Until last summer, I hadn’t been to Maine in years. After a not so great experience as a kid,
I was in no rush to visit. But my mom and sister had gone on vacation there a few years in a row and I was ready to see what I’d been missing out on.
While in Maine we stay primarily in the beach towns close to the New Hampshire/Maine border. I’m talking small towns like Ogunquit, York, Wells, and Kennebunkport. Throughout my Maine experiences the last two summers I’ve come to enjoy many things. From day trips to Portland or Freeport, to walking around gift shops or relaxing at the beach, by far the best part of vacation is the food.
New England is known for it’s seafood and Maine is no exception. Staying in a hotel often means no kitchen, which typically means a lot of eating out. Although this becomes a bit pricy, it provides the perfect opportunity for lobster every night of the week. My home in New York is only a few hours away from the ocean and our grocery stores definitely get access to fresh seafood, but it’s nothing like what you get in Maine.
Lobster is no easy meal. You really have to work for it, and it’s that much more rewarding when you dip that tail meat in butter and savor it as you watch the sun set along Perkins Cove. But lobster isn’t the only thing Maine does right in the culinary world. One of my favorite things, chowder, is available at almost every restaurant in a few different varieties, and almost always delicious. I’ve always been a fan of New England clam chowder, but I’ve expanded my horizons to seafood chowder as well. On more than one occasion this summer I ordered seafood chowder to see it full of entire scallops, baby shrimp, lobster, clams, and fish. Like I said, New England is known for it’s seafood.
While I was mostly eating seafood in Ogunguit, we did take a day trip to a Portland which is known for it’s growing food scene. Only there for a day, I didn’t get the chance to check out everything. I did however get the chance to try an amazing dark chocolate coconut donut from The Holy Donut.
Fun fact: they make their donuts with potatoes! If you only have a few hours in Portland, get a donut. Eating in Maine is not cheap, especially because it’s a lot of seafood, but if you can take one week out of the year to enjoy Maine, enjoy it to the fullest.
For more food pictures from my trip to Maine and my other adventures, check out my Instagram page @eatingwitherin