Maine will feed you better than you expect and you will not see it coming. Here’s everything worth eating, in the order it actually happened.
1. Fox’s Lobster House, York
Right near Sohier Park with ocean views of Nubble Lighthouse. I stopped here after the rocks and the fishing lesson and the bluest water I’d ever seen — and the first Maine meal set the tone for everything that followed. Lobster rolls, chowder, fish and chips, classic Maine seafood done exactly right.First stop in Maine should be York. First meal in York should be here.
2. Jordan Pond House, Acadia National Park
Afternoon tea on the lawn with a direct view of Jordan Pond and the Bubble Mountains. I had just come off the trail, still a little windswept, and sat down to popovers — warm, eggy, enormous, served with butter and strawberry jam while one of the most peaceful views in the park stretched out in front of me. People plan trips around these popovers and I understand why now.
Do not walk past this after the trail. You will regret it.
3. The Barnacle, Bar Harbor
Waterfront patio, about a 30 minute wait on a weekend evening. Worth every minute.
They serve Cadillac Oysters pulled straight from Frenchman Bay — the same water you’ve been looking at all day. I tried one and was hooked and just kept going. Get them raw. That’s the only way to do it.
4. Maine Beer Company, on tap across Bar Harbor
The brewery is in Freeport and worth a separate visit if you’re doing a wider Maine trip. But you’ll find Maine Beer Co. on tap all over Bar Harbor and that’s where most people meet it for the first time.
I had the Black Barn Program No. 32 — a wheat beer, delicious, exactly right for a warm evening after a long day of trails and ocean air. Ask the bartender what’s on. Everyone in Maine has a Maine Beer Co. opinion. Strong opinions. Very enthusiastic. The beer earns it.
5. Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, Bar Harbor
Everything made from scratch. Flavors rotate and get creative — Vietnamese coffee, mango jicama habanero, blueberry sour cream alongside the classics. The line moves fast even when it looks long.
Chocolate. Waffle cone. Take it to Agamont Park and watch the sailboats on Frenchman Bay go still as the light changes. That is the Bar Harbor evening and you should not skip it.
6. Bar Harbor Beer Works
Casual, easy, exactly what you need before a big oyster dinner. American food, solid snacks, outdoor seating, 40-plus beers on draft with a strong rotation of Maine craft brews. The kind of place you stop in for one beer and stay longer than planned.
7. Cousins food truck, Fort Williams Park
This is why you came.
I had researched Cousins before the trip, starved myself all morning in preparation, drove to Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth on the last day — and the truck wasn’t there. I walked to Portland Head Light anyway, stood in the cold and the wind and the rain, walked back. The truck was being set up. Right there in the parking lot.
I waited however long it took. When the rolls were ready I had three. Because I had earned three.
Before Maine I wasn’t really into seafood. The lobster was so fresh it blew my mind — light, fluffy, that beautiful red on top I genuinely did not expect. Standing in the rain, eating roll after roll, smiling like an idiot. It was still raining. I did not care.
Try the thing before you decide you don’t like it. The lobster roll was waiting. I just hadn’t tried it yet.
Eaten something in Maine that belongs on this list? Or finally tried the thing you’d been avoiding? Tell me in the comments — I want to know if it changed your mind.
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The full Maine story — including the food truck I almost missed — is all right here.
