 Owls Head General Store's 7-Napkin Burger This is a random collection of things, ideas, trends and just weird stuff that coastal Maine has to offer. Obviously, this is subjective and can’t include everybody, or else it would be called… the phone book. Best Burger on The Coast of Maine Though a lot of people come up to Maine for the good ole lobster roll, the locals have their own cravings and varied opinions on what defines the “Best Burger” around. Now that TheScene is opening its territory to Bar Harbor and Downeast, we’ve got even more burger joints vying for the title. A poll put out on The Killer Convo and TheScene determined who has the “Best Burger on The Coast of Maine” and here's the winner: Most votes: Owls Head General Store's 7-Napkin Burger Owls Head Owner Martha Luttrell has already gotten her burger on The Food NetworkMagazine’s “Best Burgers In The Country” list as well as on VillageSoup's The Best of The Best list four years running, but that hasn’t gone to the head of this very humble, six-ounce beef patty, grilled with American cheese and served with lettuce, onions, and pickles on a paper plate with ruffled potato chips. As far as needing seven napkins or less, “it all depends on how messy of an eater you are and how much practice you’ve had,” Luttrell said. Through viral word of mouth, the 7-Napkin Burger has become famous, and not just locally. “Last week, we had a couple from Germany come in who’d heard about the 7-Napkin Burger in their country and came here specifically to try it,” said Luttrell. Runners up: Trackside Station's Smokehouse Burger w/ Bacon, BBQ Sauce, Cheddar Rockland Owner Kelly Woods describes it as a “juicy grilled burger stacked with Farmers Bacon, cheddar, hickory barbeque sauce and onion rings on top, complete with lettuce and tomato on a toasted bun. Pair it with one of their nine side dishes and you’ve got a perfect lunch or dinner.” 57 Bayview Bar and Bistro Water Buffalo Burger Camden Co-owner Raymond Losnes calls this local, Appleton farm-raised water buffalo burger “fantastic.” With a very flavorful, 93 percent lean, robust, but not overpowering taste, the burger is topped with bacon and Gouda cheese and served on a Ciabatta roll. Home Kitchen Cafe Stella Bleu Burger Rockland Co-owner James Hatch describes this eight-ounce premium ground beef burger topped with Applewood smoked bacon, crumbled blue cheese and red onion as not only his personal favorite, but his customers’ as well. Other Contenders for "Best Burger" Rollies Bar and Grill’s Bacon and Bleu Cheeseburger, Belfast Bayview Lobster's Caldwell Farms "Simple Burger,” Camden Scott's Place Burger, Camden Waterfront's Aldermere Farms Smoky BBQ Colorado Burger, Camden Cafe Miranda's Gorgonzola Crimini Mushroom on Foccacia Burger, Rockland Side Street Café’s "The Nomad" Angus burger, Bar Harbor And as always, if you have an opinion on this Black Book, take it to TheScene!  57 Bayview Bar & Bistro's Buffalo Burger
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 Best Outdoor Spots To Take Your Date May is official “Date Your Mate” month and this time of year always makes me feel so tra-la-la moony like I’ve got cartoon bluebirds and bunnies cavorting around me, so I figured, why not share a few of my favorite outdoor spots to take your date and pitch some woo. Lake St. George Liberty, ME Hands down, this is one of the cleanest, most spectacular spring-fed lakes in this Midcoast region. Go and rent the paddle boats or canoes for $3.00 an hour, bring a picnic and talk about the time you laughed so hard at a Disney movie you wet your pants. Better yet, don’t. Fort Knox Prospect, ME Often pigeon-holed as a place only for Halloween, this is far from scary in the pale, hazy light of May. It opens May 1 and for $3.00 a person, you can explore the vast grounds and wander in and out of the Fort’s granite-walled fortification. This is a great spot for people with active imaginations. You’ll find yourself imagining what it's like to take part in a Civil War re-enactment or you'll be dashing off a few pirate expressions and before you know it, you’ll already have your costume planned for the Medieval Festival in September. If your date still sticks around after this, you’ve got yourself a keeper. Fernald’s Neck: Balance Rock Lincolnville, ME Any time you can get your date to walk and talk, that’s where the real magic happens, and the walking trails in pristine Fernald’s Neck Preserve are the perfect strolling spots through dense softwood forests. Watch out for the cartoon bunnies and bluebirds that will inevitably be trying to lace dandelions through your hair mid-stroll. The Yellow Trail leads to a huge boulder tipped on its axis known as Balance Rock. Make a friendly bet who can rock climb to the top first without falling. Bring First Aid Kit. Top of Mt. Battie Camden Hills State Park, ME You can be a total slug and drive your date to the top or you can work off that muffin top from all the Thursday night karaoke fests at Cuzzy’s this winter and hike together up one of the meandering trails. Either way, this is a gorgey spot to try and name all the islands you can see stretching out before you in Penobscot Bay without cheating and looking at the sign that lists them all. Few people will be around this time of year—you’ll have the tower to yourselves in which you can re-enact Romeo and Juliet or Shrek and Donkey depending on how literate you are. Lucia Beach Owls Head, ME This is a lovely, often deserted beach in the spring time—a great place to bring a kite or practice your Jack Black karate moves without much of an audience. There is nothing more serene than walking and picking up shells and talking about the time you once had ringworm as a kid. Leave the digital camera at home though. No one needs another YouTube video in which the narrator is describing exactly what the viewer is seeing. “And here we have Lucia Beach--as you can see, there are lots of rocks and lots of sandy beach.”  Balance Rock This is a random collection of things, ideas, trends and just weird stuff that Midcoast Maine has to offer. Obviously, this is subjective and can’t include everybody, or else it would be called…the phone book. If you’re the kind of person who gets up at 5:30 every morning to put on a cup of tea and listen to NPR, you’re pretty much a “breakfast” person. But if you’re the kind who wakes up on his friends’ dog-hair covered couch at 10:30 am with no idea what day it is or why one shoe is missing, you’d be more of the “brunch” variety. This list was generated from the precise scientific method of asking around to see who has the best brunch in the area. The Damariscotta River Grill 55 Main Street Damariscotta, Maine 04543 207-563-2992 Brunch: 10 am - 3 pm every Sunday The best part of brunch at the Grill is the complimentary homemade baked goods served to every table. They offer an open cup of coffee made with freshly ground beans for all the best brunch coffee drinks and serve Ghiradelli Hot Chocolate with fresh whipped cream. All menu items are homemade and prepared fresh to order, and brunch at the Grill is a la carte, so it’s affordable. Kick it off with one of their signature cocktails, the House Mimosa or the Bellini made with Prosecco and fresh peach nectar ($5.30-$7.49). Chef Rick Hirsch's customers seem to favor the traditional Eggs Benedict: focaccia, apple-wood smoked bacon, poached eggs, fresh Hollandaise sauce and home fries ($8.44); the wildly popular Quinoa Cakes Benedict: pan-fried cakes, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce with home fries ($8.44) along with the Smoked Salmon & Egg Scramble: Ducktrap smoked salmon and three egg scramble, potato pancakes ($8.98). Point Lookout Resort-- The Summit 67 Atlantic Highway Northport, ME 04849 (207) 789-2000 Brunch: 10:30 am until 1:00 pm on the first Sunday of every month. Executive Chef Shawn Wilcox has been experimenting with a new brunch menu at The Summit, located at the top of Ducktrap Mountain. With spectacular views overlooking the islands of the Midcoast archipelago, their brunch menu is served buffet-style and uses seasonal ingredients that change every month. Last month, the theme revolved around “Southern Favorites” in which they offered Blackened Haddock with Pepper Jack Grits, Pulled Pork Sliders with Haystack Onions, Seared Chicken Breast stuffed with Andouille and Maine Goat Cheese, Kale and White Bean Soup with homemade Green Chili Sausage, and breakfast entrees like Scrambled Eggs, Maple French Toast Casserole, sliced fruits, breakfast pastries and desserts. Brunch is served prix fixe at $29 per guest and $15 per child ages 6 to 12. Samoset Resort “Marcel’s” 220 Warrenton Street, Rockport, ME 04856 207 594-2511 Brunch: 11:30am - 2:00 pm every Sunday until November 28 The Samoset’s famous continental brunch is one of the most elaborate spreads around, but you better get in there quick because they’ll be closed for the season at the end of November and reopening in the spring. So, you only have a couple more Sundays to catch their chef-manned carving and omelet station with prime rib and pastry-wrapped salmon. Or you might dig into their home-made Lobster Ravioli, Duck Trap smoked seafood display or their famous Lobster Corn Chowder. All that and you get a classical piano player throughout brunch. Adults- $21.95, which includes one glass of champagne. Bayview Lobster Restaurant 2 Bayview Landing Camden, ME 04843 (207) 236-2005 Brunch: 10 am – 3:00 pm every Sunday Perhaps the word lobster attracts the tourists in the summer, but this restaurant with the best harbor views around, is under new management and is gearing up to be more affordable and more attractive to the locals. A brand new brunch menu will roll out November 21 developed by Fitzpatrick’s former chef, Bob, who still makes Fitzy’s famous homemade Irish corned beef hash. The three top faves on their brunch menu will include: Seafood crepes- Maine shrimp and lobster with a creamy Newburg Sauce ($9.99); Stuffed French Toast with cream cheese stuffing and either raspberry or blueberry sauce ($7.99); and traditional Eggs Benedict, with two poached eggs and Canadian bacon topped with Hollandaise sauce and home fries ($7.99) or topped with crab cakes ($9.99) Cappy’s Chowder House 1 Main St Camden, ME 04843 (207) 236-2254 Here’s another long-standing Camden restaurant where you don’t normally associate “chowder” with brunch, but nonetheless the place Trip Advisor calls “the funky bar and grill” just unveiled a revamped brunch menu. The three top faves include their Layered Blueberry French Toast ($9.99); the Fish Cakes Benedict, with two fish cakes, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce ($9.99); and their Lobster Quiche with small side salad ($12.99). All brunch menu items come with a fresh fruit cup and a bottomless cup of coffee. Chase’s Daily Belfast Brunch: 8 am - 1 pm every Sunday. People who don’t realize this is a vegetarian restaurant often seemed surprised how filling and satisfying their meat-free dishes can be. Cool bonus is the farmer’s market they offer in the back and all the cheese/homemade bread and cookies you can stand at the checkout counter. In order of Chase’s Daily’s top faves: Pancakes of the Day: ask for cornmeal cakes, if they have them, with or without blueberries. Served with real maple syrup ($7.00); Breakfast Burritos: black beans, potatoes, cheddar and homemade salsa on whole wheat or corn tortillas. Depending on how you build yours with scrambled eggs or tofu, definitely get it with the steamed swiss chard. ($7.00 to $9.00); Three Egg Omelet or Scramble, your choice of four fillings (some of which include mushrooms, peppers, garlic, feta, swiss cheese or gorgonzola), served with breakfast potatoes and your choice of toast from three to four different kinds of homemade bread ($8.50). “Breakfast All Day” Honorable Mentions If it’s not Sunday, yet you’re desperately craving Eggs Benny at 1 pm, don’t pop a stitch. These two hometown favorites keep the breakfast coming all day long. Boynton-McKay Food Co. 30 Main Street Camden, ME 04843-1704 (207) 236-2465 The fact that Boynton McKay is always crowded ought to tell you something. Starting with their fair trade organic coffees, this is one of the only places around that makes a genuine espresso, cappuccino, latte, and mocha. With an eclectic menu of Asian, Mexican and Italian (plus their “Soon To Be Famous” granola,) the top three breakfast sellers are: The Wavos Rancheros: a piping hot skillet of poached eggs, cilantro-infused refried beans, topped with melted jack cheese and served with a warm tortilla ($6.75); Blueberry Pancakes: fresh buttermilk pancakes with Maine blueberries and real maple syrup ($7.00) and Skillet Breakfast #2: two eggs, chorizo, onions with home fries and melted jack cheese ($6.75). Home Kitchen Café 650 Main Street Rockland, ME 04841-3338 (207) 596-2449 James and Susan Hatch are artists, craftspeople and restaurateurs whose one and only goal has been to serve “good, fresh, hearty, satisfying food” to a primarily local crowd. They only use fresh, seasonal ingredients along with locally roasted coffee. The fact that they serve seven different styles of Eggs Benedict, all covered with home-style Hollandaise and served on hearty toast is enough to keep the crankiest brunch seeker happy as a fat tick on a dog. The top three customer favorites are: Huevos Rancheros: two salsa poached eggs over savory black beans on a handmade corn tortilla ($8.95); Lobster Benedict: two poached eggs on grilled homemade toast points or polenta with Maine lobster ($14.95); and Home On The Range: Homemade corned beef hash grilled, served with two poached eggs and homemade Midcoast Black BookThis is a random collection of things, ideas, trends and just weird stuff that Midcoast Maine has to offer. Obviously, this is subjective and can’t include everybody, or else it would be called…the phone book. If you are blind and need to see this bigger, click here.
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 The Killer ConvoThis blog is a is a killer roundup of all arts, entertainment, brewery & distillery, food trucks, happy hour happenings in the Midcoast Maine. Feel free to email me anything about Midcoast arts, entertainment & the creative economy. Archives
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