Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [20]
Mabel’s Lobster Claw
124 Ocean Ave.
207–967–2562
Kennebunkport, ME
LD | $$
Mabel’s wood-paneled walls are decorated with autographed pictures of the many celebrities who favor her restaurant, including local householders George and Barbara Bush (he likes baked stuffed lobster; she goes for eggplant parmesan). You don’t have to be famous to feel at home in this comfy dining room, which has an old-fashioned, summer-resort ambience. Paper placemats explain how to eat a lobster, and a staff of swift waitresses all suggest that any piece of pie you order ought to be had à la mode.
The lobster roll is as deluxe as they come, served with fries and slaw on an actual china plate. The meat in the roll, glazed with a thin film of mayo, is juicy, fresh, and copious, some chunks so large that you feel a little embarrassed picking it up and eating it out of hand; a knife and fork seem more suited to the task. Mabel’s lobster stew is legendary, and the shore dinner is swell: start by spooning into creamy chowder crowded with pieces of clam and potato, then tackle a good-size lobster perched atop a pile of steamers and accompanied by broth and butter. Corn, potatoes, and beets are available on the side. If you spy fudge cake on the counter, it must not be ignored, but the essential dessert is peanut butter ice cream pie.
Maine Diner
2265 Post Rd.
207-646-4441
Wells, ME
BLD | $
It has been a quarter-century since the Henry brothers bought this old diner in Wells and turned it into one of the great culinary attractions of the lower Maine coast. Using family recipes and their own know-how, as well as occasional suggestions from friendly customers, they cooked up a menu that is equal parts Downeast and diner, with a dash of modern savoir faire. (Lobster benedict, for heaven’s sake!)
For us, no trip up Route 1 is complete without a visit to the Maine Diner, whether it’s for a plate of homemade baked beans at dawn, chowder and meat loaf at noon, or lobster pie at supper time. Daily specials are truly special, including classic New England boiled dinner every Thursday and red flannel hash (made from leftover boiled dinner) on Saturday…while supplies last. We are especially fond of the fried clams, which are vigorously oceanic, just a wee bit oily, so fragile the crust seems to melt away as your teeth sink into them. If you are a serious clam lover, you can order the clam-o-rama lunch, which includes clam chowder, fried whole-belly clams, fried clam strips, and a clam cake!
Seafood rolls are outstanding—split buns piled with clams, haddock, scallops, or shrimp. And the lobster rolls are not to be missed. Yes, we said rolls, plural; for the Maine Diner is one of the few places that offer two kinds—a lobster salad roll, of cool meat and mayo, or a hot lobster roll of warm meat with plenty of melted butter to drizzle on it. Either one is terrific; for us, the hot lobster roll is heaven on earth.
The menu is vast, including such all-American items as buffalo wings and barbecued pork sandwich, plus a superb chicken potpie. When we visit, we stick to Maine cuisine, which the Henry brothers do so well, the best of which is lobster pie. Made from their grandmother’s recipe, lobster pie is a casserole containing plump sections of lobster—soft claw and chewy tail meat—drenched in butter, topped with a mixture of cracker crumbs and tomalley. It is a strange, punk-colored dish, monstrous green and brown and pink, shockingly rich.
Marcy’s Diner
47 Oak St.
207–774–9713
Portland, ME
BL | $
In this 1930s urban hash house, décor is not exactly that of a fine-dining restaurant. Walls are hung with Harley-Davidson posters and pictures of the Three Stooges. The well-worn counter is occupied mostly by a blue-collar crowd drinking coffee from thick mugs and plowing into hearty plates of corned beef hash, pancakes, and chili-cheese omelets.
Of the many available omelets, chili-cheese won our hearts. Rib-sticking Yankee chili is blended with creamy melted cheese inside an envelope of egg that is thin as a crêpe.