Coastal Maine Vacation

I highly suggest heading to coastal Maine for a getaway. We've been there three times and have enjoyed every second of it. This time the highlight was hiking in Acadia National Park, though the eats were a very close second! Here's the list followed by my hubby's awesome pictures:

• J's Oyster, Portland - salty portside bar (yes, it's the one Anthony Bourdain visited)
• Red's Eats, Wiscasset - overstuffed lobster rolls and fried zucchini with ranch dressing
• Francine, Camden - still kickin'
• Waterfront, Camden
• Primo, Owl's Head/Rockland - yummmmmmmy; another Bourdain stop
• Bayview Lobster, Camden - best clam chowder ever
• Cappy's, Camden - Sebago blueberry beer
• Shepherd's Pie, Rockport - Owned by the same people as Francine and it shows in the more casual fare.
• Camden Cone - blueberry ice cream
• Zoot Coffee, Camden
• Chase's Daily, Belfast - veggie delight
• Finback Alehouse, Bar Harbor
• Cafe This Way, Bar Harbor - splendiferous scallops
• Thirsty Whale, Bar Harbor
• Lompoc Cafe, Bar Harbor - preserved-lemon deviled eggs on a shady terrace anyone?
• Thurston's Lobster Pound, Mount Desert Island
• Atlantic Brewing Co., MDI - lots of free samples after the tour
• Leary's, Bar Harbor - shoutout to Rob, the lovely bartender of this Irish pub
• Fathom, Bar Harbor - zucchini gnocchi topped with what seemed like a ridiculous amount of lobster and brown butter sauce
• Dog and Pony, Bar Harbor - Get your Philly soft pretzel fix in the gazebo.
• Mache Bistro, Bar Harbor - romantic French spot
• Sarah's, Wiscasset - competing lobster roll joint; Red's wins
• Great Lost Bear, Portland - huge beer selection
• Fore Street, Portland - best meal of the trip; I'm still salivating.

Lobster And Lupines

To come: a full report on our Maine vacation, including Portland, Camden, and Bar Harbor among other stops.

Sundry Updates

I just wanted to use the word "sundry." It's a good one, right? Anyhow, I have a random list of updates. Here goes:

• I went to a Museum of the American Cocktail class again. King Cocktail himself, Dale DeGroff, hosted the event at the Warehouse Theater (connected to the Passenger). There was lots of storytelling, some stream-of-consciousness reminiscing, and - entertainingly - guitar-playing and singing. Oh and drink tasting. It was a pretty good Monday night.
• We had drinks at Marvin last weekend. Yet another go-to DC bar to nip cocktail hankerings in the bud. We'll be going back. We're going to hit American Ice Company the next time we're in the U Street area, too.
• I found a few really nice coffeeshops in the District that I've been frequenting. Who knew that DC was a cocktail destination and a coffee town? So far I've been to Mid City Caffe, Peregrine, and Pound. Ebenezer's and Sidamo are up next.
• I sharpened our knives last week with the Chef's Choice AngleSelect electric knife sharpener we received for Christmas and I just wanted to put in a much-delayed plug for this easy-to-use device. It even has separate slots for sharpening Asian vs. European/American knives. Using this every 3-6 months or so is no substitute for at-least-weekly honing however. I don't mean to be preachy, but it's true.
• Volunteering at Arcadia's going great as you can see. That's me on the right weeding away.

This is totally un-KFW, but we saw the Fleet Foxes last night. If you don't know this band, go to iTunes right now and download their new album, buy the CD, or run to your nearest record store to get the vinyl. We've seen them three times and they never disappoint. Their music just keeps getting better and better and their live shows are unbelievable. I guess my favorite song from the album is fairly KFW now that I think about it:

"...If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm raw
If I had an orchard, I'd work till I'm sore
And you would wait tables and soon run the store..."
- From "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes

Balcony at night (gorgeous, no?)

Sole and asparagus curry (with bread to sop up the sauce)

Garden Reorganization

I've made some changes to the garden since my last post. I planted the last of the arugula seeds and harvested all the radishes. I had to replant one of the two chiles as well as the cucumber and parsley. (The seeds hadn't sprouted.) I decided that the balcony doesn't get enough full sun to support growing a tomato plant from seed so I bought a "4th of July" seedling at the farm market. It's an early and often tomato variety. I filled out the rest of the balcony space with apple mint, Genovese basil, and oregano. Two rosemary plants, cilantro, and lavender are still lookin' good.

Next post I'll have photos of the greenery along with some of this weekend's foodage.