Relocating - Chicago to Maine - Portland, Brunswick, Yarmouth

[moughie]

Originally Posted by EllenPB

Yay!

The clam festival is coming, and we live fairly close to the grounds - so that will be exciting. What should we not miss at the

Thanks everyone!

Be sure to catch The Wicked Good Band at the Clam Festival. They play every year, tongue in check with interesting lyrics!

[woolwiTch]

EllenPB, congratulations on your move to Yarmouth. I lived in Chicago (Hyde Park) during the 70s and half of the 80s and, while I loved it, I think the weather in Chicagoland is far worse than Maine's.

Where to go for takeout in the Yarmouth is a good question. Good job finding Toots so quickly! I live in the Bath area, so I'm not right up to speed on Yarmouth, but I have a few suggestions. Some people like Binga's Wingas. I think they're OK when you're in the mood. Lots of people like Pat's Pizza, but of course you will be spoiled by Chicago pizza. I do really like Ricetta's pizza on Route 1 in Falmouth, not far from you. Their pizza is good takeout and they have an excellent salad/pizza buffet for lunch every day. Buck's Naked BBQ is at the south end of Freeport on Route 1, so it's close to you too. Maine isn't exactly known for BBQ, but this is pretty decent.

Also on the south end of Freeport on Route 1 is Classic Cookout and Classic Custard. The burgers and fries there are quite good and the frozen custard is delicious. Classic is only open in the summer. For seafood in the summer, you're a pretty quick drive to Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster on the wharf in South Freeport, but it's very touristy.

Once you start driving into Portland, you'll find tons of great places to eat and many of them will be good for takeout when you're on your way home from there. Places I particularly like near the Maine Mall are Minami, for Japanese/Chinese buffet, Elevation Burger (organic beef and shoestring fries cooked in olive oil), and Chipotle Grill.

For a quiet beach close to you, try Winslow Park in Freeport. This is not a "bold ocean" type of beach, but a nice place when you just want a quick trip to sit by the water and clear your head. I agree that Popham Beach and Reid State Park are the best real ocean beaches near to you and not insanely crowded. Don't forget lakes, though. You're close to lots of nice ones.

If you get up to Brunswick, don't miss the Gelato Fiasco. Up to 30 flavors of gelato and sorbetto made fresh every day. Their website lists each day's flavors. It's completely spoiled me, so that I don't buy ice cream anymore. Some local stores carry their gelato too, and they recently opened a shop in Portland as well. Across the street is Flipside Pizza, pretty darned good pizza by the slice. If you like beer, the Lion's Price on Pleasant Street (Route 1) is fantastic. Dozens of beers and ales on tap and even more in bottles. Their pub food is pretty good, too, and it's a pleasant, family-oriented place. Largely because it's a college town, Brunswick is full of good restaurants and it's close enough to you to go for lunch or dinner.

I hope you enjoy the Clam Festival. You're reminding me it's been a few years since we've been. Might need to rectify that.

[221B]

We were driving through western Maine a couple years ago, and stopped for lunch at a pizza place. When our order came through, we were surprised when the pepperoni pizza came complete with a basket of french fries.
Everything was tasty, but we weren't prepared for the combination of pizza and fries. Pretty interesting. Think Different.

[EllenPB]

Wow! We've got our summer mapped out. I'm so happy we moved here! Thanks for all the suggestions.