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Kennebunkport; Portland

There is a Federal Jack's brewpub in Kennebunkport, and their Fuggles IPA is pretty tasty (it's part of the Shipyard chain). Kennebunkport is a pretty cool little town, but I only had street food there (some decent clam cakes from the Clam Shack on the main drag).

In Portland, I had a good Reuben and some great fries at the Sebago Bay Brewpub downtown. Didn't eat elsewhere. The Great Lost Bear is a cool beer bar if you want to sample some of the state's finest ales: they have a bunch of taps, and it's not too far from downtown Portland.

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Portland; Portsmouth

ooo - have fun! There are lots of good, fun places to eat up there.

Bintliff's is the place to go for brunch in Portland. Its tiny and will be packed, but has amazing pancakes, waffles, and french toast, and is worth the wait.

For brunch / lunch in Portsmouth, The Friendly Toast is a must. Its totally funky, but the breakfasts and sandwiches are both really good and it is too much fun to not at least drop in. There's a great write up on it in the local paper [url=http://archive.seacoastonline.com/2004news/09032004/it/35576.htm]here.[/url

For dinner in Portsmouth, there used to be a really fabulous second story wine bar right on the water called Lindberg's Crossing. It looks like its now called Black Trumpet Bistro and run by the guy who was the chef at Lindberg's. The upstairs wine bar is lovely and has a really fantastic view of the water.

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Cape Neddick

We will be taking our first trip to Maine next weekend and are looking for some good eats. We will be in Portland for one night, Kennebunkport for one night, and Ogunquit two nights. We will also be driving up through NH, so would love to go to Portsmoth for brunch or lunch. We are looking to eats lots of lobster and other typical regional cuisine. In Portland, we would just like to try a great restaurants, no specifications. Suggestions appreciated!

As you drive up the coast from Portsmouth to Kennebunkport, if you can, stop at Flo's hotdog stand in Cape Neddick. The only thing on the menu is served with Flo's special sauce...Flo's is an institution in Maine and you can also buy the special sauce to take home. You won't be disappointed. Flo's was named as one of America's top ten hot dog's by Bon Appetit magazine.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/pennygourmet/floshotdogs.html
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We will be taking our first trip to Maine next weekend and are looking for some good eats. We will be in Portland for one night, Kennebunkport for one night, and Ogunquit two nights. We will also be driving up through NH, so would love to go to Portsmoth for brunch or lunch. We are looking to eats lots of lobster and other typical regional cuisine. In Portland, we would just like to try a great restaurants, no specifications. Suggestions appreciated!

When in Maine, don't forget to pick up some Allen's. ;)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6010800808.html

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Portsmouth

Stopped at Friendly Toast in Portsmouth on the way from Logan to Bar Harbor... great place and great value.... particularly for the kids. Kids meals are anything on the menu for a half portion for half price... though I think my daughter got more than half a portion of eggs and toast. I had the french toast with raisin bread, which almost didn't need syrup. Bacon wasn't much to write home about. Walked out and saw the Blue Angels rehearsing.

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Heading to Ogunquit soon. Anything that is currently great in town or nearby? TIA!

Maine Diner for breakfast http://www.mainediner.com/  It has a national reputation now but I've been there a half dozen times in the last ten years and it is still well worth the stop.  Another touristy place is down the road in Wells called Bob's Clam Hut.  I first went there in the early '80's when it was literally a clam hut.  Excellent whole bellied clams with outstanding, smooth homemade tartar sauce.  Still, to be honest, I would invest the 35-40 minutes and go into Portland for Fore Street (nominated for Beard national award three or four times) which I continue to believe is one of the absolute best restaurants in the U. S. Also, a lot of character.  A couple of blocks away is Duck Fat which is owned by Hugo's (Beard winner) and is the best place for lunch in New England.  French fries (namesake, fried in duckfat) at least equal to Vleminckx in Amsterdam and Maison Antoine in Brussels. Well, maybe better.  They actually have a sign in the window saying their's are the best on earth.  Panini's are the best I've ever had.

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Thanks Joe. We'd been to Maine Diner before and hit it up again this time and it's still good. Bob's Clam Shack is not really touristy, at least not when we went. Their tartar sauce is spectacular and all of the food we had there was great.

Still, as you often do, you suggest thoughts for places a bit further afield from the location being asked about. It's not a bad thing, I am sure some people (including me at times) appreciate the extra effort, but perhaps I should have qualified that this was a getaway where I wanted to stay reasonably close to Ogunquit and environs and not make an almost hour long trek to an acclaimed restaurant (Google Maps says 48 mins in no traffic, 53 in Sunday afternoon traffic). This trip was all about relaxation, meditation, and connecting with my wife, away from the distractions of home. Is a great meal worth an hour drive? Sure. Just not for this trip (especially considering we drove up there and were going to drive back home as well!).

Some good places to consider when up Ogunquit way --

MC Perkins Cove - loud when crowded, but really good food. Their lobster mac and cheese was exceptional and even their salmon was very good. And their sticky toffee pudding was a great finish.

That Place - very nice space and service. Can get a bit loud, but they have made modifications to keep the sound capped. Food was really good - warm chicken crostini was unexpectedly good. Cioppino was very tomatoey but delicious (served a too hot, which caused the shrimp to overcook though). The Oysters Bingo was also quite good. They even do steak very well l(my wife was craving meat at this point after gorging on seafood every day). Wine selection pretty limited, but I've seen worse.

Amore Breakfast - Get the corned beef hash. NOW. Best I have ever ever had. Ever. Lobster eggs benedict were rocking too, and the stuffed french toast was delicious!

I'd avoid the Wild Blueberry place (at least for dinner) as the portions were huge, a bit underseasoned and overcooked. Roost was decent, but had some hits and misses.

Flo's for steamed hot dogs and that crazy awesome relish they use. Parking is tight so be careful!

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Two mid-coast places to recommend and one to avoid:

Fog is a hip and lively bar and cafe on the southern end of the main drag in Rockland. Not open for lunch, but serving casual and well-conceived bar food starting at 4 p.m. We walked in at about 8 p.m. and sat at a table near the back where silent films are projected on the wall. We watched a great Buster Keaton film, Sherlock, Jr. and part of a Charlie Chaplin film while we ate. J. had an excellent burger with fresh-cut fries and I had a duck shepherd's pie, made with duck confit in a tasty broth with some inobtrusive veg, topped with sweet potato puree and carmelized onions. They have a good selection of local beers on tap and in bottles.

Solo Bistro on Front Street in Bath has very cool "Maine modern" design, sort of a mash-up of Scandinavian and mid-century modern, and excellent food. There's a rathskeller/wine bar downstairs, with exposed brick and really old stone walls, the old foundation walls of the building. Well-executed modern cuisine. While we waited for our food, we were served some homemade bread with a tub of salt-roasted beet and roasted onion butter, raspberry-pink in color. We split a caesar salad to start, with Spanish boquerones (marinated anchovies), and slivers of pecorino in it. J. had a perfectly cooked hanger steak with a deepy flavored bordelaise sauce, frites with roasted garlic aioli and haricots verts. I ordered swordfish, and requested that it be cooked "medium rare" (too many disappointing meals of overcooked fish and seafood in th past few days up here, but that's another story). I would have been happier if my fish had been pulled from the fire a minute or two sooner than it was, but at least it wasn't overcooked and dry. The fish was topped with roasted grape tomatoes with basil, capers and olive oil, on a bed of very creamy roasted garlic mashed potatoes and haricots verts. The portions were quite generous. They had a prix-fixe meal for $24.95 of house salad, moules-frites, and apple crisp, that seemed like a good deal, since most of the entrees were in the $25 range. There's a decent but not dazzling wine list with numerous wines by the glass, between $7 and $9. We finished with coffee and very silky creme brulee.

Avoid Savory in Damariscotta. The menu looks good, with expressions of fealty to local farmers, fisher, and foragers. The building is a small former village church whose interior is airy, clean and tasteful. The quality of the cooking was in a word: awful.

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