I'm going to have to ask all of you Maryland-crabcake-diehards to stop screaming at the computer screen. It's a computer screen: I cannot hear you. Also, I speak the truth. And let's face it, everything is so much better in Maine (well, except employment, I think).
Eric and I recently drove up to Maine for a two-week vacation with the offspring and aside from spectacular scenery and weather, I looked most forward to the dining.
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| Jonah Crab Cake |
I ate possibly the best crab cake I've ever eaten at Blue Sky in York, Maine. The big-city-looking restaurant in a very small Maine town was overwhelmed the night we ate there. The staff seemed off and dealing with perhaps more customers than they were used to? I don't know. But I was forced to forgive off-kilter service and quit being irritated after the first bite of crab cake. Blue Sky's Jonah Crab Cake is all seasoned crab: there is very little bread and all you taste is dense crab. Delicious.
The crab is mixed with peppers, onions, celery, and garlic, and has on the side a black garlic aioli. Normally I would wish for more aioli, but this crab cake is so good, no sauce is needed.
As I slowly ate my dinner, I was conflicted: should I feel entirely happy about this crab cake or so angry at every establishment that has served me some crab in a cake of bread? I felt violated.
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| Maine-harvested oysters |
I also had for dinner that night a plate of Maine-harvested oysters -- fantastic. And served so simply: no giant bed of ice chips and little metal bowls of this-and-that sauce.
We were warned by my sister-in-law that the restaurant does not know how to do salads, and it was true. Eric ordered a wedge salad and it seemed as if someone cut off a wedge of lettuce but didn't know what else to do with it so just placed it in the middle of a plate and threw some other bits of food on the side. Really. I'm not kidding.
Regardless of the sad salad, we left Blue Sky happy. The restaurant sits atop the Atlantic Hotel and is surrounded by numerous touristy shops and is just down the street from the water. I recommend getting there on the early side and walking around after your meal.
Not too far from York Beach is the Cape Neddick Lobster Pound.
We were driving up to Bar Harbor and had no time during our stay in southern Maine to dine at Cape Neddick Lobster Pound. I insisted that we do a pick-up order. Eric drove and I ate. And I was so busy feeling happy and content that I failed to take a photo of the lobster roll, which I think was about 8 or 10 inches long. And absolutely delicious. I had to cut the roll in half to manage it. The lobster was luscious. Go. Eat the 8 or 10 inch lobster roll. You won't regret it.
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| Rear view from Cape Neddick Lobster Pound |
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| Take your pick -- live lobsters at Trenton |
While we were up near Bar Harbor, we ate at one of our favorite places: the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. it's on the way to Acadia National Park and I recommend that you either stop there to or from Acadia. I don't eat whole lobsters but it is my understanding from those who do that they are the best at the Trenton Pound.
At the Trenton Pound I eat the crab salad sandwich. Crab rolls and crab salad sandwiches are, by the way, the best up near Bar Harbor. Really fantastic. The Trenton Pound piles on the crab with lettuce in between two thick slices of bread, with a side of chips, which were all confiscated by the offspring.
Acadia, as you probably know, is not to be missed -- nor is the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. Well, just go to Maine. Don't miss Maine.
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| Outdoor lobster-boiling pots at Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound |
