A Foodie's Guide to Southern Coastal Maine

School is out!  I’m very happy about it because it was an extremely stressful semester for me and I’m thankful it’s over. After all that college stress, a vacation was much needed, so my aunt and I decided to go to Maine.  Many people ask me “Of all the places in the world, why Maine?”  Well, good people of the internet, I will give you three reasons:

1. It’s gorgeous:

2. It’s gorgeous:

And

3. It’s gorgeous:

My aunt and I have been to Maine a few times before and we knew what we wanted to do while we were there, so it was a relatively simple trip to plan (simplicity is big plus when you’re planning a trip while under college stress.  It also helps to have a travel buddy who does 90% of the pre-trip planning, so you can focus on your classes.  Thanks aunty!)

Here is a list of activities I did while out in Maine:

Sit next to the ocean

Walk next to the ocean

Eat seafood

Yep, it was a very good vacation indeed!  

Since this is a blog about food and cooking, I’m excited to share some of the meals my aunt and I had on our wonderful trip.  After all, it’s not fun to sit next to the ocean on an empty stomach!

Note: I really try to make the meals I write about on this blog healthy and inexpensive. Unfortunately, none of the following meals are healthy or inexpensive.  But, as the cool kids say these days: you only live once.

Oarweed

Oarweed is a cozy little restaurant with a great ocean view.  My aunt and I found it on our first trip to Maine and we eat there almost every day we are in the area.

Seafood Chowder: Similar to a clam chowder, but because there’s also haddock, lobster and shrimp in it, this chowder has a much deeper flavor. It’s so good, it’s worth going to Maine only for this chowder.  And it’s totally appropriate to eat three bowls of this for supper...

Crab Cakes: My favorite meal at Oarweed is served with a delicious remoulade.  You can order them with a side salad or a cup of chowder.  

Maine Diner

This place knows how to make good food, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed!  Maine Diner is known as one of the best restaurants in Maine and was even featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  Better yet, the food is very reasonably priced, so both your tummy and wallet won’t leave empty.

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese: Tastes like homemade and has large chunks of lobster meat. One of the diner’s most popular dishes and one of my favorites.   

Maine Lobster Melt: English muffins topped with tomato slices, lobster, and melted cheese. Comes with your choice of side and a pickle.

Don’t forget dessert!  The Maine diner’s desserts are about half the price of most other area restaurants and you get a huge serving.  My aunt and I are always too full after dinner, so we get our dessert to-go for a midnight snack.  Pictured below are blueberry pie and chocolate cake.

Brown’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream

As long as I’m on the topic of desserts, I should tell you about Brown’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream.  Located near Cape Neddick lighthouse, it has some of the world’s best ice cream.  I loved the Maine Wild Blueberry and the Sea-Salted Caramel with Chocolate Truffles and my aunt raved about Dark Raspberry Explosion.

Alisson’s Restaurant: I don’t know what it is, but this place just makes me happy!

Steamed Mussels: If there is only one thing you get at Alisson’s, please let it be the steamed mussels! They are simmered in a wonderful buttery white wine sauce. Thankfully, they give you bread to soak up the extra sauce, because I would seriously lick the plate clean.  Plus, what an adorable little bucket for putting your empty shells in!

Fried Clams: I wanted to try fried clams.  They were really good, but if you’re not used to eating fried food (like me), skip the French fries and get a salad instead.  

Lobster, Scallop, and Shrimp Medley: Smothered in a buttery garlic sauce and topped with bread crumbs.     

The Wild Blueberry Cafe

This was a new place that we had never tried before.  The cute name caught my eye and I’m glad it did, because I will definitely be eating here again.

The Wild Blueberry Cafe Breakfast:  As you can probably tell by now, blueberries are a big deal in Maine, because they grow a lot of them.  Trying blueberry pancakes was a must and I was not disappointed!

Crepes with Fresh Berries: I could eat crepes for every meal and these look great!

There you have it!  Probably more information and pictures than you needed, but I wanted to share.  Both my aunt and I had a wonderful time.

I hope you all are having a good week!