Vacation Eats

One of the goals of our vacation was seafood - to eat lots and lots of seafood and for me to try lobster for the first time!  We both went into this trip knowing that we probably won't be eating the healthiest but that we would be walking around a lot, hiking and being pretty active.  I love seafood but don't eat it that much because let's be honest seafood in upstate New York simply does not taste nearly as good as the seafood you get on the coast.  We also discovered that New England has a thing for wood fired pizza - twice we ate at places that specialized in wood fire pizza and both were absolutely delicious!

A great app to use when traveling (I have used it for work and personal travel) is the FoodMap app.  The app will tell you if there are any restaurants in the surrounding areas that have appeared on any Food Network shows - Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, Rachel Ray, Best Thing I Ever Ate, etc ...  We used this a bunch and ended up eating at some great places.

 

For our first night in Hampton, NH we headed to Petey's Summertime Seafood & Bar in Rye, NH - as I mentioned before this place was absolutely delicious (in my opinion the best place we ate on the trip) and I would recommend it to anyone who is going to be in the area.

Had to have some of their award winning seafood chowder!

Adam enjoying a beer at Petey's!

My dinner at Petey's - shrimp, fries and lobster on a stick!

 

The next night we ate in Kittery, ME - we had heard that there was an amazing clam hut in Kittery which also happened to be listed on the FoodMaps app.  Bob's Clam Hut had been featured on Diners, Drive-In & Dives and boasts to have some of the best clams in Maine - obviously we had to give it a try.  While Adam got the clams I decided on a lobster roll - lobster rolls are famous in New England and I was told by some co-workers that I had to eat one while there.

Lobster roll at Bob's Clam Hut!

Adam's clams at Bob's Clam Hut!

On our way to Portland Friday morning we took the more scenic route and drove through Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, ME.  I thought it would be pretty cool to stop there, walk around and have lunch so that is exactly what we did!  We decided to eat at Owen's Farmhouse which was supposed to have amazing wood fired pizza.  The restaurant was located in an old farm house (hence the name) and had an awesome rustic feel (drinks were served in mason jars - woot woot!)  There we had some of the most amazing wood fire pizza I have ever had!  We decided on a sausage and hot pepper pizza and oh man was it good!

 

Owen's Farmhouse in Kennebunk, ME

Some delicious wood fired pizza! 

 

When we arrived in downtown Portland one of the first places we went was Two Fat Cats Bakery.  Two Fat Cats has been featured on numerous shows on the Food Network and are famous for their whoopie pies - obviously we had to have one.  Annnnnd we may have gone back the following day for just one more they were THAT good!

 

My new favorite bakery!

Everything in Two Fat Cats Bakery looked delicious!

So apparently gourmet popcorn is the new fro-yo?  Who knew!  While walking around downtown Portland we stumbled upon Coastal Maine Popcorn Company.  This place is a little hard to describe other than you say that it is sheer awesomeness!  Imagine any flavor of popcorn your could imagine - buffalo and blue cheese, red hots (like the fire balls), marshmallow and berry!  There were so many flavors to choose from and you could sample a bunch.  They even had flavor combination recommendations - I ended up getting the buffalo and blue cheese and man was it good!  The company even has a monthly popcorn club that I am somewhat tempted to join!

All the current flavors at the Coastal Maine Popcorn Company - this place was awesome and so unique!

 

After walking around Portland for hours we were starved and ready for dinner.  Since this was technically the last night of our vacation I of course wanted seafood one last time.  We decided on Gilbert's Chowder House which was located right on the harbor and had a great local feel and let me tell you - we were not disappointed!  I forgot to snap a picture of what we ate but I had some more shrimp and Adam had some scallops - both were really good!

 

Last seafood meal in Portland - didn't disappoint!

Before leaving for Freeport, ME and then heading home we ate breakfast at a local coffee shop - I had a bagel and some fruit and Adam ordered a cappuccino which arrived with a pretty neat design on top!

 

 How do they do that?

Places that we ate that are not pictured include - Duck Fat in Portland, ME and When Pigs Fly Bakery & Pizzeria in Kittery, ME.