quite delicious. Juicy and flavorful with a decent crisp on the fry. Some were a little soggy, but overall it was a good dish of food.

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And then the lobster roll. You can even see the bun under there through all the lobster meat! And you will notice that there is a tail on either side.  Very good on the lobster meat, but I just always prefer a steamed lobster I crack myself to a roll.

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I’m glad we stopped at Red’s, but I can’t say I’m itching to go back. I can’t say it was the best lobster roll I’ve ever had, but it was very good.

Maine Cubed: Lincolnville- Cellardoor Winery

3 Jul

We stumbled on Cellardoor Winery by accident on our trip 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. Upon posting about returning to Maine on the NYCNomNom Facebook page (Are you a fan? You should be!), one of Mike’s (AKA Mr. Nom Nom) friends mentioned that she had recently moved up there and was working at this very winery.  Small world!

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Since we visited 2 years ago, they have started producing their own wines and have expanded their tasting room and added a few facilities.  But the original beautiful structure remains.

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As do my favorite stools.

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We decided to do 2 separate tastings since they had a special going on for Father’s Day to do a wine and chocolate tasting. We started with the general tasting and enjoyed some wines off their list.  We especially liked the Serendipity, which is a dessert wine made with Maple Syrup, and Triology, a really nice red.

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They have a little market space in the middle, where we picked up some artichoke pesto (which was sensational on pasta when we got home).

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They have some great looking (and tasting) cheeses.

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The new room features some local art.

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And a large tasting bar.

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And tasting room.

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With a nice kitchen setup to offer grub.

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Their chocolate pairing partner for the day was Sweet Marguerites.  We tried a number of delectable bites with delectable wine. We tried their malted bacon chocolate, which was superb.

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Green Tea and Ginger. Good flavor and went well with the wine.

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Force Noir. A very well balanced dark chocolate.

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And Fleur del Sel caramels that came with big pieces of macadamia nut. Another awesome bite.

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We really enjoyed our entire experience at Cellardoor, and it’s a great place to stop if you’re in the area (Midcoast Maine: Lincolnville). They also are one of the very few wineries that offer free tastings, which made me more inclined to try more, and therefore buy more.