Eating and drinking my way through Maine
You know you had a good time when you wake up to one of these delicious little packages from The Holy Donut because it means last night you had dinner at Flanagan’s Table
Lobster, lamb and the most amazing peach desert were among the highlights for me at this wonderful meal prepared by the husband and wife team of Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez of Piccolo. Of course the best part is it all helps to support Maine Farmland Trust
I’m really happy My wife and I had a chance to go to the new El Rayo Taqueria in Scarborough Monday. We have long desired having a go to restaurant in town. While there are a few other sit down dining options in town, this one is the first one that really hits the spot for us.
Bright and airy space, large bar that runs $5 margarita’s during happy hour. The added space between tables (compared to anywhere in Portland) makes it a good spot for families with children too. On the night we went about half the tables had little ones happily chomping away on chips and soft tacos. They also have a large separate area devoted to take out orders, and it was booming.
In addition to our fine drinks we enjoyed the house made chips with salsa and guacamole. The chips were made with yellow corn and were thick and crunchy. The guacamole was exceptional very thick and flavorful. I followed this up with one of their rice and bean bowls. My bowl had the addition of locally caught pollack. The fish was perfectly cooked and tasted so much better than the ubiquitous farmed tilapia. The bowl was topped with a zesty slaw. Yummy goodness!
I hesitate to tell you about our second trip on the Frances,because chances are you can’t go. You see Pocket Cruise only sells 40 tickets to their two hour cruise aboard the The Frances and it’s hosted by the coolest kids in town. Doubt me? How about booze filled coconuts made by the Bearded Lady and his mistress. Not good enough? Add in fabulious carribean inspired foods served in easy to eat forms. Top it all off with a beautiful crowd and Portland’s Casco Bay and you can’t miss!
Sign up for their mailing list and you may get a chance to buy one of these $100 tickets. If not you can always hire the caterers behind this happening. 
While not a native,I have been living in Maine approximately 20 years give or take. I am here to say that the lobster roll at Eventide Oyster Co. is hands down the most amazing, simple, rich, version of this Maine sandwich I have ever tried!No description can really do it justice, but for me it’s starts with the wonderful bun. More an oversized Japanese sticky bun than a traditional lobster roll. Slightly sweet and sticky, this tender this bun immediately tells you that this isn’t your grandma’s lobster roll. The lobster itself is just out of the sea fresh, sautéed in a beautiful brown butter. Putting these delightful ingredients together this way brings this dish to a never before dreamed of level!
The lobster roll would be enough to put this restaurant on the national map but this restaurant goes well beyond lobster to create a what I can best categorize as American sushi. A good example of this was the Arctic char with golden beets we sampled. Gorgeous and so full of beautiful ocean flavor as to be almost unrecognizable from traditional bland char.
Of course we had to have a selection of the fine locally harvested oysters while we were there. All were brilliantly fresh and bursting with flavor as expected. What was exceptionally nice was the experience of being able to taste the differences between the oysters.
Not bad for a weekday lunch!