Features
A bitter land-use fight in one of Maine’s saltiest communities has ushered in a new era of cooperation between town and gown.
- Photography by: Alan Lavallee
David G. Baker’s figurative paintings are like the best novels. They use fiction to examine deeper truths.
On the ninetieth anniversary of Prohibition, it’s worth looking back at Maine’s central role in outlawing alcohol. The history is more complex than you think.
Lewiston happens to be the longtime home of White Rock Distilleries, one of the country’s leading manufacturers and importers of spirits, but with dozens of microbreweries and small wineries scattered across Maine, it was only a matter of time before boutique distilleries entered the scene. The spirit — if not the illegality — of bootlegging survives in Maine. Here are a few of our favorite craft spirits.
Cranberry Gin
Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery, Union
207-785-3024,
How does the ocean transform ordinary bottles and plates into gemlike wonders? And why do we love sea glass so?
Maine hunters bring home thousands of pounds of deer meat each fall, but what’s the best way to cook it? We asked a few top chefs.
- Photography by: Russell French
Guess which gubernatorial candidates hit the political potholes on the way to Augusta this election season.
- Illustrations by: Steve Meyers
Monica Elliott’s chocolate shop in Lubec has sweetened an entire community.
Departments
Set on Cranberry Island, Karen MacInerny’s novel Berried to the Hilt (Midnight Ink, Woodbury, Minnesota; paperback; 312 pages; $14.95) is part murder mystery, part Treasure Island. The little Maine island is swamped with archaeologists and treasure hunters after a lobsterman uncovers a sunken ship, but things take a turn for the worse when someone turns up dead.
Read what our readers have to say about Maine.
- Photography by: Dean Abramson
The 1960 presidential campaign taught me the way politics should be.
A Portland sculpture has (once again) raised a storm over public art.
The Salt Exchange enters Portland’s crowded fine dining scene with an ambitious agenda.
A new account of New England’s founders puts the Pilgrims — and Maine — in a fresh light.
Down East’s founder, Duane Doolittle, had a firm grip on how his new magazine would approach political issues. “Down East will be non-political on a day-by-day partisan level,” he wrote in September 1954, “for it does not grant any major or minor party a monopoly of heroes and great statesman.” To which, I would only add that no party has a monopoly of liars and scoundrels, either.
A rescue mission to save artifacts, Portland's low libido, and more.
A Brownville prairie was a popular stopover for pilots in the 1930s.
Photograph Nate Philbrick
The cooking season transitions into high gear this month, and no staple is more important to have in your pantry than quality olive oil and vinegar. Rather than hopping a plane to Tuscany, a trip to Bar Harbor or Rockland will do the trick. Fiore (8 Rodick Place, Bar Harbor, 207-809-9710 and 503 Main Street, Rockland, 207-596-0276, www.fioreoliveoils.com), started by Pat and Nancy O’Brien, is a cook’s heaven. Instead of wine, these tasting rooms showcase a huge variety of olive oils and vinegars imported from all over the world.
Can you name this colorful glacial erratic?
- Photography by: Sue Anne Hodges
