New England Eats
One of the things we were most excited about on our recent roadtrip was all the food. I mean, any time we travel food is one of the things we look forward to the most, but the idea of all the fresh seafood available in New England was especially exciting! Here are some of the places we stopped, and my thoughts on what we ate and drank!
So if I’m being honest, our first dinner on our trip was really nothing to write home about. We were sat at a sticky table, it took a really long time for someone to come over and greet us (an an ex-server I usually give people grace, but there was no one in there!), and the food felt more like chain restaurant food than a brewery, so, I’m not even going to talk about it. It was a long drive, we got there super late, and Jack had puked on himself twice during the drive, so honestly I think we were just over the day in general at that point. Our first coffee the next morning, however, was probably my favorite coffee of the whole trip! After a rough drive, and a rough evening of Jack not sleeping well and cutting his foot, the coffee we got from Seven Stars Bakery really got the next leg of our trip off on the right foot!
We decided to stop for lunch in Portsmouth, NH to break up our drive, and after a quick Google search, we decided on Geno’s Chowder and Sandwich Shop. It had great reviews and was just what we were looking for (everything we read said they were known for their lobster rolls and chowders) so it was easy to make the decision to stop there. The lobster rolls were great, but if I’m being honest, both Adam and I agreed that the chowders left a lot to be desired. I got lobster chowder and Adam got classic New England clam chowder. While the chunks of seafood were incredible, the chowders were thin, watery, and not very flavorful. When I think of a chowder I expect my soup to be thick and hearty, and these just didn’t hit the spot in that respect. The lobster rolls, however, were fantastic and I would definitely recommend them! Plus we sat on a beautiful deck with a lovely view, and the staff were all super friendly!
Next place I want to talk about is Allagash Brewing. Allagash White is one of my favorite beers, so I was excited when I realized we’d be able to stop there on our trip! They don’t offer food, so we planned it that we’d be stopping there on our way into Portland and we’d be able to grab dinner later. They do 90 minute reservations, which honestly, with a toddler, was perfect. We sat outdoors on a tented stone patio, and they were totally kid and dog friendly (Jack made some new friends!). Jack just wanted to run around the whole time, and everyone, including staff, became his new friend. The beers were delicious (as was expected!) and I even bought a shirt for myself that I’ve already worn a few times and is super comfy! We haven’t been to a brewery in a while, and it was fun to go to one where I knew I’d like the beer because it’s one of my go-to’s.
Becky’s Diner was my husband’s favorite meal of the trip. We went there for brunch and it was absolutely delicious. There was a little bit of a wait, even on a weekday. I’d say we probably waited about 45 minutes? But it was well worth it. The staff was super accommodating, we were there with Jack in his stroller and they were originally going to seat us on a deck we’d have to take stairs to reach, but when they saw we had the stroller, they gave us the next available table inside where we didn’t have to take any stairs - so nice! The food was INCREDIBLE. I got a lobster omelet, Adam had lobster eggs benedict, and Jack had a cute Mickey pancake with fruit. Seriously, an incredible brunch!
So we didn’t have a full meal at Bramhall, but we did have some delicious drinks, and Jack got lost in the sauce with the garlic aioli that comes with their fries! I had a Wake the Dead cocktail (pictured left) which was super delicious, and Adam got a raspberry sour beer. The staff was very accommodating to us; again, we had Jack in his jogger stroller, and instead of making us go up and down a bunch of stairs to get to their outside seating area, our server opened a side gate and let us come through the back with Jack in the stroller. The fries were good, and Jack was literally using his fries as a spoon, and then just drinking the sauce straight from the ramekin! One of the coolest things there was that they had seat warmers for their outside seating areas! Our server said this was something new and we were the first people to try it, and they actually worked great! If Adam and I had been without Jack, I’m sure we would have tried many more cocktails here, but we had a toddler to think of, so we couldn’t get too crazy. We definitely enjoyed what we did have, though, and we really enjoyed the atmosphere and hospitality, too!
Ok, now, DiMillo’s on the Water was my absolute favorite meal of the entire trip!! I honestly wish I could have tried every single item on the menu, because it was all incredibly delicious! To start, we got crispy fried oysters. Man oh man, were they delicious! Adam also got New England clam chowder, and this was the chowder we were looking for - it was creamy, flavorful, and delicious! I seriously wanted everything on the menu, and panicked and last minute picked out a fried seafood platter. I try not to eat as much fried food as I did in this one meal, but it was totally worth it. Every bite was cooked to perfection. Adam wound up going with a surf and turf option, and his steak was melt-in-your-mouth incredible! I loved the green beans that came as my side - I never think to save my bacon grease for cooking, but these were sauteed in bacon grease and it was seriously perfection. I’m going to have to remember to do this when I harvest the green beans from my garden! This was obviously a lot of food and we couldn’t finish it all. Adam probably took home half of his steak and lobster, and I don’t even think you could tell that I had eaten anything off my plate it was so stacked with food. We wound up heating up my fried leftovers the next afternoon for lunch and they were still delicious. We heated up Adam’s leftovers the morning after that (so two days later) and let me tell you, I’ve never had a steak that was still good two days after it was originally cooked - but this steak was still perfect! I would highly recommend checking out DiMillo’s if you are ever in the Portland, ME area. It was a pricey meal, but it was totally worth every penny, in my opinion!
The last place worth mentioning from our trip was The Holy Donut. Adam had read that this place was recommended, so one morning he took a walk to get us breakfast and coffee. He wound up coming back with SIX donuts, and he said he had to stop himself from getting more! First off, I didn’t even know potato donuts were a thing?!?! And they were truly all so good. I’ve decided, however, that the honey lavender was definitely my favorite. I absolutely love botanical flavors!
Overall, we did not have a single bad meal on our trip! But these places I’ve mentioned stood out (good and bad) so I wanted to share!
Have you eaten at any of the places I’ve mentioned? Do you think there was somewhere we should have gone that we missed? Where are some of your favorite places you’ve had amazing meals on family trips? Share below in the comments!!
