How you can Spend the Excellent Fall Weekend in Maine’s Iconic MidCoast Area

My first go to to the MidCoast area of Maine occurred accidentally. My Dad and I have been taking our first journey collectively in years, driving up from Massachusetts the place we each lived on the time to go to Acadia Nationwide Park. I had simply left a restaurant job and I had no concept what to do with my first free time in years, so clearing my head in Maine for a weekend sounded good.

Whereas passing via Rockland, one of many followers in my automobile launched itself via my radiator, abruptly interrupting our journey to Downeast. We broke down proper in entrance of the Rockland Hearth Division and have been rapidly referred over to a mechanic who was miraculously capable of get the work completed over the weekend to get us again on the highway quicker. 

In the course of the sudden day that we spent there, we found a few of my favourite locations: Wasses Sizzling Canines and their good peanut oil-griddled franks, a scoop of homespun Grapenut ice cream at Doorman’s Dairy Dream, the expansive gardens and greenhouses behind Primo, and climbing round Owl’s Head Lighthouse to gather extra sumac than we might carry. We by no means made it to Acadia that weekend, however generally accidents occur for a motive: this misadventure was the most effective introduction to MidCoast that I might have had, and humorous sufficient, each my father and I ended up shifting to Maine only a few years later.

Since shifting, I’ve spent numerous weekends deciding to make use of my spare days off to spend a while in MidCoast, whether or not it’s for an in a single day journey or simply for a whirlwind day of consuming round among the greatest eating places within the state. 

The MidCoast area has a number of counties on Maine’s coast, dotted with mountains, lined with rocky shores, and studded with among the greatest seashores within the state — there’s nowhere else fairly prefer it. Summer season is the busiest time to journey to the realm, with visitors in Wiscasset backed up for miles, excessive lodge charges, and slim availability at eating places that require reservations. September and early October are my favourite months for a visit for the reason that leaves are simply beginning to change however just like the temperatures, haven’t but fallen.

Whereas the seaside cities that make up the area are little question quieter than Portland, the communities are tight and residential to an ever-growing and rising meals scene. This is the best way to plan your go to.

Locations to Eat

I at all times move via Brunswick when beginning a visit up the coast, and if the timing is in my favor, I plan a fast cease for a bagel at Dutchman’s. The proprietor is an alum of Rose Meals in Portland and began a pop-up inside the Fort Andross Mill final 12 months. The response was overwhelming and so they’re now serving their completely crispy and chewy wood-fired bagels — really among the greatest bagels within the state — from Thursday via Sunday. They promote out rapidly, so some pre-planning through their on-line ordering system or an earlier wake-up time when you’re planning to stroll up could also be required. 

It’s onerous to say Maine to a meals lover not from right here with out talking about The Misplaced Kitchen, Erin French’s extremely sought-after restaurant positioned inside a ravishing mill in Freedom. Potential diners can solely safe a desk through a postcard lottery system. (After three years of attempting, I nonetheless haven’t been for a meal.) Unfortunate senders, worry not: French gives a small retailer that includes domestically made kitchen wares, house items, and extra. Whereas it will not be as nice as coming to dine, it’s nonetheless an exquisite alternative to see the property. 

The Place is a micro-bakery in Camden that opened final 12 months. Owned and operated by a duo from Lengthy Island, they bake with native flour and dairy and their pastries are really spectacular. Their menu options cookies, croissants, and rotating specials like savory pastry baked with radicchio jam and celery walnut gremolata. and a yogurt danish with carrot puree, yogurt curd, and low-bush blueberries. They settle for pre-orders 72 hours earlier than decide up, in any other case, plan to get there early. The Place is extraordinarily common for good motive: I’ve had plenty of laminated dough in my life and this was among the greatest. 

Regardless of all the thrill about eating in Portland, my favourite restaurant within the state is in Rockland. Sammy’s Deluxe is the place you inform everybody that you just like to go, particularly individuals who love nice meals. The menu has some mainstays, just like the Home Smoked Haddock Snacks, Brown Bread — baked in a can, after all — and my favourite, Sammy’s Cheeseburger. The remainder of the menu is equally improbable and ever-changing, primarily based on the season and no matter proprietor Sammy Richman has foraged, like Rooster-of-the-Woods Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Once I first began to be comfy sufficient to journey in 2020, we stayed native. Our first lengthy drive was to the MidCoast and our first meal was Lengthy Grain. The restaurant arrange an elaborate system of coolers that will home the baggage of take-out meals — a setup I felt completely protected with. This was the primary takeout I had ordered in months and nothing ever tasted nearly as good as these first bites of crab fried rice. Since then, I’ve been again to eating indoors and every part on the menu is at all times excellent. Just like the Kao Soi Gai with thick pickled mustard greens or the Nam Tok beef salad with a broth so scrumptious you merely need to drink no matter is left from the bowl. That is the right place to heat up on colder days or calm down when it’s only a bit too scorching exterior. 

Issues to Do

As a pastry chef who occurred to marry one other pastry chef, there’s no scarcity of kitchen wares in my house. With a predilection for something mid-century, Recycling Retro in Woolwich is a must-stop for a fast browse. They inventory a big selection of classic kitchen gadgets, from percolators to Pyrex. 

One among my favourite outlets once I first began visiting Maine was Extra & Co., a store curated with essentially the most lovely objects like blue and white ceramics from native artist Chloe Might Brown and colourful circus stools and prints from CDR. (I’ve fully decked my house out with work from CDR.) Extra & Co. closed a number of years in the past however Maria Vettesse has just lately opened a brand new store in Wiscasset, Angelo Santo, which homes among the identical treasures and new delights as properly.

Morse’s Sauerkraut in Waldoboro is a German-style delicatessen and grocery that includes items from throughout Europe. They’ve been using the identical sauerkraut recipe and manufacturing course of for over 100 years, utilizing domestically grown and hand-cut cabbage. The kraut is out there in retailers and eating places throughout Maine and for good motive — it’s the most effective I’ve ever had. That is the right cease to refill on snacks for the drive and even for treats in a while. Most eating places shut early within the MidCoast and I can’t depend what number of instances a late-night snack from a Morse’s haul has saved the day. 

Proprietor Joanna Spinks just lately opened First Fig in Camden, a neighborhood bottle store and wine bar. The house serves domestically roasted espresso from Kavka, pastries baked simply across the nook from The Place, and hosts reside music and pop-ups, from makers markets to weekly oyster nights and Taco Sundays. 

A visit to Glidden Level Oyster Farm is a should for any bivalve fanatic. You’ll be able to e-book a farm tour for a deeper dive into how oysters develop or simply order on the window, have a fast shucking tutorial, and luxuriate in contemporary oysters at a picnic desk overlooking the water. In spite of everything, studying the best way to shuck your personal oysters would possibly simply be the most effective memento you may convey house from Maine.

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay are the right place to stretch your legs, discover 300 acres of gardens, and work up an urge for food for an extended day of consuming forward. The Gardens are open Might via October and commonly submit what’s at the moment blooming and the place for guests to set expectations and benefit from the lush panorama. Set towards the backdrop of fixing leaves, early autumn is a ravishing and rather more quiet time to discover the property. 

Mount Battie is simply minutes North of downtown Camden. A part of a 25-mile climbing path via Camden Hills State Park, the mountain gives each an auto highway and a 1.1-mile hike to the summit which seems to be out over the Penobscot Bay and Camden Harbor. The hike is comparatively simple however relying on how a lot train you’re trying to get after a marathon day of consuming, the drive up is fast. The view of the foliage, hills, and Camden under is gorgeous and an ideal place for fall leaf peeping. 

The place to Keep

Only a fast 10-minute stroll from downtown Camden is Whitehall. The previous ship captain’s mansion was inbuilt 1834 and reworked into an inn in 1901. Now, the 36-room boutique property is operated by Lark Inns and embellished with vibrant colours and pops of coastal allure. Whereas there’s no restaurant right here, friends are served a number of small plates for breakfast — suppose pastries and in a single day oats — plus freshly baked cookies within the afternoon. The rooms are cozy however do understand that some room varieties have shared corridor bogs, so be sure you learn the small print earlier than reserving. The entrance porch, firepit, and shuffleboard courts are the right locations to unwind after an extended day of exploring the midcoast. Plus, literary buffs will enjoyment of figuring out the historic property was the place Maine’s well-known poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was first found in 1912 when she recited her poem Renascence, which was penned from atop neighboring Mount Battie. 

Positioned within the coronary heart of downtown Rockland and steps from the harbor, 250 Important Resort is a 26-room pet-friendly boutique lodge. The rooms function reclaimed and classic furnishings and outsized home windows and the property is decked out with work from native artists. Small touches like heated rest room flooring and even heated towel racks make this the right retreat for chillier evenings. The roof deck isn’t to be missed, plus the lodge hosts a day by day completely happy hour with a complimentary glass of beer or wine and small snacks.

The Norumbega is a just lately refurbished boutique lodge simply exterior of downtown Camden. The historic property gives friends unparalleled views of Penobscot Bay, solely made higher by the pops of foliage that encompass the property within the autumn. The visitor rooms supply non-public patios, fireplaces, and even a two-story library suite. The lodge has a small bar that fixes up an ideal Boulevardier, the right cocktail to get pleasure from on the patio whereas the leaves start to fall round you. Don’t miss out on the fireplace pit on the property, which friends can gentle and luxuriate in throughout chilly Fall evenings.