Tag Archives: food

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Wells Harbor.

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We’ve been having some beautiful weather lately so we headed for lunch at the coast.

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Hobbs Harborside in Wells to be precise. A large seafood restaurant with stellar views.

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Shame the food wasn’t as beautiful.

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I ordered a fried shrimp appetizer, which in most places is five or six lightly battered fresh jumbo shrimp. Here? There were probably 30 medium shrimp and they tasted frozen. Blech.

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The husband had lobster stew, which was basically a bowl of meat in a thin, milky broth. It was a lot of lobster, but at $24 per bowl it should be.

Our fish entrees were equally unappetizing and not close to photo worthy. Mine was so dry they had to comp the meal. As you can guess, we’re not in any hurry to rush back to that restaurant.

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But a stroll along the harbor is always worth the trip. That’s the shellfish laboratory.

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Wells is a southern Maine town…

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And with one of the longest stretches of sandy beach in the state, a very popular tourist destination.

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The harbor is on the opposite end and one we prefer.

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It’s a working harbor, with fisherman unloading their catch as well as sightseers.

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The flowering pots of mandevilla are a nice touch.

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And kayakers enjoy the calmer waters near the shore.

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Not sure what this is, but it’s fun.

😊

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There’s nothing worse than dishwater beer.

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I’m always up for trying a new brewery so we headed north to Auburn.

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Hop water?

No thank you.

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I suppose the empty tasting room should have been our first clue…

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But the beer list was interesting and we tried a flight.

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Of which we liked exactly none.

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With a giant cat sticker watching us, we tried two more…

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Sadly with the same result.

The beer was so flat, tasteless and uninteresting I ordered a watermelon gimlet instead.

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And though we won’t be back anytime soon for beer, they did make a delicious sandwich.

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Turkey and melted Brie, spinach and red onion, with rosemary and fig aioli on grilled ciabatta.

That alone was worth the visit.

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A nice meal and a cow.

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After walking around the clam festival for a few hours we were hungry, but not for fried clams. Seems counter intuitive, I know… but the stomach wants what the stomach wants.

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We drove to the next town, Falmouth… and found one of our favorite spots positively deserted.

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Having no problem finding a seat at the bar I sampled a Melano Fizz. This consisted of cucumber-infused vodka, melon liqueur, italicus apertivo, simple syrup, and fresh lime juice.

In a word? Yum.

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My go to appetizer here is the crab arancini.

Husband went with the lobster bisque …

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Which was lovely and loaded with lobster but served in one of those ridiculously small bowls made to look large.

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Toddy number two was the hibiscus berry sangria.

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Nice, but not nearly flavorful enough for me.

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My meal was a wonderful carbonara with fresh pasta and grilled chicken. It was so good I paid no attention to my husband’s meal and failed to photograph it. My bad.

On our drive home?

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Cow!

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Cow, on a rock…

Who didn’t appreciate her meal being interrupted by the paparazzi.

😉

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Blooming things and a close squirrel call.

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The hostas by our kitchen landing are having a good year.

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A really good year. Tall and full of pale purple blooms.

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The day lilies that were dug up by our neighbor’s tractor when our water line burst a few years ago have finally come back to life.

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Half are yellow, half are this interesting double ruffle peach and coral.

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Sadly these two by the road are full of weeds..

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But the colors are spectacular.

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In other news… His Lordship almost caught the dreaded red b*tch.

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That rotten red rodent was sitting on the stone wall chattering at him, taunting him … swishing her tail and daring him to lunge.

So he did.

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But sadly, he missed… and she disappeared into the wall.

Almost, Dudley.

Almost.

🥴

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A lakes region road trip.

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When the thermometer is reading temperatures this high?

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You ditch yard work and take a road trip west.

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To the lakes region, over the Naples causeway.

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Through Bridgton…

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Past ski slopes that look a little strange in the summer.

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To a premier pub in Lovell, Maine.

Any similarities between my husband and the pub sign mascot are purely coincidental.

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Ebenezer’s is famous for its extensive beer menu and hand blown glass taps.

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It also has a buzzard on the bar.

It’s hard to top that.

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They’ve won multiple awards and though they’re small and off the beaten path… those in the know, know.

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Belgians.

A white for the husband, a geuze boon for moi.

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I love their vintage signs.

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And their coconut shrimp with sweet Thai chili sauce.

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Some signs are prophetic.

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Good beer, beautiful lakes.

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A perfect summer day.

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Otto’s, part two.

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Did I mention Otto’s By The River was a funky little restaurant?

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I think their furniture proves it.

But aside from lovely cocktails and the owner trying to make my husband vomit (see previous Otto post), the reason we’ll go back is the food.

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My crab dip was literally one of the best I’ve ever had… and I love crab. I’ve had a few.

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The husband’s butternut squash soup? Thick, hearty and a meal unto itself.

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Butterfly pea tea lemonade? Tasty and pretty.

I forgot to photograph my chicken Caesar wrap but it was equally as good as the special my husband plowed through.

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A perfectly cooked venison filet with mushroom and caramelized onions, garlic mashed and green beans. To say we were too full for dessert is an understatement, we positively waddled out the door.

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Next to this fabulous building.

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It was a post office, then a state government admin site … but now it’s for sale. A developer is thinking of making it into condos that would go for $750k each.

Must be nice.

But hey, for that price at least you get a great view of the sturgeon.

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Though not all of them look thrilled at the prospect.

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🤣

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Otto’s On The River.

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We discovered a new restaurant last week that is definitely going on our ‘must return’ list.

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Located in downtown Augusta, Maine’s capital… but nowhere near most attractive city.

There’s been a rejuvenation movement in the old section of town for the past few years. New businesses remodeling old buildings, fresh plantings… and most importantly, whimsically painted sturgeon.

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Otto’s was indeed by the river.

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And if it hadn’t been so hot we might have sat outside.

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This is a fun and quirky place.

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And though the main dining room was closed for lunch, we had no trouble bellying up to the bar.

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One fabulous summer sangria in…

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We were enjoying the vibe and chatting with the owner’s sister who was mixing drinks.

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Before long the owner came over with menus, and seeing that my husband was drinking beer… asked him if he wanted this little bit of ale that was just poured. They only have bottles and cans, nothing on tap… he said it was just the extra that would otherwise be tossed.

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Never one to turn down free beer, my spouse took a large swig… and almost threw up.

Turns out it was the olive juice the bartender was using for dirty martinis

Omg. I’m sorry… but I laughed.

I laughed hard.

The poor owner was beside himself apologizing and felt terrible. He was worried we’d leave a bad review and never come back.

To be continued…

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