Best Dining in Maine | 2016 Editors’ Choice Awards

Wondering where to eat in Maine? The Pine Tree State offers plenty of restaurant options for hungry residents and visitors alike. Here are our picks for the best dining in Best Dining in Maine for 2016.

Best Lobster-Roll Experience: Quoddy Bay Lobster, Eastport Lobster doesn’t get any fresher than that served at this family-owned fish store and lobster shack sited on a working pier. Chopped claw, tail, and knuckle meat is tossed with a hint of mayo (Miracle Whip, if you prefer) or drizzled with butter, mounded in a toasted and buttered split-top roll, and gilded with a meaty claw. The views over Passamaquoddy Bay to Campobello Island seal the deal. Choose from junior, regular, or jumbo size. Lobster rolls: from $10. 7 Sea St. 207-853-6640 Best Dining with a View: David’s KPT, Kennebunkport Watch boat traffic on the Kennebunk River from the glass-walled dining room or on the deck, while enjoying a seafood tower, skewers of shrimp and scallops, or perhaps even a lobster dinner. Entreés: from $15. 21 Ocean Ave. 207-967-8225; boathouseme.com Best Dinner & a Show: Jonathan’s, Ogunquit Packages make it easy to enjoy a fine-dining farm-to-table menu downstairs, and chase it with a show in the intimate upstairs venue, where touring acts such as Dar Williams, George Winston, Madeleine Peyroux, and Paula Poundstone perform. Entreés: from $23. 92 Bourne Lane. 207-646-4777; jonathansogunquit.com Best Quick Lunch: Wild Oats, Brunswick At least four scratch-made soups, prepared specials, made-to-order sandwiches on house-made bread, and fresh salads are all available at Wild Oats, a self-serve bakery and café with plentiful seating. Located in the Tontine Mall. Lunch: from $5. 149 Maine St. 207-725-6287; wildoatsbakery.com Best Fried Fish: Bet’s Famous Fish Fry, Boothbay Free Beer Tomorrow teases the sign in front of Bet’s, a roadside take-out fish shack famed for its generous portions of always-crisp, never-greasy fish-and-chips made with local haddock caught by Bet’s brother, battered with breadcrumbs, and paired with hand-cut fries. Don’t skip the homemade dill sauce. Hint: A half order is often enough for two people. Cash only. Entrées: from $8. 20 Route 27 at Common Drive Best Homestyle Cookin’: Deb’s Diner, Waldoboro Another local diner draws the tourist crowds, but locals fill Deb’s, a no-frills spot dishing out scratch-made classics like to-die-for biscuits with sausage gravy, fried chicken, clam chowder, and scrumptious pies. Entrées: from $3. 1495 U.S. Route 1. 207-832-6144 Best Farm Store: Beth’s Farm Market, Warren Not only does Beth’s have freshly picked produce, but you’ll also find pickled vegetables, relishes, oysters, lobster, and an in-house bakery making breads, pies, and seasonal favorites, such as strawberry shortcake. 1986 Western Road. 207-273-3695; bethsfarmmarket.com Best Neapolitan Pizza: Meanwhile in Belfast, Belfast Certified Neapolitan master pizza chef Alessandro Scelsi, a native of Turino, Italy, handcrafts crisp sourdough-crust pizzas, baking them for only a minute or so in his wood-fired oven. Try the “Côte D’Azur,” with fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, prosciutto di Parma, and sun-dried figs—or keep it simple with the “Visionary,” a classic Margherita that never tasted so good. Pizzas: from $10. 2 Cross St. 207-218-1288; meanwhile-in-belfast.com Best Sweet Shop: Black Dinah Tasting Room, Blue Hill An original soda-fountain counter is now an espresso bar offering locally roasted 44 North coffees as well as Black Dinah’s signature chocolate drinks, ice cream, and truffles in a space shared with Fairwinds Florist. Truffles: from $2. Chocolate drinks: from $2.75. Ice cream: from $3.50. 5 Main St. 207-374-2228; blackdinahchocolatiers.com Best Feel-Good Breakfast: The Common Good Community, Southwest Harbor Hot popovers, flavored butters, homemade jams, and slow-simmered oatmeal are offered every morning, along with occasional live entertainment, at the Community Kitchen. Proceeds from the donate-what-you-can, all-you-can-eat, buffet-style spread help local families. 19 Clark Point Road. 207-266-2733; commongoodsoupkitchen.org Best Restaurant For Picky Eaters: Café Miranda, Rockland Pizza? Check. Burgers and dogs? Yes. Gluten-free options and vegetarian choices? Yup. Pasta? Of course. Seafood? Ayuh. Meat and poultry? You betcha. Soups and salads? Uh-huh. French, Mexican, Asian, Indian, Greek, Italian, Polish, and other internationally inspired dishes? Oui. With small plates, large plates, and everything in between, Café Miranda’s humongous menu has something to satisfy everyone. Entrées: from $14. 15 Oak St. 207-594-2034; cafemiranda.com Best Sporting-Camp Restaurant: Bald Mountain Camps, Oquossoc Most sporting camps serve home-style comfort food, but not so Bald Mountain. Although the dining room’s lakefront setting and pine-and-antler décor are traditional, locally revered chef Brian Anderson’s menu elevates the experience, with entrées such as Moroccan roast rack of lamb, pan-seared duck breast, and Caribbean fish tacos. Big windows in the main-lodge dining room frame sigh-worthy sunset views over Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Entrées: from $14. 125 Bald Mountain Road. 207-864-3671; baldmountaincamps.com Best Acadian Fare: Dolly’s, Frenchville Ask anyone in the St. John Valley where to taste traditional Acadian fare, and aside from a family home, the answer is Dolly’s, which earns accolades for its ployes, cretons, and chicken stew. Entrées: from $4. 17 U.S. Route 1. 207-728-7050 Best 24/7 Food: Dysart’s, Hermon Sure, it’s a truck stop, but where else can you get huge portions of fresh-made food around the clock—never mind breakfast at 11:00 p.m.? You’ll find all the classics—eggs, sausage, pancakes, French toast, waffles, more than a dozen varieties of omelets—plus signature dishes such as the “Kitchen Sink” omelet (you can guess), the “Truckers’ Special,” and sirloin steak. And Dysart’s even has an in-house bakery, turning out homemade pies, pastries, biscuits, and desserts. Breakast entrées: from $5. 530 Coldbrook Road. 207-942-4878; dysarts.com Best Acadia Tradition: Jordan Pond House, Acadia National Park The view of Jordan Pond and across it to the two “Bubbles” mountains is reason enough to stop by this iconic restaurant—but the popovers with strawberry jam are legendary. After hiking one of Acadia’s peaks or biking the carriage trails, reward yourself with tea and these classic egg-batter rolls. Go ahead—slather on the jam, and while you’re at it, splurge on some ice cream, too. Heaven! Sandwiches, salads, soups, and full entrées are also offered, for both lunch and dinner. Tea and popovers: $9.50. Off Park Loop Road. 207-276-3316; acadiajordanpondhouse.com Best College-Town Eats: Bowdoin College, Brunswick Locals and Bowdoin parents have long known that there’s no better food for the price than what you’ll find at the college’s Thorne Hall and Moulton Hall dining rooms, open to the public, and consistently rated among the top five in the nation. For $8 (breakfast), $14 (lunch), or $15.75 (dinner), you’ll enjoy exceptional food, and your dining companions will be among the best and the brightest of their generation. bowdoin.edu/dining/when-where/index.shtml