Tag Archives: maine

Maine Take 2: The Quarter Deck, Bar Harbor, ME

15 Jun

Somehow, in just 4 days on our August 2010 trip to Maine, we managed to stop in Portsmouth, NH, spend time in Blue Hill, explore a bit of Portland, and make our way up to Bar Harbor.  I was ambitious back then (ok… I’m still ambitious… with just four days this time around we’re flying into Portland and spending 1 night there, 1 night in Camden, then 2 nights in Boothbay Harbor. Who says vacation requires being sedentary?)

On our trip up to Bar Harbor, we stopped at a classic restaurant right on the harbor, Quarterdeck. Fine dining is not exactly the mantra of Bar Harbor, and the Quarterdeck doesn’t make any promises of being fancy.

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But it sure has some absolutely gorgeous views.

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Right there in the center is my favorite ship, the Margaret Todd, a 4 masted red sailboat that I’ve been on twice and loved every moment.

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Some menu perusal…

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We started with some cocktails, mostly of the blueberry variety.

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All were quite good!

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And one of our favorite Maine breweries: Allagash.

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We started off with the calamari, which were nice and crispy but not overly interesting.

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We also split some crab cakes, which were decent but nothing to write home about.

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I got some coconut shrimp, which I was a big fan of.  Flavorful, succulent shrimp with a crispy coconut shell.  

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We got some burgers, which were… fair.

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And a very fresh salad.

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Is the Quarterdeck a phenomenal restaurant… well no.  But the views are exceptional, the service friendly, the food good enough.

It’s a really great place to grab a drink and watch the world pass by.

Total Noms: 6.5 out of 10

Maine Take 2: Table, A Farmhouse Bistro- Blue Hill

14 Jun

On our family trip to Maine in August 2010, we rented a cabin in the Blue Hill area and had a great time exploring the more remote parts of the beautiful peninsula. By far, the highlight of the food we tried was at Table, A Farmhouse Bistro. We had an absolutely fantastic meal there, but upon searching for a link for this restaurant, I have discovered that it has sadly closed.

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I cannot explain how sad this makes me, as Table was fantastic for food, aesthetics, and service.

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I absolutely loved the interior, and I hope the restaurant that replaced it has maintained the beauty of this rustic yet updated design.

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Here was the menu:

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And some of our food…

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We even tried a bottle of wild blueberry wine, which was surprisingly very good

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But it was really the lobster risotto and lobster mac and cheese that were fan-freakin-tastic. Over-flowing with big hunks of lobster and great flavors across the board.

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What a shame that this place has closed!

Maine Take 2: Wild Blueberries

14 Jun

A few months after going to Maine and blogging about all our Nomming adventures, my father and sister decided to take a trip back to our favorite state.  I was between two jobs so, at the last minute, I joined them.  This was nearly 2 years ago, and these drafted posts have sat in my Drafts folder since then. At first I was avoiding posting so much about Maine back-to-back, and then time just got in the way.  I cannot believe these are back from August 2010!

We are embarking on another trip to Maine this weekend, so I figured it was time to update!

First things first… if you are going to Maine, find yourself a roadside stand advertising “Fresh Maine Blueberries” and make sure you stop.  We wound up buying huge containers of these and munching on them throughout all our trips, including on our way home.

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They are smaller than grocery store blueberries, and packed with more flavor and bit of extra sweetness.

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There ain’t nothing like them!

And if they happen to be selling some jarred wild blueberry jam, I recommend you don’t pass that up either!