Tag Archives: food

Last Royal meal of the year.

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The end of year is drawing near and that meant one last lunch at our favorite watering hole, the Royal River Grill in Yarmouth.

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This place is one of the few that truly has it all. Great atmosphere, good food and creative cocktails.

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Their clam chowder is superb… rich, creamy and packed with clams.

My first libation was the Winter Lux.

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And since I’m an equality opportunity drinker…

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Number two was the Berry and Bright margarita.

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Sadly the husband’s go to French Onion soup was not on the menu so he opted for the garlic tomato bisque and was pleased.

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Royal River has excellent fish so I chose the pan seared pinko haddock sandwich which bursted with perfectly prepared flavor.

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Husband requested his fish and chips broiled and had eaten half of it before I could grab a photo.

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Even if you’re full to bursting? You have to order dessert here because they’re always fabulous.

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Cheesecake for hubby…

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Alcohol soaked Tiramisu for me.

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So rich I didn’t even get halfway through it, but Royal River leftovers are a beautiful thing.

❤️

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Batson River … round one, Portland.

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No trip to the big city is complete without us trying a new libation destination. On this particular day it was Batson River Brewery and Distillery.

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I’d heard wonderful things about this place so it didn’t surprise me to see it was packed ten minutes after opening.

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They take their Christmas decorations seriously here and as I was looking around my husband grabbed the last two seats at the bar.

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Cocktails were holiday themed, so I started with the Where Are You Christmas.

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The only thing wrong with it?

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The small glass. I could happily have downed a pitcher’s worth.

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I read they consider the decor ‘upscale hunting lodge’ but to me it had a more upscale urban, industrial vibe with exposed pipes and metal vents.

The ceilings were high and the music loud. The menu? Brunch on Saturday… which we weren’t expecting and didn’t want.

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I opted for the Caesar salad, which was dry as a bone and utterly unremarkable, but I washed it down with a quite lovely Yule Tai that countered my disappointment.

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Husband had the smoked tomato soup which he said was tasty if not plentiful.

Their beer?

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Nice doggie glass withstanding, nothing to rave about.

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A very large Santa was on the second floor and we watched a few tipsy patrons climb up to have their picture taken with him.

Talking with our neighbor at the bar, we discovered there are actually four Batson Rivers scattered in southern Maine, each one with their own personality, menu and cocktails.

Intrigued, and with nothing planned for dinner… we decided to drive to Biddeford and check out another one.

To be continued ….

More from the Gardens…

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It was barely 20 degrees and with the wind gusting it felt like 5… but we persevered.

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If the trolls could take it, so could we.

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It really was a beautiful way to spend an evening.

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So many places to explore, each one prettier than the last.

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If you’re wondering why I have so many pictures of the lighted sea and lighthouse, it’s because my husband found someone to talk to and I had to wait for his conversation to finish.

No surprise there.

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To be continued…

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Funny, not funny. The bad luck continues.

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Merry Christmas to me.

Or not…

We opted for a peaceful holiday this year, no travel no party no family, just a quiet day at home with a slow roasted turkey dinner.

And that’s where it went horribly wrong.

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Because turkey’s not supposed to be green.

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But ours was when I pulled it out of the fridge to cook this morning.

It was a fresh bird I purchased on the 20th with a sell by date of the 26th… but clearly the big storm that knocked out power last week claimed this gobbler as victim.

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Good thing I made lasagna last night because it looks like it’s leftovers for us.

Ho, ho, Hell….

🥴

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Timber!

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By the time we finished the craft show and museum at the college we were famished, not to mention thirsty, and headed for a restaurant I’d heard good things about in Bangor called Timber.

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Upon entry we saw snow globe dining had made a return. This started during Covid and people liked the private option so much some places have continued the trend.

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I don’t want to eat in a plastic bubble, but to each their own.

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Timber was named to reflect the logging heritage of Northern Maine…

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So rustic woods met casual elegance in the decor.

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Being with my husband, naturally we sat at the bar.

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Which is never my first choice, but it is closer to the cocktails so I don’t complain too loudly.

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Round one? A blood orange cranberry margarita.

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Timber’s cocktail menu is multi paged and varied and I happily sampled a few.

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Round two was a Stoli blueberry fog with a fantastic elderflower foam. The only thing wrong with it was the size of the glass. Bring me a pitcher!

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Yes, there was food. Perfectly prepared crab cakes with spicy corn relish for me.

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French onion soup for the husband. He was a bit disappointed in this as it wasn’t the traditional preparation… but I thought it was wonderful.

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Round 3 for me was a Hendricks cucumber cooler. Crisp, green and herbal. Perfect.

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Loggers on the way to the rest room.

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Brick oven forest mushroom pizza with arugula and fontina cheese for me. Hand tossed and so rich I barely got through half… but it was heavenly.

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Butternut squash ravioli with cranberries, feta cheese, tomatoes and spinach for my other half. Thankfully he loved this.

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When it came to dessert I drank mine off the special menu.

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A sugar cookie martini. I don’t usually like these over sweetened concoctions but in place of pie? It works.

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Husband opted for lemon meringue cheesecake and coffee.

Heck, someone had to drive…. and it certainly wasn’t going to be me.

🤣

News you can’t use.

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You know I’m never going to run out of these.

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Just when you think things can’t get any more ridiculous….

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They do.

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And speaking of nipples….

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Jesus wept.

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Humans aren’t a very bright species. Id say that’s proof..

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Call me crazy, but if you’re living somewhere illegally? It’s probably not a great idea to call this much attention to yourself.

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Maine is an odd place.

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Here are a few tidbits worth sharing from my great…. but admittedly slightly weird, state.

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For anyone who has ever been north of Bangor, this is not a surprise.

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I’ve been north of Bangor.

It’s easy to do.

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Take a chair, give a chair?

Interesting concept.

Christmas can look a little different up here as well. Northern Maine is potato country…. and in Aroostock county?

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Potatoes take center stage.

Farther south? It’s all about the lobster and trees are made out of buoys….

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As well as traps.

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Santa?

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He arrives on a lobster boat, with an extra large lobster riding shotgun.

😊

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Never order food that wears a skirt.

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I remember eating at Friendly’s as a child.

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It wasn’t haute cuisine but the sandwiches were halfway decent and every meal ended with an ice cream sundae so no one really cared.

The other day when my friend and I were out shopping, it was literally the only place around so we stopped in for lunch.

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I vaguely remembered their Big Beef being a sizable burger and decided to take a trip down memory lane.

That was a big mistake.

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What the holy hell!

At first I thought they’d fried an egg on my burger but that was cheese.

A cheese ‘skirt’ to be precise. And though you’d think it would be hard to go wrong with half a plate full of cheese… they managed, because it was awful. Greasy on top, hard as rock on the bottom.

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And the Big Beef?

The only thing Big was my disappointment because the Beef was practically non existent… not to mention well done and crunchy.

The waiter at this restaurant may have been friendly, but the food certainly wasn’t.

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