Maine has become one of my family’s favorite vacation spots. We have made the trek from our home in Maryland to towns like Kennebunkport, Wells, Camden, Port Clyde, Boothbay, and Southport several times over the past ten years usually stopping on Long Island to visit family along the way (Long Island will be a few posts of its own). Along with the beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife, and welcoming people, Maine has an amazing list of local food specialties to offer. Everybody knows about the world famous delicious lobster roll sandwich with mayonnaise or butter (butter makes everything better) that can be found at any number of road side stands like Red’s Eats in Wiscasset. From open to close Red’s has a healthy sized line that is always worth the wait. For those willing to take a road trip for amazing meals, specialties can be found in every small town along the Maine coast. I am going to start from my sons favorite part of the meal: dessert. Offerings from over 200 Maine dairies make ice cream a popular home grown treat in Maine. From fresh blueberry ice cream at Camden Cone in Camden, to made to order waffle cones at WANNAWAF in BoothBay Harbor, to one of the biggest selections of flavors I have ever had the pleasure of sampling at Round Top Dairy in Damariscotta, ice cream can be part of every meal. As if that wasn’t enough, Maine still has more to tempt your sweet tooth. In the center of Boothbay Harbor, you will find a sugar lover’s dream in Wicked Whoopies, home of over twenty different varieties of those sinfully sweet treats called whoopie pies. Left unchecked, both of my sons would have slipped into a sugar coma trying all the different flavors. Wicked Whoopies will also ship their heavenly cream filled dreams home to you. Boothbay is one of our favorite towns to spend time in. We have spent several afternoons strolling down its quaint streets, stopping by its souvenir shops, and sampling taffy too. Somewhat of a touristy little town Boothbay has more than enough shopping, sightseeing, and food choices to please even the pickiest of people. Thankfully, picky is something that my family is not. Be it sitting on the deck enjoying New England clam chowder and steamed Lobsters at the Boothbay Lobster Wharf, or taking in the warm ambiance of the Thistle Inn while being spoiled by the Lazy Lobster, a butter poached offering served over risotto, my crew is right at home.

One restaurant that we never miss on our trips to Maine offers the best of all of these flavors. Mabel’s Lobster Claw in Kennebunkport has something for everyone. Named by Martha Stewart as one of her favorite restaurants there is always a short wait at Mabel’s, parking can be a challenge, and I almost always avoid waits, but for Mabel’s, I will make an exception. Lucky diners can choose from dishes ranging from fried oysters and steamed lobsters of all sizes, to my all time favorite meal the Lobster Savannah. I can’t decide if the star of this dish is the two pound lobster, the fresh shrimp and scallops it is stuffed with, or the Newburg sauce with Gruyere that envelopes the entire dish. One can choose a one and a half pound lobster, but it’s a once a year treat for us, so why skimp! Every bite of this dish is outstanding. Just typing this I want to plan our next trip to Maine! If that isn’t enough to get Mabel’s on your bucket list, you can follow any of their offerings with a slice of homemade blueberry pie, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course. Add a giant glass of ice cold milk, and then its time for a nap.