Weekend Getaway: The Southern Maine Coast
Charming harbor towns dot the coastline between Portland and New Hampshire, offering hidden culinary treasures (and plenty of lobster rolls).
Welcome to the weekend! Here’s what you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:
Weekend Getaway: The Maine coast is a special place, and today we’re taking a tour of the best beach eats from Kittery to Biddeford.
June’s Free Field Guide: To get all our recommendations, download our Field Guide to the Southern Maine Coast, a 40-page dining guide organized into a four-day itinerary with 20+ recommendations for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks. It’s free this month for paid subscribers!
Weekend Reading: The best restaurants in Cleveland from the editors of Cleveland Magazine, a new Door County spot from a familiar face, and a New Orleans restaurant that reflects the Gulf.
Exploring Vacationland
MAINE — Last summer, we took you to Portland, Maine, where you’ll find many great restaurants and bars. The Southern Maine Coast, which stretches from Kittery north to Biddeford, is a fantastic place to spend time, too. It’s supremely scenic, with rocky cliffs, lighthouses, and long stretches of sand, and there are many, many beach towns where you can set up a home base. (We typically go to Long Sands Beach in York, and Down East magazine has a helpful list of the others).
Beach towns can be hard to navigate from a culinary standpoint, but this area is filled with gems. You can start your day with maple crullers, have a life-changing tuna melt for lunch, and finish with seasonal pizzas and pastas at an elegant, tucked away restaurant. There’s also a shack where you can get super affordable, fresh-caught lobsters cooked in seawater and a 65-year-old hot dog stand that serves links topped with a signature relish. I’ve been visiting this area for more than 30 years, and have put together a list of my favorite lobster rolls, breakfast sandwiches, cocktails, doughnuts, and more. These places are all about relaxed summer eating, and about soaking up the season in true Maine fashion.
Unless you live in New England and can just hop in the car, there are two ways to get here. You can either fly into Portland International Jetport and drive south (it’s 20 minutes from the airport to Biddeford) or into Boston Logan International Airport and drive north (it’s an hour and 20 minutes to Kittery). You’ll find more direct flights through Boston, particularly if you’re visiting outside of the summer high season. The whole stretch we’re covering today is less than 45 minutes from Kittery to Biddeford, so no matter what town you stay in this area, none of these spots are too far afield. Now that you’re situated, let’s get breakfast.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to American Weekender to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.