Sunday, July 15, 2007

Bar Harbor/Acadia Part II: Lunch

By far the best lunch that Andy and I enjoyed all week was at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant on their expansive lawn overlooking a lake, bike trail, and mountains (specifically, the "Bubbles") in the national park. Almost everything comes with their famous popovers (served with butter and strawberry preserves) and Andy and I had a grilled chicken sandwich and a bowl of tomato bisque respectively. The soup was tasty but not spectacular. I got to have two popovers which is good because I put Andy in charge of ordering the dessert and instead of ordering the popover a la mode that I secretly wanted, he got the blueberry crisp which turned out to be phenomenal. I opted not to buy popover mix and rather, intend to find a popover recipe on my own. Finally, the restaurant had the best approach to lemonade that I've seen to date. Freshly squeezed, with or without fruit (Andy had strawberry and I had raspberry) and it comes unsweetened with simple syrup on the side so that individuals can control how sweet they want their 'ade to be. Brilliant I say!

Andy and I packed several lunches, but ate out on one occasion. After our Whale Watch and Puffin Tour we took advantage of the Early Bird Specials at the West Street Cafe and Grill. I had a cup of lobster bisque (the only way I can stand lobster) and Haddock Au Gratin. The bisque was super creamy and while the haddock was good but I would have felt better if I had salad. The combination of the cheesy fish and bisque made for some dairy overload which was not in any way helped by the french fries that came with. Andy ate steak tips and fries, which were decent, but not special.

One day I dropped Andy off to go birdwatching and then I stopped at Seawall Grill and Ice-Cream and ordered their lobster bisque. It was quite different from the one I had at the West Street Cafe and Grill. This one was less creamy and had more lobster btis (both edible and otherwise). It had far more flavor than the other one.

Finally, on our last day, we took a long drive around the island and stopped at the Tan Turtle, initially for a quick drink and to pee, but we ordered lunch too. I ignored my long held rule regarding lemonade: If promised free-refills, avoid. Indeed, the lemonade came with refills and as I epected was exactly the kind of lemonade that is cheap enough to allow for free refills. Otherwise my beefstro salad with thai peanut sauce was good (although, I think I would avoid mixing that particular dressing and blue cheese in the future). Andy had the duck breast quesesilla, which was alright. I am not certain if duck breast belongs in a quesedilla. I will have to inquire about that particular combination elsewhere.

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