Sat. 7/23 evening in Augusta, ME
Hotel was about 15 minutes north of downtown, where all the good restaurants are. Used Trip Advisor and found a really groovy restaurant. The Oak Table. Small place, where the owner is the chef.
I was seated at the "chef's table" which is just a counter behind which the chef prepares all the meals. It's an open kitchen similar to the counter at the Town restaurant in San Carlos... so you get a meal and a show. The hostess/server seated me there next to another person dining by herself. We had good conversation and good food together. More fun than dining alone. We each went for the "Four Course Tasting" menu, which is really 5 courses if you count the dessert. The dishes are small enough that by the end you have had enough dinner.
I had:
CHARRED CORN BOWL
SUMMER VEGETABLE PANZANELLA (freshly fried croutons, bacon, lemon)
HOUSE SPAGHETTI (pork and tomato ragu)
PINELAND FARMS STEAK TIPS (beefy polenta, scape pesto)
DARK CHOCOLATE FONDUE (good for 2, with fun dippy things)
By the time Dinner was over, it was getting dark.. which also meant it was cool enough to ride back to the hotel.
Sun. 7/24 Auburn
Auburn and Lewistown are "twin cities" ... each one on opposite sides of Androscoggin River. On the way down from Augusta, I dropped into the Apple Valley Bakery in the town on Monmouth where I encountered this screed a few doors up from the bakery:
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| bunch of soreheads! |
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This chicken at the entrance to was the only saving grace of the bakery.
Most of what they had was day old, and not very good. |
Monday 7/25: Ride to South Portland through Portland.
Arrived in downtown Portland for a late lunch, around 2:00 PM. Had a great lobster roll (chunks of lobster meat in a toasted roll with lime mayo) at the appropriately named
Highroller Lobster Company.
Then around the corner I found
Eighty 8 Donuts , which started out as a food truck, parked at Stowe ski resort in the winter, then in downtown Portland for the summer. They now have a permanent location.
I ordered 3 cocoa pow pow and 3 cinnamon sugar. Expecting 6 total... I ended up with 12... and no cocoa pow pow. The owner told them to make 6 more for me... so I ended up with 18. Had them for midnight snack and the next day's breakfast. Fortunately they're only about 1.25" diameter.
Rode down to South Portland after lunch/donuts.
Long'bout 8PM was hungry again. Walked down to a bar/restaurant and got some fried clams at the bar. They were having trivia night. The guy next to me and I formed a team. We did terribly... but had a good time.
Tues 7/26: - The great lobster ride!
Lobster Lunch at Lobster Shack in Ogunquit. Had some Chowder (pronounced Chowdah) before the 1.5 lb lobster.
Then down the coast to Portsmouth, NH for dinner (at
Jumpin' Jay's Fish Café) with my cousin, Josh from DC, who was in Portsmouth for a business meeting.
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| Seafood Pasta - Really good! |
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| Followed by dessert!! |
Wed 7/27:
Short ride to Newburyport to catch the commuter train to Boston North Station. Great breakfast at the
Roundabout Diner, followed by Fried dough about 90 minutes later at
Blinks in Hampton.
Beach at Hamtpon, NH... Proving that I really made it to the East Coast!!
Arrived at the bike shop in Lexington to have the bike packed at about the same time my cousins Randi and Paul got there. The original plan was to stay at their place for the night, but they came down with Covid about 12 days earlier and were still testing positive... so instead we had dinner outside at their place with my sister-in-law, Janet, who lives in Brookline, and I stayed at her place.
Thurs 7/28: The end!
Brookline has a pretty strong Jewish presence... so lunch the next day had to be deli.
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Corned Beef on Rye at Michael's Deli in Brookline.
Food and music (he played some live Frank Zappa) excellent! |
Got a Lyft to Logan. Traffic was diabolical... but made it with time to spare.
Thanks to Janine for picking me up at SFO!!
Dropped off the bike for re-assembly at the Caltrain bike station in SF. Was back in the saddle today (Sat 7/30).
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