Some Restaurants in mid-coast Maine
When I rode into Maine from San Diego on my Honda 350 in August of 1972, I was so broke I spent most of my time on Route 1 so I could avoid the turnpike tolls. I didn't eat out a lot. Which was just as well because there weren't a whole lot of good restaurants then. Lots of pizza places. I'm sure there were some very good high-end places but I never visited them. I remember eating a lot of rice back then. I still do, but now I have other things with it. Besides bouillon. Here is a very idiosyncratic survey of a few restaurants in the Bath-Brunswick-Wiscasset-Damarascotta area that I like.
Brunswick, where I spend most of my time, had two 'good' - that is, more expensive 'family' restaurants when I first arrived, along with a couple of tired Cantonese chop suey houses and a few bars. Within months of my arrival - in fact, most likely because of my arrival - the Bowdoin Steak House was born and that remained for a long time the 'hippest' good quality restaurant around. (Alas, it is no more. It's now a very good German restaurant.) Now there are three Mexican, three Thai, two Indian restaurants, a good Italian, two German, a multi-Asian place, a whole range of youth oriented bars and brew pubs, the delightful Henry & Marty's and a whole slug of others that escape my mind at the moment.
Of the Thai, I like the Bankok Garden in the Fort Andross Mill down at the end of Maine Street, I'm not crazy about either of the Indian restaurants but I've had some wonderful times with friends and family - and decent food - at Bombay Mahal on the east side of Maine Street. Henry & Marty's is a bit precious but has wonderful food. Marty is usually in the kitchen; Henry is naturally gregarious and can usually be found making the rounds of the tables. Marty, by the way, can also be heard in various concert halls in Maine and around New England as a concert pianist. The Great Impasta (get it?) across the street from H&M's is good but I always feel kind of claustrophobic when I'm in there.
What else. Well, there's my guilty pleasure, Fat Boy's drive-in on the road between Brunswick and Cook's Corner. They have, hands down, the absolutely best onion rings in the world. Bar none. They've been around for years and cars start circling the empty parking lot in early April waiting for it to open. In the summer the place is packed from eleven 'til two and through the dinner hour. Their fresh fish sandwich is very good. Makes you feel a little better about eating those onion rings. And if you're lucky (or not) you'll hear the din of ancient Lockeed Electras dressed up as P3 Orions, keeping our shores safe from Iraqui submarines.
One of my favorite places is the Humble Gourmet. It's out at 103 Pleasant Street, south (okay, west - but it seems south) of the main part of town, just before it splits and becomes one way. It's practically impossible to find. It's between a bar and a vacuum cleaner place across from Brunswick True-Valu hardware. They have wonderful and interesting sandwiches (my favorite is the Charlane) great soups, quiche, salads, fresh bread, wonderful and reasonably priced baked goods, a small assortment of wines and hot sauces (go figure) and the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. All of their baked goods are wonderful but the Chocolate chip cookies exist on a separate plane of being. If you ever wondered what the phrase 'to die for' meant, try one of those cookies, especially when they are warm. Go to Fat Boys, have a fresh fish sandwich and some onion rings then finish off your meal with a chocolate cookie from the Humble. You can pretty much figure on shaving a couple months off your life - but it's worth it. God, it's worth it. And if you are having a party, the Humble is definitely the place to cater it. Yup. Good people: Sandy and Chris - and wonderful, humble food.
Forget Cook's Corner, the shopping center about a third of the way to Bath. Franchise city - except for a little eatery inside Bookland, one of the few remaining independent booksellers. It's not bad for a light lunch. Some interesting things, unfortunately most are heated in a microwave, but it's kind of pleasant to sit there and eat and read.
Bath has a couple of good restaurants. They used to have Kristina's at the top of the hill near the old courthouse, but it's morphed into a place called Mae's which I've never been in. I still see the same assortment of Saabs and Volvos so I expect they have kept up the standards of the previous owner.
We go down to the Kennebec Tavern now and then. So-so food but it's right on the water and that counts for a lot. There is also a place called Beale Street Barbeque from which we frequently get take out but I have to say that even though it's good, it ain't the same as the real thing served on a fluorescent-lit worn Formica table in the deep south. Pierce's, for example, near Williamsburg, VA.
For pizza, beer and a heavy dose of shipbuilders (the best ships in the world are built right across the street) check out the Cabin on Washington Street. They opened the year I came to Maine and since that time I've burnt the roof of my mouth countless times - and had some pretty good pizza.
Crossing the Kennebec from Bath to Woolwich, bear right toward Reed State Park and take a left on the Robinhood road (six or eight miles out) to the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse. One of the finest restaurants in the area. Make reservations.
Between Woolwich the Kennebec and the Sheepscot there isn't much. I'd avoid 'The taste of Maine.' I've never been there but I've been to another restaurant owned by the same family and I'll never return.
For breakfast, Karen's Kitchen (about half-way between the two rivers on Route 1, near the Wiscasset Trading Post canoe place) is very good with a good dose of local color. Another good local restaurant is the Sea Basket. Everything is fried but done right. Excellent fish, good onion rings, great chowder. And for entertainment afterward, wander through Big Al's across the street.
In Wiscasset, you have Sarah's - big portions, nice view of the river - and across the street Red's Eats: take out with the best lobster rolls on earth. They have been written up in most of the major papers and have been interviewed by Japanese film crews. You can't miss it: look for the line around the corner. There is also Treats, if you can stand the snooty help: over priced baked goods and coffee; pretty good sandwiches, large selection of wine, good bread.
Across the river in Edgecomb is Bintliff's Ocean Grill. Very good, excellent service, excellent but not memorable. Wonderful evening view across the river toward the setting sun. Bintliff's is by far the best restaurant to inhabit that particular location. Many have tried; few have succeeded.
And finally (for this region) I have to mention The Breakfast Place in Damarascotta. It's small, the kitchen is the size of a walk-in closet, the wait can be interminable - and that's after you get a table - but they have absolutely wonderful breakfasts. Nobody comes close. Just be patient.
Okay, that's my summary of a few of the restaurants I like along that stretch of the coast.
Enjoy!
Brunswick, where I spend most of my time, had two 'good' - that is, more expensive 'family' restaurants when I first arrived, along with a couple of tired Cantonese chop suey houses and a few bars. Within months of my arrival - in fact, most likely because of my arrival - the Bowdoin Steak House was born and that remained for a long time the 'hippest' good quality restaurant around. (Alas, it is no more. It's now a very good German restaurant.) Now there are three Mexican, three Thai, two Indian restaurants, a good Italian, two German, a multi-Asian place, a whole range of youth oriented bars and brew pubs, the delightful Henry & Marty's and a whole slug of others that escape my mind at the moment.
Of the Thai, I like the Bankok Garden in the Fort Andross Mill down at the end of Maine Street, I'm not crazy about either of the Indian restaurants but I've had some wonderful times with friends and family - and decent food - at Bombay Mahal on the east side of Maine Street. Henry & Marty's is a bit precious but has wonderful food. Marty is usually in the kitchen; Henry is naturally gregarious and can usually be found making the rounds of the tables. Marty, by the way, can also be heard in various concert halls in Maine and around New England as a concert pianist. The Great Impasta (get it?) across the street from H&M's is good but I always feel kind of claustrophobic when I'm in there.
What else. Well, there's my guilty pleasure, Fat Boy's drive-in on the road between Brunswick and Cook's Corner. They have, hands down, the absolutely best onion rings in the world. Bar none. They've been around for years and cars start circling the empty parking lot in early April waiting for it to open. In the summer the place is packed from eleven 'til two and through the dinner hour. Their fresh fish sandwich is very good. Makes you feel a little better about eating those onion rings. And if you're lucky (or not) you'll hear the din of ancient Lockeed Electras dressed up as P3 Orions, keeping our shores safe from Iraqui submarines.
One of my favorite places is the Humble Gourmet. It's out at 103 Pleasant Street, south (okay, west - but it seems south) of the main part of town, just before it splits and becomes one way. It's practically impossible to find. It's between a bar and a vacuum cleaner place across from Brunswick True-Valu hardware. They have wonderful and interesting sandwiches (my favorite is the Charlane) great soups, quiche, salads, fresh bread, wonderful and reasonably priced baked goods, a small assortment of wines and hot sauces (go figure) and the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. All of their baked goods are wonderful but the Chocolate chip cookies exist on a separate plane of being. If you ever wondered what the phrase 'to die for' meant, try one of those cookies, especially when they are warm. Go to Fat Boys, have a fresh fish sandwich and some onion rings then finish off your meal with a chocolate cookie from the Humble. You can pretty much figure on shaving a couple months off your life - but it's worth it. God, it's worth it. And if you are having a party, the Humble is definitely the place to cater it. Yup. Good people: Sandy and Chris - and wonderful, humble food.
Forget Cook's Corner, the shopping center about a third of the way to Bath. Franchise city - except for a little eatery inside Bookland, one of the few remaining independent booksellers. It's not bad for a light lunch. Some interesting things, unfortunately most are heated in a microwave, but it's kind of pleasant to sit there and eat and read.
Bath has a couple of good restaurants. They used to have Kristina's at the top of the hill near the old courthouse, but it's morphed into a place called Mae's which I've never been in. I still see the same assortment of Saabs and Volvos so I expect they have kept up the standards of the previous owner.
We go down to the Kennebec Tavern now and then. So-so food but it's right on the water and that counts for a lot. There is also a place called Beale Street Barbeque from which we frequently get take out but I have to say that even though it's good, it ain't the same as the real thing served on a fluorescent-lit worn Formica table in the deep south. Pierce's, for example, near Williamsburg, VA.
For pizza, beer and a heavy dose of shipbuilders (the best ships in the world are built right across the street) check out the Cabin on Washington Street. They opened the year I came to Maine and since that time I've burnt the roof of my mouth countless times - and had some pretty good pizza.
Crossing the Kennebec from Bath to Woolwich, bear right toward Reed State Park and take a left on the Robinhood road (six or eight miles out) to the Robinhood Free Meetinghouse. One of the finest restaurants in the area. Make reservations.
Between Woolwich the Kennebec and the Sheepscot there isn't much. I'd avoid 'The taste of Maine.' I've never been there but I've been to another restaurant owned by the same family and I'll never return.
For breakfast, Karen's Kitchen (about half-way between the two rivers on Route 1, near the Wiscasset Trading Post canoe place) is very good with a good dose of local color. Another good local restaurant is the Sea Basket. Everything is fried but done right. Excellent fish, good onion rings, great chowder. And for entertainment afterward, wander through Big Al's across the street.
In Wiscasset, you have Sarah's - big portions, nice view of the river - and across the street Red's Eats: take out with the best lobster rolls on earth. They have been written up in most of the major papers and have been interviewed by Japanese film crews. You can't miss it: look for the line around the corner. There is also Treats, if you can stand the snooty help: over priced baked goods and coffee; pretty good sandwiches, large selection of wine, good bread.
Across the river in Edgecomb is Bintliff's Ocean Grill. Very good, excellent service, excellent but not memorable. Wonderful evening view across the river toward the setting sun. Bintliff's is by far the best restaurant to inhabit that particular location. Many have tried; few have succeeded.
And finally (for this region) I have to mention The Breakfast Place in Damarascotta. It's small, the kitchen is the size of a walk-in closet, the wait can be interminable - and that's after you get a table - but they have absolutely wonderful breakfasts. Nobody comes close. Just be patient.
Okay, that's my summary of a few of the restaurants I like along that stretch of the coast.
Enjoy!
posted by Kunitz in Maine at 6:08 PM
0 comments
