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Portland, ME: David’s Opus 10

High on the list of places to try in Portland, Maine was David’s Opus 10. I have been hearing about it more and more since it opened this past November, and it made a few appearances on the Soup to Nuts: Maine food experts dish about their restaurant favorites article.

The menu is a 9-course Tasting Menu and Mike and I split a wine pairing between us (I drank more since Mike had to drive home).

The Opus Ten part of the restaurant is actually behind the main restaurant, David’s. They do a small seating in an intimate space with beautiful draping along the ceiling. They also put a cart of goodies in the middle of all the tables.

While we weren’t right at the window, our table afforded us a peak into the kitchen.

And the table was beautifully set with a dark purple calla lilly (one of my faves!)

Even the butter was beautifully styles (and very tasty with smoked salt on top).

With a lovely variation of rolls and some very nice olive and balsamic to dip.

Our first dish was not on the menu, but was certainly more substantial than your usual amuse bouche. Unfortunately, since it wasn’t written on the menu, I cannot recall the specifics beyond the fact that the meat was shaved off of a beautiful piece of hock on that middle table and tasted delicious with the cheese, olives, and bread.

It was beautifully marbled and had a great tenderness to it.

My first cocktail necessitated a quick froth (and tasted great).

The first official menu item came out, and this was the dish that everyone in that article was raving about. Morel and exotic mushroom gratin with Mushroom and Madeira cream shooter.

This had a very lovely mushroom flavor and was incredibly enjoyable, but I think I would have loved it a whole lot more if we hadn’t just had the mushroom of a lifetime at Local 188.

Next came a butter poached lobster, risotto cake, citrus truffle miero greens. This was very tasty, but I feel a bit like I might be struck by lightening for saying this… I don’t really “get” butter poaching lobster. It’s so much more flavorful when you just boil it in its shell and then dip it in butter. Somehow the poaching seems to take away some of the great lobster flavor. (Sorry food gods)

Our next dish was seared scallops with bowfin caviar and smoked salmon. I really liked the addition of the matchstick potatoes in this. It created a really awesome contrast of textures and flavor without distracting from the delicious fish.

I really enjoyed our next bite, quail egg ravioli with kale, hedgehog mushrooms, and foie gras butter nage [sic].

I didn’t really taste the foie gras, but this was rich and creamy and very, very nice.

Our next dish was a nice intermezzo with strawberry-basil sorbet with frozen vanilla and basil infused vodka.

The vodka was actually poured overtop from a bottle that was frozen into a block.

Even though I don’t love vodka, I really enjoyed this light palate cleanser. Very refreshing and a nice way to head into the rest of the meal.

Grilled quail, foie gras medallion and “buttered” toast with cranberry-pear gastrique. Usually I find quail hardly worth the effort. A teeny bite without much flavor.

This was a more substantial portion and it all went together well, and this time the foie had a really nice flavor that was prominent without being overpowering.

Our last savory course was my favorite: Lamb saddle, lamb presse, sweet potato hash, and kale braise.

There was an amazing crispy top on the one piece of lamb, and everything was cooked, flavored, and spiced perfectly. Really great dish.

Our dessert was Feuilletage “beignets” with peppered strawberry and Grand Marnier creme chantilly. These were quite tasty. Not too dense and nice flavor. I enjoyed the strawberry balanced with the pepper.

Our final bites were chocolate, caramel nut bark, chambord and chocolate truffles, and pecan, orange and cranberry sandy. I thought these were all pretty good, but nothing too outstanding.

The truffles were my favorite of the trio.

They also offered us some after dinner drinks, and Mike chose to have some Twenty Year Old Sandeman (which he really enjoyed).

Overall, our meal was really great but I wouldn’t say it was outstanding. Solid, great flavor, nice pacing, and great service. But there was no dish that really stuck out as a huge WOW. It felt like a really nice, celebration of a meal, however, and is a fun way to spend an evening. I actually wonder if I would have enjoyed it more had we not had such a great experience at Local 188 the night right before. But as far as tasting menus go, I would say it was worth every penny (though they didn’t tell you how much any of the extras cost, which was mildly annoying). It’s a really nice treat right in Portland.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

Tags: beignets, bowfin caviar, butter poached lobster, david's opus ten, foie gras, intermezzo, lamb, lamb presse, lamb saddle, lobster, madeira cream shooter, maine, maine restaurants, Morel and exotic mushroom gratin, mushroom appetizer, opus ten, peppered strawberry, portland, portland maine, quail, quail egg ravioli, restaurant review, restaurants, sandeman, scallops, smoked salmon, strawberry-basil sorbet, tasting menu, vanilla and basil infused vodka

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Categories Eating Out, Travel

Portland, ME: Local 188

9 Apr

We have really enjoyed the food scene in Portland, Maine, and I feel incredibly lucky that we have been able to spend 4 separate visits in Maine this past year (all these wedding trips have been awesome!)

When inquiring about any “must eats” we haven’t tried yet, Local 188 came up from a few different foodie friends. They specialize in local ingredients, so their menu is printed anew each day.

The space has a great feel to it. Very high ceilings, big windows, and room between tables.

And I enjoyed the pretty sprigs of pussy willows on the tables.

We started with some cocktails, and I very much enjoyed my Bergeron Sidecar with house infused fig & vanilla bean bourbon, cointreau, fresh lemon juice.

The bread came out warm and it was like a mix between challah and a great crispy roll. A bit of salt and good olive oil on it. Very nice.

We began with “the livers” which came in a shallot cream. This was rich and decadent. We asked for more bread to be able to soak up the awesome shallot cream, which had a faintly liver taste (in the best way).

Next we tried the salad with winter squash and bourbon candied pecans, pickled onion, roasted apple, and blue cheese dressing. This tasted great but was a bit lacking in the squash department.

And then we split the dry-aged rib eye filet, which came with smoked oyster mushrooms, russet potato hash, red-eye gravy, and maple and black garlic creme anglaise.

The meat was cooked to perfect, and all the accoutrements were fantastic, but the smoked oyster mushrooms were other worldly. They had an intense smoky flavor, the richness of mushrooms, and were the perfect texture. The meal was very good, but these mushrooms were unbelievable. I love mushrooms and this beat them all. If this isn’t on the menu regularly, they should make a dish entirely based around it. It is just that good. Thinking back on this taste at this moment leaves me with a feeling of great longing. If you don’t see this on the menu, ask for it. I’m telling you. It’s that good.

Since we split everything, we still had some room for dessert.

So Mike chose the honey ricotta cheesecake, which came with a beautiful sugar decoration and had great flavor. The ricotta really made it light and the crust was really flavorful.

I got the flourless chocolate torte with semi-sweet chocolate ganache. This was rich but not overwhelming. The caramel around it paired very nicely and I enjoyed every bite.

Overall, we really enjoyed our meal at Local 188 and we were very happy that we were so strongly recommended to try it. All the food was very tasty and, by our NYC standards, very affordable for the quality and artisanship that went into it. You can tell the people that run this restaurant really care about the food they put out.

And those smoked mushrooms.

Glory be those smoked mushrooms.

The mushrooms alone got this review categorized in the Best of the Best list.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

Tags: best of maine, best places to eat in portland, cocktails, liver, local 188, maine, maine restaurants, portland, portland me, restaurant review, restaurants, ribeye, shallot sauce, smoked mushrooms, squash salad, steak, the livers, wedding planning

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Categories Eating Out, The Best Of The Best, Travel

Portland, Maine: In’finiti Fermentation and Distillation

2 Apr

We arrived in the main center of Portland, Maine less than 20 minutes after we deplaned at the airport, which included renting a car (flying to Maine actually takes less time than my commute to Connecticut. Sad but true.)

We parked on Commercial Street in the first spot we could find, and then turned around to see distillation equipment in the window of an unmarked building. It was new, and definitely not there when we had last visited in the fall.

Curiosity got the better of us and we crossed the street and peered in the windows. Imagine our surprise when we saw people staring back. We walked in to find a fully operational restaurant. One that didn’t seem to have a name. We saw an “8″ on the floor and assumed it was called just, simply, “8.” We were not correct. We got the menu and realized that we were sitting in the brand new (less than 2 weeks after opening) In’finiti Fermentation and Distillation.

We later found out that it’s run by the same people that do Novare Res, which is probably one of the best beer bars (and beer gardens) I’ve ever been to. Just for the sheer options of awesome beers they have if nothing else.

We got a couple beers (their own brews, which we found very drinkable but no stand outs) and chatted with the bartender who said that their food was like “elevated bar food.”

I asked him what his favorite thing on the menu was, and he proceeded to list off about 15 things. I told him he was not making my choice any easier. We decided that we would come back that night for a proper meal.

By the time we came back for dinner, it was packed and there was about a 45 minute wait (it wound up being nearly an hour, which the host apologized for many times, though we were having a fine time just drinking good beer at the bar).

I wound up drinking a Marshall Wharf Dopplebock, which I loved. It was creamy and chocolatey and was easy to sip while standing up to food. Great beer. (And local!)

The aesthetic of the place was described by a Beer Advocate review as being “somewhat industrial with a touch of steampunk.” I can’t think of a better way to put it. And it is an aesthetic I really like. I was a big fan of the tables and stools being made from tree trunk slabs and the pipes holding up all the tables.

They have a large collection of brewing and distilling equipment, all of which is visible behind big glass windows.

And these gorgeous copper beauties up front that first caught our eye.

Even the bathroom sinks were kind of awesome.

Ok… so I was pretty enamored. But how would the food stand up?

We started with the lobster marscapone arancini (rice balls) with blood orange “paint”.

They were quite tasty but we both wished for more lobster flavor. I liked the orange flavor which was mild, but Mike didn’t think it added to the dish. So we were a bit ehh on this. Then again, you really can’t go wrong with crispy rice.

The burger was getting a lot of buzz on various social media outlets we were looking at while awaiting our table, so Mike went for it. Luckily, they put the spicy stuff on the side so I could try the burger. It was, in fact, very good. The meat tasted like meat. A nice char, a bit of salt, and a great meaty flavor that was well complimented by the toppings. And the burger wasn’t too tightly packed. It was packed just enough to stay together. Great texture. The fries were good but not exactly the bliss others were raving about. But still good.

I went with the Turf and Turf which came with braised short ribs and crispy pork belly, seared polenta, and fried cippolini onions.

This was an ode to meat cooked without fluff. Just meat. Pure and simple. I think that short ribs should be tender enough that you don’t need a knife, however, so these were a bit lacking and could have used some more slow cook time. But the meat just tasted good. Good like meat should taste.

We really enjoyed the atmosphere of this place and the beer selection. The food was solid. Very good but I can’t say it was amazing. The burger was really good and I enjoyed everything we ate. I look forward to trying it again and trying their own beers, liquor, and bitters they are making in house. It’s a nice addition to (the already food saturated) Portland. I’m sure this will be a really great place to get a really great beer right on the main street by the water. And as the weather warms up, that deck they have will be lovely.

Total Nom Points: 7 out 10

Tags: arancini, beer, brewery, burger, commercial street, craft beer, dopplebock, hamburger, in'finiti, in'finiti fermentation and distillation, industrial, lobster, lobster marscapone rice balls, maine, maine restaurants, marshall wharf, me, new restaurants, pork belly, portland, portland maine, restaurant review, restaurants, short ribs, steampunk, turf and turf

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Categories Eating Out, New Restaurants, Travel

Hugo’s: Portland, ME (AKA Birthday Dinner Take 2)

13 Nov

I was very fortunate to be able to spend my actual birthday weekend in Maine. We were there to find a wedding venue (more on that at this blog) but we managed to squeeze in some really great meals. On my actual birthday, we went to Hugo’s, one of the restaurants that put Portland, Maine on the map of foodie towns. Hugo’s is actually owned by the same people as Eventide, where we went the day before, and set the stage quite well for this meal (and happens to be right next door).

This restaurant is decorated very simply but elegantly, without being too fancy.

I especially enjoyed the single stem rose on the table with the pinch bowl for salt.

We started with some signature cocktails, which were insanely good. Mike got the PDT’s, which was a Bacon Bourbon Old Fashioned with bacon infused bourbon, maple, orange, and Fee Bros. old fashioned bitters. I got the Marmalade Sour which was with tequila, burnt orange, and lime. Original and delicious.

They placed these homemade biscuits with garlic and potato flour on the table and they just smelled great. It was served with hand churned butter and everything had perfect texture.

A delish bite.

We went with the tasting menu and sprung for the wine pairings.

Our first course was pickle herring with mustard seed and potato crisp paired with a Spanish sparkling wine. I thought it was very fresh and not the mustard seeds were not overpowering (I’m not a mustard person and find that it distracts me from flavors usually).

And the wine was perfect with it.

Course two was fluke mousse medallions with cauliflower purée and quinoa arugula broth. This tasted very “green” and was served cold. It wasn’t so much mousse as it was pâté. I really loved it, but Mike wasn’t a huge fan.

Course 3 was a lobster beet salad with orange purée, baby kale, and pecorino. The dish was light and flavorful. The acid of the vinaigrette cut the greenness of the beets and the wine went exceptionally well. There was a bit of a lemon candy flavor that complimented everything very well.

Course 4 was grilled yellow fin tuna from Massachusetts. It was delicious tuna tartar with maitkai mushroom purée, hajji, and chili oil… As the server went to put this down in front of me, he immediately noticed the chili oil in mine and took it back to the kitchen. It was very quickly replaced. This dish was pretty damn awesome. The waitress told us that she was actually a bit excited that the kitchen screwed mine up so she could try it. And the wine pairing? Perfection.

Our last savory course was a duo of chicken. The red wine that was paired with this was absolutely awesome. We found that the souvied dark meat was much better than the breast. The sauce reminded us of kasha and was very nice with it.

For dessert, we were served a moscato which was an absolutely great glass of wine.

Out came a lime sorbet with watermelon gele, mint melon balls, and prosciutto. It was a very good palette cleanser and everything went incredibly well together.

By this time, we had been drinking enough that I forgot to take a picture of the corn gelato with tomato sweet jam basil and popcorn. We think… the notes got blurry here as well.

This was served with DuPont cider. The best way I could think to describe it was that it tasted like hay… in a REALLY good way. The sweet corn gelato was absolutely awesome. I also really liked the corn cake and tomato but Mike thought it tasted like home made corn pops (he didn’t mention whether this was a good thing or a bad thing). When I got a little bite of everything together it was absolute bliss. I actually wrote down that it was one of my favorite bites… ever.

We then had some little treats, but we were just too stuffed (okay… and drunk) to write it down or remember what it was. Whoops. Note how blurry the picture is as well. Whoops x2.

I absolutely LOVED our meal at Hugo’s. I was incredibly impressed and felt this could rival many meals we have had in the past in NYC. It also made us realize that we enjoyed this meal (especially some of the innovative touches) even more than Jean George’s. I highly, highly recommend a visit if you’re in Portland, Maine.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

Tags: beet salad, best of the best, cauliflower puree, duo of chicken, fluke mousse medallions, hugo's, lime sorbet, lobster, maine, moscato, parker rolls, pickled herring, portland, restaurant review, restaurants, tasting menu, watermelon gelee, wine pairing, yellow fin tuna

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Categories Eating Out, The Best Of The Best, Travel

Eventide in Portland, Maine

8 Nov

Right before embarking on our whirlwind tour of venues in Maine, we spent a night in Portland, Maine with a new friend, the photographer and husband of the editor for Eater Maine (whose last name happens to be the same as mine, though surprisingly, no relation).

He recommended we visit a favorite of Eater Maine, Eventide Oyster Co. Eventide is the sister restaurant of Maine staple, Hugo’s (where we ate for my birthday the day after, more on that later!)

They specialize in, you guessed it, oysters.

They have many varieties and part of the bar itself is made up of the oysters on ice, with a shucker going to town behind the bar.

They also have a great selection of local brews, and we were finally able to try Oxbow. This quickly became one of our favorite beers and we drank a lot of it on this road trip!

We went with half a dozen Winter Points and half a dozen Basket Island oysters (both local to Maine). These were fantastic, though I really loved the Winter Points.

We then tried the Eventide Lobster Roll and the Fried Oyster Bun.

They were served in more of a steamed bun (like a Chinese pork bun consistency) and everything was flavored so insanely well. This was not your classic lobster roll, but it was nice to have a new spin on an old classic. Mike and I weren’t very hungry, so we split both of them, but boy oh boy did I regret not having my own. They were so damn good.

And even the bathrooms stayed on theme.

I was really impressed by Eventide. They are doing new things with good food and everyone there is excited to be doing what they are doing. The vibe is great and the food far surpasses expectations. I can’t wait to go back.

Total Nom Points: 8.5 out of 10

Tags: best new restaurant in portland, best restaurant in portland, best restaurants, eventide, fried oyster roll, lobster roll, maine, oysters, portland, restaurant review, restaurants, where to eat in portland maine

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Categories Eating Out, The Best Of The Best, Travel

Maine Cubed: Portland- Duckfat

17 Jul

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and so it was that we found ourselves back in Portland for lunch on our voyage back to the airport. We were racing to an appointment to do a tasting and tour at Allagash Brewery but decided we had just enough time to squeeze in a stop at Duckfat, a sandwich shop (specializing in fries and panini) that had been recommended to me by a few different people.

The restaurant is small with a number of high top tables and bars around the kitchen to sit.

It has a quirky personality with tiny pictures in the window that looks into the kitchen.

And notice the magnetic poetry on the wall in the background of the below picture.

We ordered the fries with the truffle ketchup and boy oh boy were these good. Perfectly crisp (thanks to the duck fat, I’m sure) and why I haven’t run into about a million versions of truffle ketchup to date, I do not know… but it was delightful.

We kept an eye on time and quickly realized it was not on our side, so the waitress packed up our sandwiches to go. We wound up gobbling them down in the car.

Mike got the pork belly with carrot, radish, pickled onion, cilantro & thai chili mayo. I took a mayo-less nibble and it was quite nice.

I got the duck confit with caramelized miso mayo, bok choy & sweet onion. This was sensational. The duck was so tender and seasoned just right, and that caramelized miso mayo and onion added a perfect compliment of sweetness.

Overall, I really enjoyed Duckfat. It’s unlike any sandwich shop I’ve ever been to and we really enjoyed it. I just recommend leaving yourself more than a few minutes to eat there!

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

I was sad to leave Maine (as I always am) but I’m excited to say that we’ll probably be going back next month to explore wedding venues!

Tags: duckfat, fries, maine restaurants, panini, portland, portland maine, restaurant review, restaurants

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Categories Travel

Maine Cubed: Portland- Petite Jacqueline, Beal’s Ice Cream, and Shipyard Brewery

26 Jun

Mike and I embarked on a long weekend to Maine just this past weekend. It wound up being the most perfect trip, made even more perfect by the fact that we got engaged! I am on my way to being Mrs. Nom Nom.

This is now the third trip I have blogged about on NYCNomNom, including Mike and my first trip together 2 years ago, and my family trip that took place 2 years ago but just made it to the blog recently.

I found an amazing JetBlue deal of $75 off our tickets (thanks to a post from DealsWeLike), which brought our round-trip tickets to less than $70 each. SCORE! It meant planning an extra trip in a time of year FILLED with trips (I just got back from LA, we will be going to Ithaca next week for a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah, and then we’re embarking on a huge trip for 2 weeks to Italy, Switzerland, and France next month). We flew into Portland, where we spent a day, before going to Midcoast Maine and then spent 2 days in the Boothbay Harbor area.

One thing I love about Portland, Maine is that you can land and be in town in less than 30 minutes. So even though we landed at 6:45, we had time to check-in, walk around town, and spend a half hour during free Fridays at the Portland Museum of Art, before our 8:30 reservation at Petite Jacqueline. I had read about Petite Jacqueline because it was a semifinalist for the James Beard award in 2012 for Best New Restaurant.

Inside it is a cute bistro style restaurant and there is some outdoor seating in a patio.

They also have a bar.

And a direct view into the kitchen.

We started with oysters. These were good, but I wouldn’t say they were outstanding.

But then we had the foie gras. This had candied hazelnuts and a chestnut puree. HELLO! It was probably the best foie I’ve had. Perfectly seared, fatty but without being greasy, and all the right flavors to go along with it.

Mike chose to go with the daily special (it was Friday): Choucroute Garnie. This was a french sauerkraut with a pork sausage and a crispy porky potatoey thing (perhaps a croquette?) Whatever it was, it was all very good. It came with mustard in many ways, but even I, a mustard hater, enjoyed the dish very much.

I got the Boeuf Bourguignon (which will always remind me of Julia Child). I’m a big fan of any slow cooked pot roast style meat, so this was right up my alley. The meat was cooked perfectly, the sauce was great, and the potatoes tasted so damn potatoey that I squealed.

Overall, I understand why this restaurant got a James Beard nod. Their food is very French without being the slightest bit pretentious. We really enjoyed our meal here.

Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10

________________

It was a tough call to not have dessert at Petite Jacqueline, but we knew this was our only night in Portland, so we made a beeline back to our favorite ice cream parlor: Beals. We literally made it just as they were locking the door. Phew!

They have a large selection of flavors.

Mike went with Rum Raisin and Moose Trail.

I chose Moose Trail and something with chocolate covered pretzels and caramel.

We enjoyed it as much as the first time!

________________

The next day we walked around Portland and then went to Shipyard Brewery for their video tour and tasting. They only do full brewery tours on Tuesdays, but every other day they have a video tour where they tell you about the history of the brewery as well as their part in bottling and distributing of many other local brews. They have all the beers they have manufactured on a wall beside the viewing room. The video was interesting and short (which was good, we’ve done a lot of brewery tours and they start to feel very similar after a while). The best part of this tour was the tasting. We got to taste about 10 beers and had our choice of a few to taste, so Mike and I would choose different ones and try each others. We probably sampled about 15 brews by the end. And let me tell you, they make some GOOD BEER. But we fell in love with the Applehead Ale, which tasted like apple pie. Trust me on this one. I just hope they start distributing it down here in NYC!

Gosh I love Portland.

Tags: maine, maine restaurants, portland, restaurant review, restaurants, travel, where to eat in portland

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Categories Travel

Maine Take 2: River House in Portsmouth, NH

18 Jun

One nice thing about road tripping to Maine from the TriState area is you drive right through Portsmouth, NH. Portsmouth is a beautiful town where you could probably spend a full vacation if you want to. In my family, however, it has always been a stop along the way. We would get out of the car after about 5 hours driving up from Jersey, and as kids we went to the Children’s Museum to play before having lunch in town.

Now, as an adult, we skip right to the lunch and spend some time walking around the town. There are a number of restaurants lined up along the water, and this time we decided to try River House. It has beautiful views and it’s great to be able to sit outside.

And dream about the houses across the water.

And watch the boats and the bridge. It’s really quite lovely.

Their menu is extensive and varied.

We started with the warm lobster artichoke dip. Lobster and artichokes are 2 of my favorite food, so I was thrilled.

And I loved that it came with big ol’ chunks of lobster in it.

We also tried something on a skewer. I wish I remembered what this was… but 2 years later, it has evaporated (and we already know about the fate of the notebook I bought).

One person in our party got The Cowboy Burger, which was dusted with Cowboy Ranch seasoning, chargrilled, topped with spicy Pepper Jack cheese on a toasted Brioche roll, finished with crisp onion straws, and a side of their house made Chipotle ketchup. He really enjoyed this burger.

We also got a swiss burger with sweet potato fries.

And my sister and I split The Tall Ships Plate, which was a 6 inch sweet Maine lobster roll on a grilled brioche bun with a cup of chowder and some sweet potato fries.

The lobster roll was made the way I like it… on a roll with plenty of butter, one leaf of lettuce, and big chunks of lobster that weren’t drowning in mayo. It was very good, but I can’t say it was the best I’ve had.

The chowder was hearty and flavorful, but so creamy that I think we only had a few bites each.

This is a good restaurant to satisfy a lot of different palates (they even have a gluten free menu now!) with gorgeous views and very good food. We really enjoyed ourselves here, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with the beautiful weather and views.

Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10

Tags: acadia, American lobster, gluten free, Kittery Maine, lobster, lobster roll, maine, maine restaurants, new hampshire, portland, portsmoth, portsmouth, portsmouth new hampshire, portsmouth nh, restaurant reviews, restaurants, road trip, where to eat in maine

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Categories Eating Out, Travel

Maine Take 2: DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant- Portland

15 Jun

In Portland, restaurant options are growing leaps and bounds every day (I hear it’s grown a lot in just the 2 years since I’ve been… looking forward to finding out TONIGHT!)

But one restaurant has been there as long as I can remember (Wow! 1954 according to their website): DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant.

Yes.. floating. (But only floating since 1982… Happy 30th Anniversary of floatation!)

I’m pretty sure I have never been in this restaurant, but it looks exactly as you would think you would remember it. Somewhere between a cruise ship and lake cabin. And we were the youngest people in the restaurant by at least 20 years.

The menu is large, with a focus on seafood (as it should be).

We started with an appetizer of angel hair spaghetti with scallops, shrimp, and artichokes. This dish really just focused on the ingredients, but the ingredients were very good, so we enjoyed it.

We also had some burgers and a pizza.

Both of which were fair. Nothing special, but not too bad either.

I also picked up this handy dandy little notebook that came with a pen. I wrote down all my notes about everywhere we dined throughout the trip, and decided to keep it with me to continue taking notes for the blog. There are always delays between dining and writing, and with my swiss cheese memory, I thought the notebook would help. And then… in typical Sara form… I forgot where I put the notebook when I came back. Go me.

DiMillo’s is a classic place. I wouldn’t say run there, but it’s a fine choice for a unique experience of dining, literally, on the water. You may want to wait a few years though, until your hair turns grey, so you can feel like you fit in a little better. And if you’re in Portland, I’d say hit up one of the restaurants we went to on our earlier trip like J’s Oyster or Fore Street.

Total Nom Points: 6.5 out of 10

Tags: acadia, dimillo's, DiMillo's Floating Restaurant, floating restaurant, lobster, maine, maine restaurants, portland, restaurant reviews, restaurants, road trip, where to eat in maine

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Categories Eating Out, Travel

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.