Maine: Food, Beer, Lobster, Love

First off… Happy Birthday Brian!!!  The husband turns the big 2-8 today!!!  We spent the majority of it doing yard work, but don’t worry there was a delicious dinner and some birthday treats involved.

First let’s rewind…  Thursday morning I left my house at 6:00AM and headed about 1.5 hours north to Portland, Maine! 

I had a transportation engineering conference for all day Thursday and half the day Friday so I decided to extend the trip 1 more night since I LOVE Portland.

Brian joined me Friday as well so it was like a mini vacation/birthday celebration :)

Nothing too exciting to re-cap Thursday, but Friday I opted to start my day at the breakfast buffet at my hotel (I was staying at a different hotel than that of the conference). 

I was craving yogurt and fruit and thankfully I was able to fulfill that…too bad I had to pay the $12.95 Breakfast Buffet price for my bowl of yogurt,fruit, and granola…oh well. 

Now for some good stuff :)  My hotel was RIGHT next to my FAVORITE restaurant…Fore Street, and the same people have a bakery right behind the restaurant that I have been dying to try (last time I was up here it was closed). 

Standard Baking:

Not gonna lie…I visited this bakery 4 times in 2 days!  The first was a mid morning treat of a ham and cheese croissant.

Oh.My.God…incredible, and that’s just the beginning.  Inside that braided croissant dough was salty ham and I believe gruyere cheese.

Once the conference was over for the day on Friday, I hopped back to my hotel, changed, and headed out for a run!  I found a beautiful trail along the coast…unfortunately I do not run with my camera. 

However the next morning Brian and I took a nice long walk on the same trail and I DID bring the camera. 

After my run I walked over to Portland Lobster Co. for lunch. 

I placed my order, and grabbed a seat with a view. (that lobster thing is the buzzer to let me know my food’s ready haha)

Oh yeah…

Can’t come to Maine and not have lobster.  Not to mention it’s by far my favorite food…ever. 

This was turning out to be an incredible day.

When Brian arrived, of course, the first place I took him was Standard Baking for a small afternoon snack.  I got an iced tea and a coconut macaroon and he got a piece of rugelach.

My macaroon which apparently went unpictured, was delicious…small, soft, coconut, golden and crisp on the outside.

Then we headed to the next stop…his quest…
Novare Res Bier Cafe

Poor guy, I know he wishes this place was closer to home!  This “Bier Cafe” is a beer lovers dream bar.  Lots of space, out door seating, very knowledgeable, friendly, and laid back staff…and many, many, unique beers.  They specialize in craft beers, many of which are from Belgium, Germany, the UK, and even the owner’s own homebrew. 

Happy Boy.  That particular beer was delicious…Rodenbach Grand Cru.  It was a bit tart, but really so refreshing.

There was more Beer-happenings later.  He always likes to get a few bottles to bring home.  This store was conveniently right near the hotel as well.

Then it was time for dinner!!  This needs it’s own post…way too much deliciousness.  Stay tuned for that :)  You can check out my post about our last time at Fore Street                .

I’ll give you a teaser though…the desert menu.  Can you guess what we ordered??

As I mentioned before, the next morning we set out for a morning walk along the coast.            

But first we stopped at…where else, Standard Baking for coffee and pastries.

We took our “breakfast” to a bench overlooking the ocean.

Chocolate Croissant

Morning Bun with nuts

Coffee + sun shine

Then we set out

Lots of dogs playing in the ocean!

After the walk (about 3 miles), we went back to the hotel, changed, checked out, did a little more shopping, and headed home :)

If you live in New England and love food…seriously, visit Portland!!  Specifically Old Port…that’s the area we were in.  There are so many incredible restaurants…it’s definitely a place for food lovers.

Great to be home though…can’t wait to catch you up on the yard updates!