Eagle’s Nest Restaurant, Brewer, Maine

We have been to Eagle’s Nest Restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is how people eat out in Maine. It is not fancy or expensively decorated, it is just superior food. My girlfriend moved here from New Jersey and had never eaten lobster before. I asked around and it was almost unanimous that Eagle’s Nest Restaurant had the best lobster rolls around. We went to test that theory.

Not having had a lobster roll anywhere else around, it is difficult to say for certain that theirs is the best, however, I cannot imagine anyone making one with more, fresher, or tastier lobster. It lived up to the billing.

Eagle’s Nest has a down home, downeast flair and the seafood platter the next table got STILL has us talking weeks later. We will undoubtedly be back to attack one of those, soon. Moderate pricing and delicious food, it is no wonder it is impossible to find a place to park at the Eagle’s Nest during the summer. 

Jordan’s Snack Bar, Ellsworth Maine

If you live in San Francisco, Gnome, Budapest or you’re from the Yukon, it is definitely worth the drive to Jordan’s Snack Bar in Ellsworth, Maine. If you go to Acadia National Park, make time to fit Jordan’s into your trip!

The best thing you can say about a place that serves seafood is that the local fishermen eat there. That tells you two things: 1, the prices are competitive as fishermen tend to be cheapskates; and 2, the fish is fresh. Fishermen will not eat old fish.

If you like seafood, the fish, shellfish and lobster are as good as you will find anywhere: Fresh, good portions and well-tended. The french fries and onion rings are as good as they get. The coleslaw is legendary in these parts. They have many tables outside so people can enjoy the fresh Maine air, or they have a large indoor facility, too. There is no wait service. It is the typical snack bar approach. You order the food, then pick it up when it is done and carry it wherever you wish.

If you have never had fish chowder, this is the place to change that. Chock full of tender haddock, theirs is almost as good as grandma’s. The fried clams are second to none. The scallops have cost my dad a good deal of his retirement, and the shrimp are as sweet as you will ever find. If there is anyplace I would rather go to eat, I cannot think of it.

Let’s not forget, they are a snack bar with all of the Gifford’s ice cream you can eat! Sundaes, banana splits, cones … whatever you like. I rarely have Ice Cream there, as I am too full from dinner. 

O’Donnell’s Subs and Sandwiches

Subs Subs Subs!

This is a secret pleasure we really do not wish to share. The last thing I want is to have this place so busy that Bruce, the owner, has no time to talk to me anymore. But, I am bound to inform the public, so I will take my chances.

I eat at O’Donnell’s once or twice a week. Their sandwiches and subs on homemade bread are something you cannot find anywhere else at any price! And he has MOXIE!!! LOL. He has a number of fantastic sandwiches and Panini’s on the menu, plus, he will make me anything his kitchen can produce at my leisure. 

The pizzas are the best in town, period. He spices the sauce himself. The dough is homemade. He uses five cheeses. There is no one who loves food and shares that love better than Bruce & family, down at O’Donnell’s. Make the effort to go as soon as possible. You will kick yourself if you do not.

I have had a meatball sub with sauerkraut and bacon. I have had homemade breakfast rolls with bacon egg and cheese. The pepperoni pizza is the best deal in town (a slice and a drink for $3.49) and the meatball sub is the best anywhere. If you are quenching a hunger, there is no better place in Bangor. 

11 Central Street

There are places where you can go to eat and there are places where you can experience food. Eleven Central Street is the latter. The first thing I need to mention is that my girlfriend was impressed by how good it smelled as we walked up the street to the entrance. I had to concur. Firstly, the place is too small. I can see that the day will come soon where getting a table will be difficult. For now, it was a short wait. Not long enough to finish my martini, at the bar, halfway.

We were fortunate enough to be visited at our table by Manager Ann Marie, who suggested the Tarragon Chicken was a new favorite. She also said her favorite pizza was the Hawaiian with Chorizo sausage on top. My friend had the Tarragon Chicken, my girlfriend had the Swordfish steak, and I had a Hawaiian pizza with Chorizo sausage. (I absolutely love Chorizo sausage!!)

The second martini was noticeably better than the first. Perhaps we got a vodka martini the first time around because we did not specify. We specified to the waitress, and it was much better. That’s all we can come up with. Either that or another bartender makes them much better than the first.

The swordfish was delightful. It was peppered to the point of spiciness, but not too much.  The tarragon Chicken was gone so quickly I never even smelled it. My friend inhaled it. The Hawaiian pizza with Chorizo was to die for! I was even brought a small dish of fresh ground parmesan cheese, which I dumped all over the top of the pizza.  I had to share it with my now drooling fellow diners.

Because it has steak, chicken, pasta, pizza, and seafood, I believe anyone will be able to find something they absolutely love on the 11 Central menu.  This is not one of those nice quality places you can go and eat, this is a place where you can go and experience food you love. 

For the discerning diner, the atmosphere is a bit excited, as the place is small, but it is nicely decorated and the service extremely competent. I cannot imagine anyone having a bad time there. 

The Fiddlehead Restaurant

I sit here at my Commodore 64 with the idea of writing how much I hated The Fiddlehead Restaurant. Please tell me if I have done a good job.We enjoyed the maze they forced you to walk through just to find the place. That was a plus. Then the woman who greeted us was very attractive. That was a plus. Then Steve said that on a store video on Youtube she said she would stop and have drinks with customers. So when the very fashionable waiter arrived I informed him we fully expected her to come have a drink with us, like it said in the video. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “She’s a little bit busy.” I answered, “Good. Then she should have time to join us!”

We ordered shrimp and cheddar grits. They were spectacular. We got Martinis with Tanqueray. They were magnificent. But no pretty lady to drink with! Steve ordered the house salad, I ordered the spinach salad. Steve was thrilled with his salad. Mine was to die for. The blend of the cheese, bacon and apple cider vinaigrette was sublime. No pretty lady to drink with. I finished my Martini and ordered another round. Steve looked at me like I was crazy. “Hey! If pretty lady is going to have a drink with us I have to have a drink.” We couldn't stall any longer so we told our very fashionable waiter that we would each have the special barbecue pork chop. 

Then we complained about how bad the place was. The building was old and charming. The food was outstanding, the drinks were amazing, and the pretty lady was snubbing us altogether. About the time our tears fell into our Martinis, the pork chops arrived. They were sitting on a bed of shells and cheese and a helping of coleslaw. The pork chop had been prepared with great care to taste delicious and be very, very tender. The shells were such a tasty treat with an entirely different texture and flavor than the meat. The coleslaw was perfect. I asked the very fashionable waiter again when we would have our chance to drink with the pretty lady. He just looked at me funny and bussed the table. Eventually we couldn't wait any longer. I was not going to finish my second Martini and reach the car. Steve hadn't started his, so I found someone at the bar that was glad to take it off his hands. 

We ordered two chocolate torts to go and settled the bill. Then we complained about being snubbed on the way out, after all, for those prices it should have been brought by topless dancing girls. The pretty lady said, “Next time, you, me, drinks. It’s a plan” Steve and I agreed it was the hardest we had ever worked not to have fun, then she goes and blows the whole thing at the end. Although we didn't get our visit to make us feel special, at least she pretended for a few seconds that she gave a shit at the end. That was all it took. We had a wonderful time!

Lucerne Inn Brunch

We drove to The Lucerne Inn with all of the excitement and fanfare of troubadours entering the kingdom of reportedly beautiful and easy women. This was going to be very exciting. We even went in the middle of a blizzard! Actually, more of a dusting but it was the first of the year so it seemed like a blizzard. Our expectations were further extended when the hostess proved to be an exceptionally beautiful girl with an exceptional smile. For a couple men on the backside of midlife crisis, that was a welcome omen. 

The coffee was very good. They had donuts that looked like they were from a Nissen box, some fruit and cheese for the poor deluded souls who joined the Vegan cult, some strange looking dip and crackers. They had bagels and a couple types of salmon that looked good, but is not my idea of breakfast. That was the gist of the first display. 

The second display had home fries, sausage links, baked beans, scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, eggs benedict, and the like. Then there was a basket of waffles and some toppings, some ham and what looked like leftover prime rib. On the far side of that display were a number of lunch style casseroles and rice. Then on a separate round table were desserts like carrot cake, pumpkin pie, apple pie, etc. 

 Twice I asked for ham and was given prime rib. I didn’t argue because the prime rib looked very good, and it was. The ham looked very good, too. The hostess walked through the room and poor Steve, David and I played the “I’m not staring as I stare game.” I think we all suck at that game. They claim I am the worst at it, and I agree. 

 After such anticipation and promise, we were quite disappointed. The beans seemed from a can, so did the hash. The sausage links appeared to be the cheap frozen type. The scrambled eggs, home fries and eggs benedict were what you might expect to find at a high school cafeteria. The waffles were hard and crunchy. The prime rib was very good. I tried a lunch item claiming to be crabmeat stuffed cod. I say claiming to be because you certainly couldn’t verify it by the flavor. It was not bad, but it wasn’t exactly good. 

We ordered a bloody marry each and found them to be quite good! We sat and ate, concluding that if the dessert table is fantastic, we could upgrade this from commonplace to commonplace with good desserts. It was our last hope at feeling we were getting the special experience we were counting on. The apple pie and pumpkin pie I tried tasted like the fare you would purchase at the Shaw’s deli. That is not horrible, but it is not what I was expecting for my twenty plus dollars. 

Inspecting the other desserts at the table, the carrot cake looked mass produced, as did everything else I saw. Now, forgive me if I am a bit old-fashioned, but for over twenty dollars a plate, I am expecting fresh popovers, hot biscuits, home-cooked beans, waffles that are not crispy and hurt your teeth, better than cafeteria eggs, sausage, home fries, hash and eggs benedict. I am expecting desserts hot, fresh and made on the premises. I was expecting special and I did not find it. I found commonplace. It wasn’t horrible, but for that money I could have had a much better breakfast elsewhere.

CLEWLY FARM RESTAURANT EDDINGTON

We drove a little further than expected from Bangor to get to Clewley’s Farm Restaurant. Let’s get this out of the way quickly. It was more than well worth the drive. To begin with, the place has the feel of being my great-grandmother’s kitchen. The smells, the décor, the fact they had molasses cookies! I felt so much at home that I was smiling before I ever saw the menu. The menu was a treat as there were many, many choices including eggs benedict, which I love. We each got a half a cup of coffee and the waiter explained he was brewing a fresh pot and would top us off as soon as it was ready. That’s the kind of thing my great-grandmother would do. I felt like I was home. 

When I go out to breakfast I like to order things I am not likely to make myself. So I am not going to get scrambled eggs and bacon. I do not want food from a can, either. So if I find a place that makes a good home made corned-beef hash, I am thrilled. We each ordered the corned-beef hash. David had his eggs scrambled and I had mine poached. I often get my eggs poached when I eat out for two reasons: first, it is not likely I am going to poach eggs at home and, secondly, I have never gotten a greasy poached egg when out for breakfast. I hate greasy eggs. We were more than surprised at the wonderful, wonderful flavor of the homemade hash and the portion we received. 

The coffee was very good, the home fries were like home made and the toast was from fresh bread. I am not going to say that it was as good as if my grammie had made it, but I will say that I felt right at home and was just as satisfied afterwards. I think we will be back for Sunday brunch very, very soon. I would feel very safe recommending this place for any meal, based upon this experience.




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