Tag Archives: food

Let’s go to the fair! Part one – big *ss horses.

October 5, 2025 Rivergirl 24 Comments

Heading out to the 175th Fryeburg Fair, a selfie.

This is the oldest (175 years) and the biggest fair in Maine. How big, you ask?

This big.

And after a late start due to my husband playing cribbage at breakfast with friends, we arrived two hours later than planned.

On the way to parking the car? RV heaven.

Or hell as far as I’m concerned. Densely packed on flat dirt as far as the eye can see, I can’t imagine spending a week like that, but people come from all over New England and look forward to it every year.

To each their own.

Many people go to the fair for the rides and carnival atmosphere … we’re not those people.

We started with the race horses.

Beautiful creatures who enjoy an occasional scratch.

This poor fellow was trying to take a nap.

While this one looked ready to munch a mum.

Food trucks and vendors were everywhere but my husband hates eating lunch standing up and ducked into the one little restaurant they have on site instead.

Big mistake.

It’s a bare bones place with a limited menu. They didn’t even have ice for our drinks. Warm Pepsi anyone?

Husband had a watery bowl of stew with a biscuit you could use for a boat anchor while I had a dry turkey salad roll the waitress mistakenly charged me $1 for instead of the $11 it cost. A dollar was really all it was worth, but the cashier caught the error and we moved on.

To the draft horses.

Who were finishing the pulling show the husband usually likes to watch.

These horses are gentle giants and I hate to see them straining …

So I wasn’t disappointed we’d missed most of it.

This beauty stood almost 19 hands.

And the husband spent more than 19 minutes talking to this owner while I wandered around.

Out back, these fellows were getting a bath.

Percherons, Belgians, and Haflingers. They never fail to impress.

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Lunch in shoulder season is divine.

September 30, 2025 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Maine is a tourist state and while natives understand the economy’s need for visitor’s dollars, it doesn’t mean we enjoy all our favorite spots being too crowded to enjoy while they’re here.

Hence “shoulder season”.

That glorious month after summer but before leaf peeping when there’s not a tourist to be found.

Case in point?

The Dockside Grill in Falmouth.

You can’t squeeze your way in here during high season… but right now?

A raspberry thyme Rickey and ocean view can be savored in peace.

As can a fabulous shrimp and scallop chowder…

A pineapple margarita…

And a haddock sandwich.

Life is good in shoulder season.

👍

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A $15,000 craft show and a 1980’s prime rib.

September 26, 2025 Rivergirl 17 Comments

I love a good craft show. People can be incredibly clever and creative and I like coming home with handmade treasure.

So when I heard there was a show at Laudholm Farms on the Wells Estuary we took a drive down the coast even though it was overcast, drizzling rain and foggy.

It was an amazing show and all the craftspeople were under cover, be it tents or barns.

The problem?

I was expecting to find crafts and what I found was art that usually resides in galleries. There was amazing jewelry, fabulous paintings, unique pottery, intricate woodworking and stunning metalwork. Unfortunately I didn’t plan on spending $1,800 on a pair of silver earrings or $6,000 for some stained glass.

The artists have a very strict no photography rule so these giant outdoor pieces were the only things I could sneak a shot of.

And while the items we saw were beautiful, the cost of the things I wanted reached $15,000 before we were halfway through.

Needless to say I left empty handed.

No, I didn’t even consider pickle body lotion.

Our next stop was for a late lunch/early dinner at a local landmark, the Bull and Claw.

This restaurant has been in operation since 1973 and to be honest I don’t think it’s been redecorated since the 1980’s.

Plastic tablecloths, plastic duck decoys, artificial flowers … I wasn’t holding much hope.

But my cranberry margarita was decent and cheap and the menu was large.

Husband attacked the soup and salad bar with good results.

And we were pleasantly surprised to find our meals flavorful, well prepared and more than amply sized. Medium rare prime rib and stuffed shrimp with baked potato and broccoli for me, turkey dinner with mashed potato, stuffing and broccoli for the husband.

Our bill was well under a hundred dollars and though the atmosphere was dated and more than a little kitschy, I honestly wouldn’t mind going back.

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The duck let me down.

September 23, 2025 Rivergirl 21 Comments

One of our mainstay restaurants when we drive up the coast to Damarriscotta is King Eider’s.

A favorite of tourists and locals alike, it’s become a landmark.

Located in an old, small brick building it’s tiny but mighty.

Like its cocktails.

I had the top listed selection, but are we really doing the second?

Apparently, yes.

We are.

I always order the crab cakes as they’re advertised… and always used to be… the best. This trip? Not so much. Hard, over cooked and over breaded. The husband’s giant mussels were the better choice.

Husband’s broiled haddock? Huge, plentiful and perfectly prepared.

My braised duck sandwich (when in Rome) with chopped apples, dried cranberries and melted cheddar? Dry and tasteless with barely a hint of the promised fruit.

Oh well,

At least the sign was funny.

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A carnivore’s dream.

September 21, 2025 Rivergirl 16 Comments

Every once in a while we throw the cooler in the car and head out on a pilgrimage.

We drive two hours south to a little town in New Hampshire that houses one of our favorite places.

Part tavern, part butcher shop… it’s always worth the drive.

Husband likes the bar, where antiques hang over your head.

And the food?

Oh my…

My Banging Shrimp were crispy, spicy, sweet and delicious.

Husband’s French Onion soup was rich, hearty and had steak in it as well.

I started with a beer but switched to an alcoholic Dreamsicle.

Gin, orange liqueur, lemon creamsicle simple and orange juice with a sugared rim.

The Real Burger King Burger for me. Ground filet mignon and ribeye with caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, smoked bacon and truffle aioli.

Seriously, one of the best burgers ever.

Filet mignon with mashed potatoes and baked beans for the spouse. The gravy was to die for and made from roasting their prime rib.

Along with the excellent tavern, there’s a massive butcher shop filled with steaks, chops, chicken, sausage and deli salads.

There’s also a wonderful selection of local craft beer.

Batson River’s cans are quintessentially Maine.

There were also a few weirdos.

I was very tempted to buy some …

But our beer fridge is bursting at the seams as it is.

We did come home with a few things for the grill though.

Their house marinated steak tips are da bomb.

👍

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Happy as a clam.

September 19, 2025 Rivergirl 28 Comments

Working up an appetite walking around the lighthouse made us more willing than usual to try an unassuming little local spot for lunch.

Yes, it was called the Happy Clam.

And to be honest, he did look happy … so we ducked inside.

The raspberry frozen daiquiri? Awful.

Clearly the clam wasn’t drinking that.

Seeing the German flag proudly displayed out front and learning that the owner’s wife hailed from there, I took a chance on the schnitzel fingers appetizer.

And oh my…

Was I ever glad I did. Perfectly cooked, light and flavorful with the most delicious mushroom and thyme sauce. I haven’t had any this good since my Austrian mother passed away.

Husband went with a puréed lobster bisque which was equally as good.

And though I felt like I should have ordered the aforementioned bivalves, I opted for a fabulous crabmeat roll instead.

Totally stuffed, we stepped out of there happy as the namesake clam.

Until my husband spotted a yard sale…

And bought a fistful of old wooden hangers and rulers.

I wasn’t so happy then.

🥴

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A mooooving experience.

September 8, 2025 Rivergirl 25 Comments

Still at the fair, and still admiring old farm equipment.

Well, one of us was.

While he was doing that I wandered over to meet some geese.

With strict instructions not to feed or pet, I stood and photographed.

Next up was the youth calf competition.

If you’ve never seen one of these, you really should.

Taking care and responsibility for livestock is a full time job and these youngsters were doing their best to show off their accomplishments.

If you’re showing momma?

Better bring baby along.

Such sweet faces!

I do love cows.

After the show we wandered a few barns.

Always my favorite part of the fair.

These are Belted Galloways, but we call them Oreo cows… for obvious reasons.

At the end of our cattle tour, the husband stopped to talk to one of the owners and her daughter.

Husband likes to talk.

Husband was raised on a dairy farm.

Husband talked for over an hour.

Husband talked to so many people for so long we didn’t see the other half of the fair, I didn’t buy a fried dough and when he finally stopped chatting…. it was time to go.

Back over the bridge of flowers to a small town seafood restaurant we always try to visit when we’re in the area.

It doesn’t look like much.

And the atmosphere is more family style diner than anything….

But the clam chowder is to die for. Thick, rich, creamy and chock full of clams … it’s almost a meal in itself. (deckhand lemonade with Tito’s, because yes… they serve alcohol)

The meals are always amazing, and their fresh seafood is cooked to perfection. I had a massive platter of fantail fried shrimp with baked potato and cole slaw, husband had a garlic butter broiled haddock with butternut squash and a bowl of cottage cheese. Neither of us went away hungry.

Two soups, a cocktail, a beer and two more than ample seafood dinners for $82. In our neck of the woods that amount barely gets you past appetizers.

🥴

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The final hop.

September 5, 2025 Rivergirl 12 Comments

Our last Boothbay Harbor stop was the Boathouse Bistro as seen on the left.

It’s a rustic three story restaurant with three floors that are usually packed with summer tourists as it has the best food in town.

We always land here, on the glassed in second floor.

But along with the first, it was closed… and empty. The same disturbing trend we’d seen all day.

Three places that are always bursting with tourists… weren’t. Tariffs and bad blood with Canada may not be affecting you… but they’re certainly hurting this area.

Granted…. the top floor had a crowd, but the bar was empty and the bottom two levels were deserted.

A shocking loss of prime season business.

Saving the best for last, along with my pomegranate margarita I had blackened jumbo shrimp with fried balls of chorizo grits and smoky tomato sauce while the husband went with pan-seared scallops and crispy cornbread with an apple gastrique (apple cider, sugar, apple cider vinegar, calvados,thyme, chicken stock).

Both tapas were excellent, and came with a view.

❤️

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Still hopping.

September 4, 2025 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Our second stop on the toddies and tapas tour of Boothbay Harbor was McSeagulls, just to the left of our first… Mine Oyster.

Unassuming places from the front…

Lovely waterfront spots in the back.

Can you guess which glass of craft beer I raised?

Once again we found a popular summer tourist restaurant/bar nowhere near capacity. It was a shock… this area is usually jam packed.

A bowl of creamy tomato bisque for the husband…

Some calamari for moi.

And a groan worthy fish pun for the rest of you.

😉

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Always up for Otto’s.

August 30, 2025 Rivergirl 16 Comments

One of our favorite restaurants is an unassuming little spot housed in an old building in the once deserted but now having a mini renaissance, downtown area of Augusta, Maine’s capitol.