Midcoast Maine 2016

       If you know me at all, you know how much I adore midcoast Maine. I'm speaking now of the area beginning in Brunswick (about 3 hours travel by car from Boston) and ending in Belfast. Most of this part of the Pine Tree State is coastal or near water, and after 20 years, it continues to blow me away with its beauty, food offerings, leisure and friendly folks. 

       This summer I visited The Maine Coastal Botanical Garden http://www.mainegardens.org for the first time, and it is spectacular. Open from mid-April to the end of October, the Garden comprises 270 acres of tidal shoreline and serves over 100,000 visitors a year. With good reason. The gardens are lovely, interesting and well-maintained. Our favorite is the Lerner Garden of Five Senses, designed for a lady who was going blind, and engaging all the senses with a garden-lover in mind. There is also a calming and scenic Meditation Garden down by the water. There are tours daily, and our tour guide Ron was very informative and good company. If you get hungry, there's a wonderful restaurant onsite with indoor and outdoor seating. The Botanical Garden will be expanding soon as the result of a recent land gift.  It is a gem of New England, well worth a visit and the $16. admission.

Enormous hibiscus in full bloom

                 I have blogged here at spybird about fried fish offerings, because good fried fish is just about my favorite food. All of the fish we're discussing here is fresh native haddock. We don't bother if it ain't fresh and local. Here are my rankings for 2016, after serious testing and tasting, and another inch on my waist:

                 #5: Pemaquid Lobster Co-op, Co-op Road Pemaquid Harbor, Maine. This is the place I bring people for a great lobsta-in-the rough-experience. Order at the window and sit outside with a hilltop view of Pemaquid Harbor. Bring a salad and bottle of white wine, and that's livin! The property just received a facelift. The lobsters are super-sweet. BUT... the fried fish was just okay. Fresh, yes, but little pieces with too much batter. $11. Stick to the lobsters. 

                 #4: Sea Basket, 303 Bath Road, Wiscasset, Maine.  Very tasty fried fish with generic fries, and generic tartar. The place is very clean and there are lots of food choices. Basket costs $11.

                 #3 Deb's Diner, Route 1, Waldoboro. Locals love Deb's, and with good reason. This is a diner experience that never leaves one hungry. The fried fish only happens on Friday. It's $11. if I recall, and comes with one of Deb's award-winning biscuits. It's absolutely delicious --- crispy and moist. The fish is super fresh. Check it out:

Deb's does it right

             #2: Hot Fat Truck, Delano's Seafood, Route 1, Waldoboro, Maine. Hot Fat is the new kid on the block, just opening this year in Waldoboro after a stint on Monhegan island. It is a heaping helping of fish lightly fried, and Cap'n. Mattie's spuds are from Maine. The tartar comes in two flavors --- regular or jalepeno --- and the $14. price is well worth the quality. I hope they come back next year.

            #1 Bet's Fried Fish, Boothbay Center, Maine. 

            First, how I found her. Cheryl and I were leaving Morse's Sauerkraut, which is another great eatery in Waldoboro, when I came upon your classic Maine codger and his wife standing next to their old pick-up, which had a Bet's bumper sticker. He was working his toothpick and enjoying a moment of digesting. I said to him, "Sir, is that Bet's a good fish place?" He looked at me knowingly and said, "I'll tell you what, son, that fish is some good." His wife nodded once in obvious approval. I was there a few days later.

            Bet is a goddess of the seafood realm. She has a shack with some picnic tables right off the town green in Boothbay. She cooks fish that she sources from her own boat (so I've heard), and serves giant filets with dill tartar and homemade Maine fries (with hot potato chips mixed in). It is ridiculously tasty. And the half portion (see below) is $9.00. This is the gold standard, third year running.

Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine, etc.

                

Port Clyde and St. George are sweet towns on a peninsula off Thomaston, Maine. The Lighthouse at Marshall Point is very picturesque and sometimes overlooked in favor of the more famous Pemaquid Lighthouse. This lighthouse was the finishing point of Forrest Gump's run east in the 1993 film of the same name, and there are photos of Tom Hanks visiting the locals on site at the small but informative museum.  There are good swimming beaches nearby, and when you're ready for a terrific lunch, try the homemade German food at The Happy Clam on River Road in St. George.