Headed to the Kennebunkport area at the end of July. Any restaurant, wine store, wine bar recommendations? We will be there for 3 days so have plenty of time to try both casual and nice places.
The food tends predictably toward steamed lobster, clam chowder, or pizza. Not a dining destination,
but much better than Deep-Fried…er, uh…Cape Cod.
Haven’t been in a few years but White Barn Inn was good but pricey and dressy.
Hurricane was very good, a little less dressy but as I recall high wine prices.
For Lobster in the rough, Nunan’s in Cape Porpoise is memorable,
So true on both counts. Starched collars seemed a key dish at every table.
It’s around a 30 minute drive from Kennebunkport but Chauncey Creek Lobster Pound is one of my favorites in the area. I haven’t been in a while but Arrows in Ogunquit used to be good. Have fun!
Arrows was always nice, but definitely expensive. To me, it was always worth the trip as the gardens and general ambiance were so lovely. Nice food and very inventive for that part of the country.
Anyone been to Earth at Hidden Pond? Also, any good recommendations on the drive up from Boston? We will probably need to get lunch on the way given when our flight arrives.
Another vote for Chauney Creek - bring your own wine and glasses and eat seafood.
Stop at the NH Liquor store on the highway in New Hampshire - some bad prices, some great prices, but a fair selection of wine.
Portland Maine is full of great restaurants, but maybe 45 minutes North of you (Hugo’s, The 555, Fore Street, Bar Lola and dozens more)
Eat at La Vignola in Portland.
http://www.vignolamaine.com/contact.html
Recommend MC Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. White Barn Inn is quite nice, but as others have said expensive and formal. Of course on any given night you might find George Bush #41 there. Agree on stopping for wine at stores in NH. Typically good selections though prices can be all over the place.
For lunch on the way up to Kennebunkport, you might consider stopping in Portsmouth NH. Not sure of any specific lunch recommendations but downtown should have several.
Jumping Jays in Portsmouth is a great choice for seafood on your way up
High recommendations for Arrows, for food, wine, ambiance, gardens (veggie and flowers), everything. The owners are going to be competing on the upcoming Top Chef Masters that starts next month, so I’m sure the television exposure will bring in even more crowds.
MC Perkins Cove is owned by the same people and is another great choice and has a great view of the water to boot. It’s more casual than Arrows.
Reporting Back on our trip up to maine:
Surf ( Portsmouth, NH ) - We ate at the bat and watched some olympics on our way up to Kennebunkport. Lobster Roll and Calamari, decent but not outstanding, however the restaurant itself was a very cozy and welcome pit stop on the way up.
Earth ( at Hidden Pond ) - Very nice food and good wine list. However, pricier then it probably should have been. I had their hangar steak and the presentation was very nice ( beets, grilled onions, charred greens, whimsically arranged on a large cutting board ) and the flavor was good but not worth twice what I am used to paying for hangar steak. My wife had pasta with crab and sea urchin which was good. The highlight was probably the local shisito peppers that were simply roasted with fresh lemon juice and salt. They were so good but kind of contrasted the rest of the mean in terms of the contrast in QPR compared to the rest of the meal.
Grissini ( Kennebunk ) - A nice Italian bistro where we had a very lovely meal seated downstairs in the grotto of fresh pasta, mussels, and beet salad. We ate pretty light that night but the rest of the menu looked wonderful.
Vignola ( Portland, ME ) - This was a fabulous brunch as the recommendations suggested. I had an absolutely delicious porchetta sandwich and my wife had trout with poached eggs and potato croquettes. Very nice beer and wine list as well.