A informal survey for the Orono area (Brewer, Old Town: house, buy)

[Lynn and Russ]

Hello one and all,

Lynn and I have returned from our three day trip to Orono. We looked at some properties in Old Town, Brewer and surrounding areas. On our way home we were thinking of doing a quick survey of what you would like to see in the Orono area as far as a restaurant. So if you could take a few minutes and answer a few questions, that would be great. So here they are:

What is your favorite eating place in the area?

What do you like and dislike about it?

What kind of menu would you like to eat from?

How far would you drive to eat there?

Do you prefer a quiet setting or one with entertainment of some form?

Any other thoughts or comments?

Thanks for your time.
Lynn and Russ

[Northern Maine Land Man]

What is your favorite eating place in the area?
We like the Olive Garden because of the food and handicap access. One of my first questions to you a few months ago was whether your place would have handicap access. We can't eat where there is only 20 inches between tables.

What kind of menu would you like to eat from?
Good basic meat and potatoes home cooking and a few specialty items. Exotic restaurants don't do well here.

How far would you drive to eat there?
30 miles. We get through there about weekly.

Do you prefer a quiet setting or one with entertainment of some form?
Quiet, but a little soft background music would be OK. We are people who still converse when eating and we want to be able to hear each other.

Any other thoughts or comments?
I think a restaurant with some patriotic themes would do well. You probably saw the Governor's when you were here. Their draw is huge portions and good food, but the atmosphere is loud and chaotic.

[forest beekeeper]

I was surprised to see 'Smoky Bones' close, we like pork BBQ restaurants.

'Governors' does a good business, plain food and large portions. I could see where if one or two dining rooms had dividers between booths it would help to lessen the noise and chaos. I am not sure of the wisdom in competing head-on with them [offering the same type of menu].

Olive Garden is okay for American style 'Italian' food. They could easily be out Italianed.

The steak house with the Australian theme is okay. Not as good as a Ponderosa steakhouse though.

The Oriental Jade is nice for a buffet style with a wide selection of American foods.

Capt Nicks offers seafood.

The area lacks good Mexican food, or Chinese food, or Greek. And now nobody is offering BBQ.

[msina]

A good steak house that also does some BBQ and authentic mexican entrees and appetizers. Good beer would be a big plus.

[Elcarim]

Hand up over here! Can I speak? No, I'm not FROM or even IN the area, but.....I am a frequent restaurant patron.

I agree wholeheartedly that I HATE the loud, rowdy restaurants that have become the norm these days.

A GOOD steak and a GOOD BBQ joint are hard to find, even in a place like Houston, where there is a restaurant on every corner and two in between!

I frequently drive 30+ miles to visit my favorites.

And alcohol is a must!

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by Lynn and Russ

Hello one and all,

Lynn and I have returned from our three day trip to Orono. We looked at some properties in Old Town, Brewer and surrounding areas. On our way home we were thinking of doing a quick survey of what you would like to see in the Orono area as far as a restaurant. So if you could take a few minutes and answer a few questions, that would be great. So here they are:

What is your favorite eating place in the area?

What do you like and dislike about it?

What kind of menu would you like to eat from?

How far would you drive to eat there?

Do you prefer a quiet setting or one with entertainment of some form?

Any other thoughts or comments?

Thanks for your time.
Lynn and Russ

i'll drive to a destination, if i like it
menu? casual, steak/seafood (a carnivore buffet, would be perfect)

quiet setting?? again, casual,,,,, some hooter girls,,and a few poles would be good entertainment

fav place,,,,actually its a diner,, reasonable prices


what i avoid;
1. places where you cant buy a beer for less than 3.50
2 places where ALL the appetizers are over 5-6 dollars
3. places where a soda (mostly ice) costs close to 2 dollars
4 places where a cup of coffee is more than 1.50

a successful place to me, would have a well-rounded menu and prices,,,,some inexpensive choices...and of course id pay for the finer fare

i do like to dine out,,,but i get very irritated,,,,on the small things,, i refuse to patronize a restaurant,,because they charged me 4.29 for two small scoops of ice cream,,

and i know ,,its not all about price,,
but im kinda weird when it comes to paying,,
it doesnt matter what i can afford on the menu,,,its the value i perceive,,


this is my views on casual dining,,,
formal dining for special ocassions is different
i recently went to a brazillion steakhouse in portland,,,they served meat on two big spears...it was great!

[msina]

The meat on the skewers is called Carne De Espit, they cook it over an open fire. It's a Portuguese style "shish kabob". There's a festival in Mass. where you buy your meat and things from the vendor and then season, skewer and cook it yourself. The skewers are about 10 feet long.

[Lynn and Russ]

Thanks for the responses. They are a great help to us. And with what we want to do, we think we are on the right track.

Stay tuned!
Lynn and Russ

[starwalker]

with restaurants in general is when the booth seating is so close -- and non-adjustable -- that larger folks are excluded. K is a big fellow for starters and his health problems has put on some weight, too... and on our travels to Maine we encountered a number of eateries where our only option was a table, and we do prefer booths.

And even at tables, there is often so much crowding that if there is someone sitting at the chair behind, even I have trouble and I am not terribly large... Gods help you if the person behind is also larger sized!

I know there is a tradeoff maximizing the number of tables so you can feed more folks, but between the handicap access, as NMLM pointed out, and those who require something other than "skinny seating" you do need to keep in mind not everyone is built like Twiggy, especially these days... Seniors, too, may need more space just to maneuver...

[corgis]

I too love booths and I also don't like a crowded, noisy atmosphere. I usually have to sit at tables though because for some reason my feet don't sit flat on the floor in a booth. I'm wondering if the seats in booths are higher than at tables. I'm barely 5 foot tall. It's also a good point about older people needing more room to manuever around especially if they have canes or walkers like my 88 year old father uses.