After 15+ years in New York City, my husband and I moved to Portland, Maine, and honestly, we could not be happier. Trading subway platforms for rocky coastlines, tiny seafood shacks, and winding back roads, has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
Here I’ll be collecting our favorite places across our new home state, from restaurants and bakeries to coffee shops, markets, hikes, day trips, and weekend escapes.
I’m not trying to make the most exhaustive Maine guide on the internet. This is more of a living, highly opinionated love letter to the places we visit and love, with a strong emphasis on good food, pretty views, cozy stays, and spots that feel special without being overly polished.
I’ll keep adding to these guides as we explore more of Maine, whether it’s a long weekend in Bar Harbor, a perfect afternoon in Deer Isle, a bakery worth driving for, or a tiny provisions shop that makes me want to cancel dinner plans and assemble a no-cook feast instead.
Basically, if it’s beautiful, delicious, charming, odd in a good way, or worth planning a whole day around, it belongs here.
For a small city, Portland punches way above its weight when it comes to food, with everything from special-occasion dinners and lobster rolls to bakeries, pizza, cocktails, food shops, and casual spots I return to again and again. This guide is based only on places I’ve personally visited and loved, so it’s not meant to be exhaustive, just a curated list of the spots I actually recommend, plus a few notes to help you plan your next very delicious Portland meal.
When I was 8, my family and our close family friends drove from Ohio to Bar Harbor for a two-week camping trip. Of all our family vacations growing up, this was my absolute favorite – full of nature, adventure, and of course, lobster. Nearly 30 years later, we made our way back to Mount Desert Island, home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. This is a food-first guide to our weekend: where we stayed, what we ate, and what we loved.
The Blue Hill Peninsula and Deer Isle feel like the kind of Maine people are trying to describe when they call a place “magical.” It’s all winding coastal roads, working harbors, foggy coves, surprise views, and food that makes you question why you don’t just move here already.
Stretching roughly from Brunswick up toward Searsport, Midcoast Maine is packed with charming towns, rocky peninsulas, harbor views, low-key seafood shacks, destination restaurants, and excellent bakeries.
Southern Maine is dangerously good at convincing you that a quick weekend away should somehow include three breakfasts, two lobster rolls, beach walks, cocktails, doughnuts, and “just one more” stop on the way home. From Ogunquit and Wells to Kennebunkport, Biddeford, and Saco, this stretch of coast has a little bit of everything I want in a Maine getaway.
