Seasons Grill & Sports Lounge

Seasons, Bangor

Firstly, check out their wonderful website. It is one of the better restaurant sites I have personally witnessed. They have their full menu, a fantastic slide show and have given a competent and thorough explanation of themselves in every area. They even list their daily drink specials!

This is my idea of a sportsbar. Big TV’s, lots of seating, booths, tables, comfy chairs, good food, and great drinks. Often, there are specials during games. We always get the chicken tenders with three dipping sauces. !/2 pound is good, but a whole pound lasts the better part of a ballgame.

Season’s has a good selection of draft beer, and they usually have a drink special. On Thursday nights, they have several martinis at half price.  Guess what night we go?

My first experience with Season’s was their Sunday Brunch. It was what you would normally expect; although they had a chef specifically making waffles and a chef exclusively making omelets. My omelet was, due to my choice of ingredients, divine! I also overloaded my plate with home fries and sausage links, went back for a waffle, and finished with a dessert carrotcake. 

I suppose I should mention I had two very fine Bloody Mary’s, too.  I waddled to the car in a calorie overload stupor, feeling wonderful and satisfied.

I have not had a proper dinner at Season’s yet. I plan to rectify that immediately and will continue this essay shortly.

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I must say that I am pleased! We went to Season’s for my gf birthday party and had a wonderful time. We began with an appetizer of grilled wings with the Season’s Hot Sauce. It was very flavorful and hot enough to be delightful. Alison had a blueberry martini and raved about it. I had a regular vodka martini and it was nothing to write home about, but it was passable. I followed that with a Guiness draft and was happy.  

Steve and I had burgers. He had the bleu cheese burger and I had the gruyere and mushroom burger. 

They were both wonderful. Alison had the fish and chips sandwich and the haddock was twice the size of the roll. 

Alison got an espresso martini to go with her meal. It was very tasty. Steve switched to a Tanqueray martini and was much happier.

Steve had an awesome desert of chocolate cake and icecream. Ali had homemade sorbet and fresh fruit. I had a chocolate mousse. My mousse was fantastic. Rich and flavorful yet, light at the same time. It was, altogether, a fine evening out.

 Alison received a Junior Ranger’s hat and an authentic Junior Ranger’s pin. Nobody looked at her funny, except us. I hope she has another birthday again, soon.

The end.:)

The Green Tea Room

If you have never been to the Green Tea Room, be prepared to be amazed! The décor is beautiful. The menu is extensive: Chinese, Japanese and Thai foods are all available at great prices! Better yet; the drinks are wonderful and happy hour lasts until closing!

We began with quite a different approach. Alison had the Japanese Miso soup, I had the Thai Tom Yum Seafood soup, Steve had the Tom Yum chicken soup.

 Alison and I had Mai Tai cocktails and Steve had an Eager Ninja. I have to admit his was more colorful, but I think it would be hard for a drink to be more delicious than my Mai Tai was, especially considering it cost only $4. Yeah! 

Next time I want only to go get my drink on, I am going here for all night happy hour!!

My soup was absolutely delicious and just the right amount of spicy. Alison thoroughly enjoyed her Miso soup and Steve’s Tom Yum Chicken soup had him forgetting his Eager Ninja for a few moments. 

On to the appetizers! We ordered a spicy girl roll, spicy tuna, spicy yellowtail with spicy eel mayo and we ordered a caterpillar roll, which is Fried calamari, with avocado and eel with avocado. We all loved the spicy girl, but the caterpillar roll went unfinished. 

The presentation was fantastic! The spicy girl was lined up like a row of soldiers and the caterpillar roll was a circle of cut roll around a light that blinked different colors. The effect was lovely. About this time we ordered a second Mai Tai.

When it came time to order the main course, we had to go with the special written on the board. It was a Japanese prepared filet mignon with a side of vegetables and a salad. The salad was delightful, the filet mignon was good, but considering it was only $15, it was astounding! 

Steve had the Kung Pao chicken, which he thoroughly enjoyed. 



With three soups, two rolls, three main dishes, (two of them filet mignon) and six drinks, we spent a total of $117.00 before tip. How amazing is that? The cheapskate in me absolutely adores the Green Tea Room, but the gourmet in me loves the Green Tea Room. The drinker in me blesses the Green Tea Room with big kisses blown from a shaky hand. Having such an extensive array of choices, great food and unbelievable prices, we cannot speak highly enough about the Green Tea Room! The service was just as good as the food. 

O’Donnell’s Subs and Deli Revisited

When I say favorite place, I mean it for a number of reasons. First, the food must be exceptional. Secondly, it must be good people, ones I call friends. Third, it must have that intangible quality that makes it more of a place where adventures happen than a simple place of business.

Such a place is O’Donnell’s Subs and Deli. From the moment you walk in and experience the wonderful aroma of freshly baked breads, you know that something special takes place here. Bruce, the owner, tells the story of how his mother was a contrary Irishwoman at the hospital. They were trying to kick her out, but she couldn’t be discharged until she named the baby. As she dragged her feet, the nurses would push her. One of them said, “Just pick something! Anything but Bruce or Allen, we’ve had too many Bruces and Allens. This is when Bruce says; “Guess what my middle name is.” Sure enough, it’s Allen.

It is little quirky things like this that separate businesses from magical places. This is, without any doubt, a magical place. If you are waiting, they give you a free piece of Irish soda bread. I have been privileged to sample, fresh jalapeno Kaiser rolls. Fresh baked pizza. Fresh baked breakfast rolls. Whatever is coming out of the oven is usually given as samples to all who are in attendance. How can such a place not be your favorite?

The menu is not huge, but it is certainly varied and tasty! You can get an Italian sandwich or a roast beef sandwich. You can get a homemade meatball sandwich or a Panini Reuben on marbled rye. The Pizza is the best in town. Altogether, there is something for everyone and everything is first class. If you want the personal attention that your mother gave your food, this is the place It is not fast, but it is fantastic.

Antiques Marketplace and Café

I am going to start by saying this is one of my favorite places in Bangor. The atmosphere is like I remember Maine 40 years ago. The food is delightful and homemade. The people are great. Elvis, the Beatles and a young Bob Dylan on the wall … what could be more fun?

I love to order a wrap with chicken salad, spinach, feta and bleu cheese for which I pay only $5.50. I am full, satisfied, and supremely happy with that. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life. I walk around and check out their museum/Antiques market for a while, then check out their wonderful desserts. How can you have more fun than that?  Inexpensive, tasty and entertaining. That’s my idea of good eats!

Massimo's Cucina Italiana

I have never been to Italy; but it feels like I have. We went to Massimo’s for dinner. Every table had an immaculate white cloth on it. They changed them after every customer. It was a very decorative old building with a combination Euro-Maine décor.

We began the evening with an appetizer of baked eggplant, Mozzarella & Parmigiano w/ Marinara. I had wine and David had a Martini. The combination of the flavors of the eggplant and the wine was absolutely delightful. David said the Martini was excellent, too.

David had Lasagne Del Giorno, lasagna of the day. I believe it had spinach and beef in it. He was too busy eating to speak for quite some time after that. I had lamb shank slow-cooked in red wine served over a bed of potatoes and fresh peas, seasoned magnificently. Lamb is one of my favorite dishes. Any time I find lamb as a special, I get it. This is why! The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the red wine gave it a surreal and sublime flavor! I was in heaven. It went perfectly with my wine. I did not speak to David, either. We compared carefully when we were done and found David had spilled much more on the white tablecloth than I had. It figures. He had lasagna.

I highly recommend Massimo’s to any diner with a warning to bring your Sunday wallet. You will pay a tithing for this meal, but it will be well worth it!

Blaze, Bangor

We have been to Blaze twice now in Bangor and once in Bar Harbor. We have not yet had dinner, but we have had lunch and Sunday Brunch there.

First, we went on St. Patrick’s day and got fish and chips cooked in duckfat. We split it between two of us. We got enough to eat and it was tasty enough. It seemed the duckfat made it seem lighter and less greasy. We also got Jameson’s in coffee with whipped cream and they were very well made.

We noticed on the shelf was a bottle marked “Bacon”. Upon asking we were informed that they infuse their own vodka for specialty drinks. I asked what drink they made with bacon infused vodka and was told it was used for the Sunday brunch Bloody Marys. That was that. We were there next Sunday to try them out.

As I remember it, they have a regular Bloody Mary and a House bloody Mary with jalapenos and bacon vodka. It arrived with a slice of bacon on top, too. Very tasty. Spicy, too! Breakfast was very good.

Another time, we went to have microbrew draft beer, as they normally have at least 50 to choose from. We had a difficult time deciding, so we ordered six 8 ounce glasses of beer (a sampler) and tried a number of them. We got a wood fired pizza to keep them company. That was a wonderful afternoon. Cathy’s Coffee infused Stout was the winner and you haven’t lived until you try it.

Once we tried their pumpkin pie and their pumpkin bread with ice cream. Get either of these with a pint of Cathy’s Coffee infused Stout and enjoy the party in your mouth. It is like a parade you eat and drink. Pure happiness!

Beef up your wallet before you go, as you will end up eating their wonderful homemade desserts and drinking their wonderful drinks. It is a fun place with a calm atmosphere and we will go anytime we are invited and many times when we aren’t. 

Lucerne Inn Revisited

We thought it would be only fair to come back to the Lucerne Inn for dinner on a normal day. We were not impressed with brunch, but wanted to try something else to get a feel for the place.

The atmosphere there is wonderful. The view is breathtaking out the windows. On this visit, we had wonderful food and drink. My girlfriend had the petite sirloin and made the most awesome “steakface” over and over. Whenever she gets exceedingly joyful now, I say; “That looks like your steakface from the Lucerne Inn!”

I had the Calamari Portifino, and am I glad I did! It was delicious and the portion was just right. Whatever happened for Sunday brunch is long forgotten. This place is a wonderful experience when it comes to dinner! We give it our highest marks. We are looking forward to going to one of their wine dinners, very soon!