Portland’s culinary reputation continues to grow nationwide. Several of the following restaurants have received prestigious awards for their excellent and delicious meals. It’s worth the trip to the Port City to try one — or all — of the venues we rated the best Portland, Maine, restaurants. We promise you won’t be disappointed with the meals […]
lobster
New England
Five Favorite New England Inns
Finest Summer “Cottage” Inn at Shelburne Farms 1611 Harbor Road Shelburne, VT 802-985-8498 (inn) 802-985-8686 (farm) shelburnefarms.org As I drive directly into the setting sun, the entry posts appear as two shimmering blurs. My vision clears, but the illusion of passing through the pearly gates persists. “Welcome to Shelburne Farms,” the gatekeeper says, advising that […]
To say Dick Pulsifer makes boats is to say Stradivari made fiddles. Every year for the past three decades, he has painstakingly crafted an average of three finely made small boats, plank by plank, at his modest workshop outside Brunswick. And these beguilingly simple boats — he’ll be completing #104 in 2008 — are treasured […]
A few weeks ago I was honored to be a judge at Mass NARAL’s annual “Chocolate Madness” event, which raises funds to support women’s reproductive rights. I know better than to use this blog for directed political agendas, so I’ll leave you with the knowledge I’ve been in support of this event for more than […]
York Beach in southern Maine is more honky-tonk than exclusive coastal resort, so chef Lydia Shire’s exciting new eatery, Blue Sky, is turning heads — not just for its sleek, sexy design but also for the inspired plates coming out of the kitchen. A well-known kitchen maverick, Lydia has been wowing diners since the 1980s […]
New England
Diners in New England: Top 5
Nobody is more qualified to choose the best diners in New England than Richard Gutman, curator of the Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, and author of three books on the history of diners. When we asked him to name the venues he thinks are the best diners in New […]
By David Lyon and Patricia Harris Maine has more. Whatever you’re looking for in New England, Maine has more coastline, more moose, more lobsters, more forest, more islands, more deer, more trout, more lakes and streams. Nearly as large as the rest of New England put together, Maine is so big by regional standards that […]
Maine
Weekend: Belfast, Maine
Shiny yachts bob up and down in the water next to sailboats that look like they’ve weathered too many summers. A northerly wind sweeps clouds across the blue sky. Hawser, the M/V Good Return owner’s black Lab, pants away from the captain’s room as the boat motors over smooth waters. A Penobscot Bay harbor cruise […]
Eateries that offer old-fashioned New England foods can be as modest as a roadside diner or as fancy as a historic inn. The following are tried-and-true consumer-pleasing spots, whether the main attraction is boiled lobster, a thick bowl of fish chowder, a lobster pot pie, a blueberry pie, or Indian pudding. Connecticut The Silvermine Tavern […]
Main Dishes
Pizza Recipes for Grown-Ups
When Sonya Speranza was 7 years old, she took her first trip in an airplane. She traveled all the way from Hartford, Connecticut, to the village of Pescara, Italy, to meet her relatives and to see the place where her mother had grown up. In the backyard of the family home stood a rustic wood-fire […]
New England
Camping: Acadia National Park in Maine
Most parents gauge the growth of their children by penciling their heights against the bedroom wall. My wife and I can tell the kids are getting on in years by what they accomplish at Acadia each summer. We start by setting up camp. Acadia’s more popular campground, Blackwoods, sits off the congested Park Loop, so […]
Magazine
Sea Kayaking: Rhode Island
When our kids were younger, we rented double kayaks from The Kayak Centre in Wickford, on the western side of Narragansett Bay, and paddled past the docked yachts. Soon we were out in the quiet harbor, coasting alongside the oyster beds and sea grass meadows that make up the puckered shoreline. We could see century-old […]