Deadliest catch

One of the benefits of staying at the Saco KOA is that they have an on-site restaurant called the Merry Moose and they serve the biggest Maine blueberry pancakes I’ve ever seen or ate.  It was a great way to start the day.

We headed into Portland today for two tours that we decided to do.  We had such a great time doing the food tour in Chicago that we wanted to try one in Maine.  We found Maine Foodie Tours on the web and decided to do their Old Port Culinary Walking Tour.

We met up with Pamela (director of Maine Foodie Tours) and John (our tour guide) at LeRoux Kitchen where we sampled Lobster Salad.  It was a quick walk over to the wharf to Harbor Fish Market where John showed us how to tell the difference between a male and female lobster.  We got to sample smoked maple glazed trout.  I’ve never had trout but I loved it.  We made a mental note that we would have to come back to get some trout to take home.  While walking along, John explained that there are over 300 hundred restaurants and 90% of them are chef owned.  Portland is a real foodie city.

Our next stop was K. Horton Specialty Foods where the owner Kris Horton explained and we sampled some fine Maine cheese.  Maine is not know for their cheese since almost all of the cheesemakers do not wish to get any bigger than they are.  They prefer to make quality products in small quantites.  Stonewall Kitchen was where we had scones fresh from the oven topped with wild Maine blueberry preserves.  This company was started by two guys named John and Jim who made jams at their homes. 

Dessert was up next at Dean’s Sweets, a shop run by a husband and wife team.  Kristin explained how truffles are made and she gave us some samples.  It was a quick walk to Two Fat Cats where we had a whoopie pie.  John told us that Maine is about to make the whoopie pie the official state pie since legend has it was invented there.  They’re so much better than the ones at home.  The chocolate cake is to die for, and inside is made form home-made marshmallow!

We ended the tour at Gritty McDuff’s where we sampled Vacationland Summer Ale and Best Brown Ale.  Karen said that’s the most beer she’s ever had.  What’s cool about Gritty McDuff’s is that they have something called a mug club.  You get a numbered mug that hangs over the bar.  You come in, give them your number and your mug comes down and gets filled with 21 ounces of beer.  There is a five year wait to get into the club.

We said goodbye to our new friends and headed in search of some lunch.  Karen’s friend Paula has a sister who has visited Portland and highly recommended J’s Oyster Bar.  We each had the haddock filet sandwich and it ranks right up there with Port Dover perch.  This place is right on the dock, and known as a hang out for lobstermen.

The other tour that we booked was a lobster tour with Lucky Catch Cruise.  The tour takes you out into the bay where you get to see what an actual lobster fisherman does.  But you actually have to participate and help out.  We dressed in nice orange rubber smocks, filled the bait bags, hauled the traps, measured the lobsters to see if they were keepers or not, put rubber bands on their claws, and set the traps.  It was just like on “Deadliest Catch” except that it was lobster and it was in the summer, and we didn’t have to chip ice off the boat.

After getting back to shore, we made a quick stop at the L.L. Bean outlet in Portland before heading back to Saco.  We decided to pick up dinner from Ken’s Place and take it back to the campground.  We enjoyed a fabulous lobster salad plate on our picnic table.  After dinner, I grabbed my laptop and started working on the blog by the crackling fire.