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By Emily, July 14, 2010 1:16 pm

It’s amazing how quickly vacation can seem like it was years ago.  We’ve been home for 10 days, but that relaxed, carefree feeling that comes from not wearing make-up or having a schedule for a week is quickly disappearing.  It’s probably just as well that it took me awhile to write Part 2 of this post, maybe I can mentally return to vacation.

If you missed Part 1 of my favorite eateries in the Boothbay Region, check it out.  Part 2 is focused more on snack and dessert establishments, but who says you can’t have ice cream for lunch?

Wannawaf (Boothbay Harbor)

Above is a picture of an amazing hot dog.  It’s called “A Dog Named Jeff” and it’s got mayonnaise, stone ground mustard, caramelized onions and fresh onions…and maybe something else.  It’s hard to remember.  Anyway, the hot dogs and their respective combination (they’ve got a dozen or so creations that I’d never think of) are awesome.  But that’s not why we go to Wannwaf.   We go to Wannawaf for the ice cream. Staying with the theme from Part 1, Wannawaf is an order at the window and eat at picnic tables establishment located on the waterfront in the Harbor.  They serve ice cream sundaes over Belgian waffles.  The combinations, once again, are incredible. This time around we tried a S’more variety: waffle, vanilla ice cream, marshmallow topping, hot fudge and walnuts.  So good.

Gelato Fiasco (Brunswick)

Image from The Gelato Fiasco website

If you leave the Boothbay penninsula and head south–to go to Brunswick, Cooks Corner, or Portland, you’ll come close to or go through Brunswick.  And when my family passes through Brunswick, we stop at Gelato Fiasco pretty much every time.  My sister once went 3 times in one weekend, it’s that good.  As I’ve mentioned before, the flavor selection is creative and delicious(banana, chocolate orange, ginger, pomegranate lime, dark chocolate caramel) and the atmosphere is inviting and relaxing.  Gelato Fiasco also supplies a number of Maine and New Hampshire restaurants and stores with their product, including a recently opened gelato stand in Boothbay Harbor.

Downeast Ice Cream Factory (Boothbay Harbor)

When I worked summers in Boothbay Harbor (every summer of my high school and college careers, plus a couple summers after), I always sent people to the Downeast Ice Cream Factory for dessert.  The servings are big, the ice cream locally made and they have tons of flavors, many Maine related (maple, blueberry, whoopie pie, etc).

Coastal Maine Popcorn (Boothbay Harbor)

image from Coastal Maine Popcorn

As I mentioned last year, Coastal Maine Popcorn is one of my favorite places to grab a snack in Boothbay Harbor.  They make 34 flavors and though I’m much more into savory popcorn (salt & vinegar, buffalo wing, wasabi soy) than sweet (marshmallow, fresh peach, root beer), I’ve never had a flavor that didn’t taste exactly like what it was supposed to.  Brian and I headed home with 3 bags this trip: Tuscan Herb, White Cheddar and Parmesan Garlic.   Of course, we’re all out again, so if anyone in Boothbay wants to send some our way, we’d be eternally grateful.

Frontier Cafe (Brunswick)

If I lived in Brunswick, I’d probably spend a lot of time at the Frontier Cafe (when I wasn’t eating gelato, of course).  I reviewed them a year ago, but I needed to share the experience with Brian. The Frontier Cafe is a combination of wonderful things: good coffee, local and organic food, art, films, beer and wine. This time around, Brian and I got the French Marketplate (Black Forest Ham, Brie, House Made Pate, Fish Bowl Farm Organic Roasted Beet, Sliced Tomato, Coquillo Olives, Cornichons, Grainy Mustard, Baguette); as you can see, it’s beautiful.  It tasted beautiful, too.

Honorable Mentions:

Sarah’s Cafe (Wiscasset) – We didn’t have time to go to Sarah’s this time around, but their diverse menu and reasonable prices helped make Sarah’s one of my family’s favorites.

Kaler’s Crab and Lobster House (Boothbay Harbor) – Another one of the places I always sent tourists to, Kaler’s is my pick for cheap, fried seafood, though they have really good salads too.

Boathouse Bistro (Boothbay Harbor) – Brian’s been bugging me to try out the Boathouse Bistro’s tapas menu for years and we finally got around to it this summer.  Everything we tried was unique and yummy, as were my parents entrees.  Besides, tapas are just fun.

What Boothbay region eating establishments did I miss?

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By Emily, July 6, 2010 12:13 pm

This is a post about being on vacation.  It’s also post about “going home”.  The Boothbay region (and its restaurants) have been a part of my life since I was about 2.  Some of these places have been favorites all my life, some of them are more recent additions.  But last week, when Brian and I headed north to see my parents and enjoy the Maine coast, we ate as much as we could, taking a vacation from our usual eating habits and going home to the way I used to eat.  We’re only going to Maine once this summer, which means we had at least a summer’s worth of tourist-y eating to make up for in a week.  Don’t judge.

For those unfamiliar, Boothbay is a small town on the Maine coast.  I lived there until last summer when I got married and moved to the Berkshires.  I love the Berkshires, but its no Boothbay.  Boothbay is extremely quiet during the winter, but its popularity with tourists means the population explodes in the summer and all sorts of delicious restaurants open.

The places below are some of my favorites in and around Boothbay.  It’s not a perfect list, I don’t think there’s a local eatery I dislike.  These are the places I had to go to, my family’s favorites and where I used to send tourists when I worked retail in the Harbor.  This is my list, but I’m sure anyone else who has been there would have their own.  Establishments with websites are linked in green.

East Boothbay General Store – East Boothbay

There’s not too much in “downtown” East Boothbay.  But that doesn’t matter, because all you need is the EBGS.  We only managed to get there for (really awesome) soft serve ice cream this trip, but they have much more than ice cream.  It’s my pick for best pizza in the region and they feature great flavors like Blueberry and Gorgonzola, Asian, and Prosciutto Mozzarella.  The General Store also provides a variety of sandwiches, salads and breakfast pastries.  Oh, and its a general store, with a great selection of staples (milk, bread, eggs) and treats (fancy cheeses and crackers, wine, candy).

McSeagulls – Boothbay Harbor

I haven’t eaten at every restaurant in the harbor, but I’m pretty sure that McSeagulls has the biggest menu, coming in at 12 pages (download it if you don’t believe me!).  If you want something, they probably serve it.   They have some creative seafood dishes, if you’re tired of basic lobster or fried fish, including “Haddock McSeagulls” (pictured).  My Haddock McSeagulls was coconut and almond encrusted haddock, topped with shrimp.  Amazing.  McSeagulls also gets extra points because they did our rehearsal dinner, but that’s another story.

Dunton’s Doghouse – Boothbay Harbor

I suspect that the above picture pretty much explains what Dunton’s is.  It’s a stand on the side of the road that serves greasy food. Delicious greasy food.  The default date spot for my first boyfriend and I (and no, our breakup didn’t have anything to do with the fact that this was considered a “date”), every person (especially men) I’ve taken since then has loved it.  I put off taking Brian for a long time, thinking it wasn’t refined enough (clearly, I did not know him well then) but even he fell in love.  They have a surprisingly large menu for a place like this, including hot dogs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, sausage, fried fish and french fries (which I highly recommend).

Bet’s Fish Fry - Boothbay

If you’re in the mood for fried food from a stand and Dunton’s doesn’t do it for you, or you don’t feel like looking for a parking space in the Harbor, or you really like really big fish sandwiches, you should go to Bet’s Fish Fry.  At Bet’s you can have fish and chips, a fish sandwich, or just the fried fish (“fish in a dish”).  That’s the menu, though there are half portions available of everything.  Why half portions?  Because this is what the sandwich looks like.  Yes, that’s three fried fish filets.  And Brian and I both put away 3/4 of a sandwich and a bunch of fries.

Beth’s Farm Market – Warren

If you manage to get inland a bit, and you need to cleanse from all that fried food, find Beth’s.  Located sort of nowhere, there are tons of signs on Route 1 to help you find it.  They grow all the produce they sell, as well as pies, donuts, jams, milk and cheese.  Farm stands just make me happy (though Beth’s is more of a store than a stand);  I stop there anytime I’ve headed north on Route 1.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Snacks, Desserts and Honorable Mentions

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By Emily, March 24, 2009 7:17 am

I was thrilled when on this morning’s news there was a story about how schools in Kittery and York, Maine are working on a program to put local food into their school lunch program. It’s great to see that the ideas which are popular in New York and Washington DC are finding their way up here to Maine.

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