Reviews

Duo’s Takeout

by Malcolm Bedell July 31, 2012

The section of north Main Street in Rockland between the Dunkin’ Donuts and the McDonald’s isn’t exactly a world-renowned culinary hotspot. It’s an area of town that has seen plenty of businesses come and go, attracting the kind of hardscrabble retail endeavors that never seem to last long. The strip is now mostly a string [...]

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JJ’s Snack Shack

by Malcolm Bedell July 4, 2012

Tater Tot Poutine. That’s right, I said it. This menu item, served at JJ’s Snack Shack in Rockport, is as appropriate a lead-in for a review of the restaurant as any. Why? It’s a good barometer; your overall opinion of JJ’s is probably going to run in parallel to your gut reaction to that phrase. In [...]

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The Brass Compass Cafe

by Malcolm Bedell June 27, 2012

You only have to be in The Brass Compass Cafe for a few minutes before you start to notice signs that you are quite firmly in Bobby Flay country. Actually, to be more accurate, you’re in restaurant owner Lynn Archer country; the owner handily defeated the celebrity chef in a lobster club sandwich competition, as [...]

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Cod End Seafood & Marina

by Jillian Bedell June 20, 2012

I have an imaginary history in Tenants Harbor, a tiny, pretty town that inspires quasi-mythic reverie in me and many others, I would guess. I almost remember jumping into the bracing sea from a swing hanging by the edge of the pier and scrambling around the rocks to poke at small crabs and other sea life. I feel like a [...]

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Cantina El Rayo

by Malcolm Bedell June 6, 2012

Over the last two years, Portland’s Mexican restaurant scene has undergone a fairly massive transformation. In just 24 months, it’s as though the city collectively moved past the grim, cynical depictions of South of the Border fare, past the bottomless bowls of melted queso, and beyond fishbowl-sized frozen margaritas. All at once, Portland diners were [...]

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Holbrook’s

by Jillian Bedell May 21, 2012

Holbrook’s Snack Bar sits at sea level, where the public road ends. I found it by accident or instinct, driving and admiring the abundance of leaves that nature has finally delivered to the light in northern New England. I took a last minute left on my way out to Orr’s and Bailey Islands and followed the signs to Cundy’s [...]

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Gurnet Trading Co.

by Jillian Bedell May 18, 2012

What a cute place this is. It’s tucked into a hill, on the side of the road, on the way out of Brunswick, surrounded by water and magnificent trees. We ate on the sunken outdoor dining patio and felt the warm wind as we munched on seafood and felt hopeful about the Summer ahead. It’s just too bad [...]

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Frosty’s Donut and Coffee Shop

by Jillian Bedell May 3, 2012

The consensus is one of gratitude and relief. Locals cheer the reopening of iconic Frosty’s Donut and Coffee Shop on Maine Street in Brunswick. The proof is in the writing on their Facebook wall and in the Bowdoin student press. There are precious few institutions in this mad and fleeting world that endure through many [...]

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Mae’s Cafe and Bakery

by Jillian Bedell April 26, 2012

We found ourselves at Mae’s Cafe and Bakery on a recent rainy day at noon – the ideal time to take advantage of both the extensive breakfast and lunch menus. We sat in a cozy window seat at this adorable Bath eatery and enjoyed bottomless mugs of coffee while we watched the rain. The dining room is [...]

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Sumthin’ Fishy

by Jillian Bedell April 20, 2012

In a parking lot off Route 201, between the Napa Auto Parts and the entrance to Tri-Sports, a tarplike plastic tent is erected every April and dismantled in the Fall. It’s one of the ways to tell it’s springtime in Topsham, the opening of Sumthin’ Fishy. When we moved here, at the tail end of last [...]

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