Nomming Thru Maine: Mid-Coast (Lincolnville, Camden, & Rockland)
After Acadia, we drove back down the coast a bit to the “Midcoast” region (we were in Lincolnville, Camden, and Rockland). This is the area I was most familiar with from family vacations growing up.
There is one main street through Camden right next to the beautiful harbor (where we later took a great kayak tour). A must-stop in Camden is Cappy’s Chowder House.
“Good food served here” is right!
Mike got a side order of cole slaw. It grew on me.
We started with a salad that I remember enjoying but don’t remember ordering.
Mike chose… you guessed it! A burger. He enjoyed.
I was having a tough time deciding, but when the waitress said the lobster mac and cheese was her favorite, I was sold. And it was SO. GOOD. Wooooey.
Overall, Cappy’s is dependably good and a very New Englandy restaurant.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
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Continuing our drinking fest, we stopped at Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville.
Turns out they are not yet planted for long enough to produce their own wine.
So they just mix their own. And whomever is choosing this mix has a great palate. They also did a very nice job decorating their tasting room (they are building a big facility across the street).
We were especially intrigued by their chairs made from tractor seats and axe handles. Quite comfy actually!
We enjoyed almost every single bottle we tried (and it was a healthy sampling with many to choose from). We actually wind up buying a bottle.
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In Rockland there is a great sandwich shop called The Brown Bag that I grew up going to.
Their specials menu included a grilled trip cheese sandwich with avocado, tomato, onions, sprouts, and pesto mayo.
It was delicious! The perfect balance of toastiness and cheesiness.
Mike chose the Brown Bag Ham Sandwich (with Grilled Ham, Havarti, Capers, Artichoke Hearts & Special Sauce)
For the road, we got a whoopie pie (which The Brown Bag is famous for). Delicious.
Overall, The Brown Bag is just a perfect sandwich place. Everything is delicious, fresh, and in a great atmosphere.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
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We stumbled upon a specialty shop called Fiore that sells artisan olive oils and balsamic vinegar. I LOVED going around and sampling every single thing in the store. Wound up taking home an 18 year aged balsamic, a blackberry ginger balsamic, and an olive oil that tasted SOOOOO good but I can’t remember which one it was (WHOOPS!)
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Our final special restaurant stop of the trip was Primoin Rockland (it’s actually right before the border of Owl’s Head). You will have to forgive this review for lacking in detail in some cases… we MAY have had a lot to drink by this time. MAYBE :)
Primo is all about sourcing their food from what is fresh and local.
We sat upstairs and it was beautifully decorated.
We started with a chef tasting of asparagus cold soup shooters and a tartare that was good, but I can’t remember what it was. D’oh!
We ordered the wild boar carpaccio. It was delicious.
Mike had a roast chicken with bacon. It was so tender and yummilicious.
I had the Sautéed scaloppini of Pork “Saltimbocca” served on a bed of roast garlic mashed potato layered with wilted garden spinach, prosciutto and a sage, mushroom~Madiera jus. HOLY COW! (Or… Pig…) Nom Nom Nom
For dessert, Mike chose the artful parfait.
I went with the Warm Belgium Chocolate “Budino” ckae with mint stracicella gelato and fresh berries. I don’t know what Budino nor stracicella is… but I’m curious why it’s Warm Belgium and not Belgian… but who cares about grammar when you’re eating delicious chocolate?
The final bite from the chef was a chocolate… thing… Man this is when the night is really fuzzy. I remember enjoying it, but NOT the candied ginger orange peel to the left on the plate.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with Primo. Everything was quite delicious and it was a great place to have a romantic meal.
Total Nom Points: 7.5 out of 10
