Photos by Jennifer Baum
On the glorious day that was last Friday, I ventured to the Old Port on assignment. Cruising down commercial street, I was thrilled to notice that Jeff Landry’s new joint, The Farmer’s Table, was not only open for lunch, but the patio and rooftop would allow me to indulge in my first al fresco dining of the season.

Ask people where to find wheat-free food and you often get a perplexed look in return. Why, they wonder, would you want to avoid pasta, bread, cookies, crackers, and most things delicious?

At the U.S. National Toboggan Championships this weekend, I sped down the track at approximately thirty-eight miles an hour dressed as a lighthouse (West Quoddy Head, joined by Paul Bunyon, the “Maine The Way Life Should Be” sign, and the chickadee license plate). But that wasn’t the most eye-opening experience of the two-day festival. No, that came at the Lincoln’s Country Store booth. And it involved their chocolate cream pie.

The Portland Food Map is reporting that one of Maine’s spirits, the well-known Cold River Vodka, has made Wine Enthusiast’s Top 50 Spirits of 2008 list.

Well,

If you grew up in Yarmouth, as I did, Handy Andy’s (actually called Andy’s Handy Store) was most likely your favorite shop in town. An ice cream store in the summer with tons of penny candy to hold you over for winter, this store has been on the corner of Main Street and East Elm since 1935.

The space next door has not inspired that kind of longevity. At least not yet. But that might change with its latest inhabitant: the very satisfying Deer Run Tavern (365 Main St, 207-846-9555,

Photographs by Jennifer Baum

November can be a depressing time in Maine. The cold settles in for its long winter stay. The sun seems to retreat in surrender. And, of course, restaurants start shuttering their doors for winter hibernation.

It is a perfect time for a new place to dine. The owners of The Black Bull in Rockland have obliged with a year-round spot complete with good food, good prices, and a magnificent view.