Maine Day 3: Breakfast - Kingsleigh Inn B&B

Doesn't this look like dessert??


Breakfast on the last day was two courses again - all sweet this time. The inn alternates between sweet & savory breakfasts every other day - I'd have to say that when it's all sweet, it is serious sugar overload. And for those of you that know me, you know how much I love sweets. I love all things sweet: dessert, ice cream, cake, chocolate you name it. So if I'm sugared out, you know there was a lot going on.

To start, there was homemade granola and freshly baked muffins again. Sunday's muffins were Pumpkin and Blueberry. Pumpkin is Stan's favorite and there were only three left when we got downstairs so I quickly snatched two - one for him at the table, one for him to take on the road. Aren't I thoughtful?



Pears poached in red wine was the first course, banana stuffed french toast course two. I hate to be critical, but I've had better stuffed french toast. For example, the banana stuffed french toast at Public is significantly better than what we had. Rather than using one giant slice of brioche toast, dipping, frying and then stuffing in a little brioche pocket - I think here Dana made a little sandwich: two slices of brioche, cream cheese, chocolate & bananas in-between, and then pan-fries the whole thing. As a result, the toast is not really french toast through and through - the insides of the pieces of toast were not very french - and the cream cheese just makes it a bit heavy. But enough whining on my part, it was still beautiful to look at and pretty darn good.

I could not eat anymore sugar for a good 24 hours after that. We left for the airport shortly thereafter, only to arrive in NYC 1hr delayed, but met w/ gorgeous weather and sunshine. And in need of immediate detox and seriously craving some homemade chinese food. (more..)

Maine Day 2: Dinner - Red Sky Restaurant

This may not look like much, but it is the yummiest crusty bread I've had for a really long time. And I use superlatives sparingly. Served super warm and freshly baked, with salted butter you could just eat and eat and eat it. Which is basically what I did.

After lunch we decided to go back to the National Park and explore some more. We walked on a "Nature Trail" around a pretty pond/lake - I think it was Jordan Pond. It was so nice to be outdoors - quiet, still, turning leaves - I wish we could go back. There were apple trees right around the pond and I picked one. At first Stanley wouldn't let me eat it bc he thought it would be poisonous. It was delicious.

For dinner we wanted to go to Town Hill Bistro, a small local restaurant in the neighboring West Eden Common in the Village of Town Hill (doesn't that sound convoluted?), but they were fully booked. Can you believe that? So instead we went to Red Sky, a restaurant right around the corner from our B&B that our innkeepers recommended and that we'd heard good things about in a "New Yorker's Guide To Bar Harbor." It was so yum. We had delicious wines to match, and the service was great.

Wine:
White - Honig Sauvignon Blanc - Napa Valley, CA
Red - Chateau Montelena Zinfandel - Calistoga, CA


Stan and I shared Maine Peekytoe Crabcakes, and the 1 ½ lb. Lobster, shucked and sautéed with zucchini and served over mushroom risotto or something like that. They bake their bread in house, serve local fare, and have a phenomenal (and phenomenally priced) wine list. We also had Roasted Quail with quinoa crust and cranberry sauce to start, but my pictures were so abysmal I deleted them.


Oh, and of course I had dessert. We ordered "James’ Gingerbread" (which bizarrely looks like meat in the picture below) served toasted with caramel sauce and cream cheese whipped cream spiked with apple brandy. I don't know who James is, but it was delicious, huge, and perfectly toasted and spiced. And of course I had to try Mt. Desert Island ice cream.



See our friendly, yet slightly bizarre, waiter.
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Maine Day 2: Lunch - Thirsty Whale Tavern

My first lobster roll ever. After a filling breakfast, we wandered the small town of Soutwest Harbor, Maine, where we were staying. Since it took us a whole 25 minutes to cover the three blocks that housed the general store, a few restaurants, the post office, and a few tourist shops, we then ventured the 14 miles to Bar Harbor, the main town on the island. It was a quiet Saturday morning, and little did we know, almost half the shops and restaurants had already closed for the season. But more importantly, most of the lobster pounds were closed for the season too. What to do?!

There were a few shops still open, and the shopkeepers were kind enough to point us in the direction of exactly what we were looking for: good and reasonably priced lobster rolls. The other benefit of being there the last weekend of the season was that everything in any store that was open was on sale - I got a nice little Patagonia guy for 30% off, but I digress.



We ended up at the Thirsty Whale Tavern, a cute local pub serving all the Maine basics. My first lobster roll experience was all I expected - delicious. But to be honest, the bread was so buttered I was almost afraid. But I guess that's what makes it good. The lobster wasn't drenched in mayo, and served w/ a creamy corn chowder with lobster chunks, yum. Local beer to match was the perfect touch.
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Maine Day 1: Dinner - Cafe Dry Dock & Inn

After hiking Precipice Trail, apparently the most "well-known" and "most challenging" hiking trail in Acadia National Park, we were exhausted. I was absolutely not mentally prepared to scale a 1,000 foot vertical climb "recommended for physically fit and experienced hikers who have no fear of heights." Let's just say at some point, I was really tired, didn't think I could make climb up any more rocks, but was too scared of looking down to go anywhere else but up. But it was quite an accomplishment. See the picture below to see how high up we went, and how far down had to come again.

And so our reward? Lobsters!!

We checked into our B&B, in the super-cute small town of Southwest Harbor, and ventured to dinner a whole two doors down. We had dinner at Cafe Dry Dock, a small & simple casual restaurant serving fresh seafood. I was famished, and we quickly got down to business. Mussels to share (smothered w/ garlic and carrots, and I think some cream and white wine) went fast, and lobsters for each of us. Simple and delicious.

The only bizarre moment was when the waitress told us that Stella Artois was a local Bar Harbor beer. Huh?



Here is Stan making kissy face with his lobster.


Here is the mountain we climbed. Serious.

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Maine Day 1: Lunch - Crazy Dave's Pit BBQ

We spent the weekend in Mt. Desert Island, Maine. We saw fall foliage, ate a ton of food, and hiked through Acadia National Park. There are lots of things to write about, lots of food to go through. So I'll simply start with Day 1 and make it through our trip meal by meal.


We landed in Bangor, Maine right on time. I was psyched to get out of the city. As much as I love NYC, the constant barrage of smells, sounds, and ppl can really get to you sometimes. I was really looking forward to leaving the homeless compound in front of my building, the non-stop ambulances blaring down 3rd Ave, and the rabid dogs meant to guard the construction next door.

We had an hour drive ahead of us, and it was about 1pm. I was (unsurprisingly) hungry, but everyone else wanted to wait until we got to town, bc getting a hike in the afternoon seemed more important to the rest of my group than filling our tummies. Then, as we were driving from Bangor, through Ellsworth, and towards Bar Harbor, a food truck caught our eye. Crazy Dave's Pit BBQ! It was definitely worth a stop.





Stan and I shared the pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket sandwich, and the corn chowder. Kai and Gina did the same. The pulled pork was yummy, beef brisket a little dry, even though it was so fatty(!), and the corn chowder was delicious. The chowder had little bacon fat surprises all throughout, it was awesome. Overall, I'm sure it the BBQ would pale in comparison to something you could get in the South, but delicious nonetheless. The meat could have used a little more flavor and a bit more kick, but hey, this guy smoked all his meat in this crazy smoker right outside the truck (see smoker picture below). It's amazing what ppl can do on the side of the road.

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