Readers first voted in a write-in round, from which the top five vote-getters in each category became finalists (give or take, in the event of ties). Then, some 10,000 voters picked the winners in a multiple-choice final round this summer. Here and there, we’ve spotlighted some notable reader picks — a few from this year’s bumper crop of first-time finalists, plus a handful of Best of Maine stalwarts that make the list year after year.
HOME & GARDEN
ARCHITECT
Knickerbocker Group
Boothbay, Portland
FINALISTS
44 North Architects
Newcastle
Barrett Made
Portland
Maple Street Design Studio
Camden
Opal
Belfast
DÉCOR SHOP
Nest
Brunswick
FINALISTS
COVE by Knickerbocker Group
Boothbay, Portland
Freckle Salvage Company
Winthrop
GooeyGump Designs
Portland
Home Remedies
Portland
The Rusticators Emporium
Hallowell
SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
GooeyGump Designs
1026 Forest Ave, Portland. 207-536-1002.
A motley, surprisingly chic little shop with a memorable name, GooeyGump is a repeat nominee in the gift-store category and, at the same time, one of readers’ half-dozen faves for décor. Reformed pharma rep Allison Oldham opened her first store in Deering Center in 2019, then upgraded two years later to her two-story, 8,500-square-foot digs on Forest Avenue. It’s a welcoming space with a modern farmhouse vibe, and it’s full of treasures, from kitchenware to gorgeous ceramics to paper goods to cute pillows and throws. Lots of pastels and Maine-y patterns, lots of beachy and nautical designs. Oldham’s first love is restoring old furniture, and she’s into embellishing (“gooey gumping,” as her family called it when she was a kid, glamming out her art projects). You’ll find some great vintage-detailed pieces in the shop, which also hosts workshops for DIYers.
FURNITURE STORE
Dow Furniture
Waldoboro
FINALISTS
Chilton Furniture
Freeport
COVE by Knickerbocker Group
Boothbay, Portland
FX Marcotte Furniture
Lewiston
Thos. Moser
Freeport
Youngs Furniture
Portland
BUILDER
Knickerbocker Group
Boothbay, Portland
FINALISTS
Harbor Builders Associates
St. George
Houses and Barns by John Libby
Freeport
Phi Builders + Architects
Rockport
Taylor-Made Builders
Northport
GARDEN CENTER/NURSERY
Moose Crossing Garden Center
Waldoboro
FINALISTS
Broadway Gardens Greenhouses
South Portland, Westbrook
Longfellow’s Greenhouses
Manchester
Plants Unlimited
Rockport
Skillins Greenhouses
Brunswick, Cumberland, Falmouth

Photo by Tara Rice
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Flaura Flowers & Wine
185 Main St., Thomaston. 207-354-5006.
The midcoast comes up big in the florist category, not least with category winner Shelley’s Flowers & Gifts, in Waldoboro, currently celebrating its 40th (!) year in business. On the other end of the spectrum is Thomaston’s Flaura, opened just last year by Aura Ellis (pictured) and more of a floral lifestyle boutique than a traditional florist. No Teleflora orders or deliveries here, but plenty of dazzling bouquets, alongside topiaries and potted plants, a few cute gardening goods, local chocolates and treats, and a smartly curated selection of wines (with a surprising number of non-alcoholic options). Ellis sources her blooms from her own family farm, in Cushing, along with other local growers, like Warren’s On the Mountain Farm. When the sun’s shining through the big front windows of Main Street’s historic Union Block, it’s impossible not to step in here and feel cheery.
FLORIST
Shelley’s Flowers & Gifts
Waldoboro
FINALISTS
Blais Flowers & Garden Center
Lewiston
Flaura Flowers & Wine
Thomaston
Flowers by Hoboken
Rockland
Seasons Downeast Designs
Rockport
HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE
Hammond Lumber Company
Various locations
FINALISTS
Ames True Value Hardware & Supply
Wiscasset
Damariscotta Hardware
Damariscotta
Kittery Ace Hardware
Kittery
Rankin’s Hardware & Building
Camden, Hope

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SHOPPING & STYLE
TOY STORE
Island Treasure Toys
Bath, Freeport, Kennebunk, Yarmouth
FINALISTS
Daytrip Jr.
Kennebunkport
Out on a Whimsey Toys
Belfast
Planet Toys
Camden
Treehouse Toys
Portland
WOMEN’S BOUTIQUE
The Grasshopper Shop
Rockland
FINALISTS
Cosmic
Presque Isle
Eastcraeft
Lisbon Falls
House of Logan
Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Camden
Women Of Substance
Damariscotta
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Cosmic
445 Main St., Presque Isle.
Readers in the County (or just passing through) fell for owner Matt Nadeau’s bohemian mash-up of a clothing boutique and metaphysical dry-goods shop. A finalist in the women’s boutique category, Cosmic opened in downtown Presque Isle last August, offering lounge-y basics, flowy patterned separates, summer dresses, and more — alongside crystals, candles, incense, and other New Age-y art and gifts. For the racks, Nadeau looks for pieces “unique enough that you can layer them and mix-and-match them, definitely boho-hippie vibes.” And if shoppers come for apparel and stay for some chakra stones, he’s into it. “People come in for clothes, then they’re pulled towards the jewelry or novelty socks or a tarot deck,” Nadeau says, “to something you don’t see every day.”
CAR DEALER (NEW)
Charlie’s Motor Mall
Augusta
FINALISTS
Goodwin’s Volvo
Topsham
Lee Auto Malls
Various locations
Patriot Subaru
Saco
Shepard Auto Group
Thomaston
CAR DEALER (USED)
Charlie’s Motor Mall
Augusta
FINALISTS
Lee Auto Malls
Various locations
Mid-Knight Auto Body
Rockland
Norm’s Used Cars
Wiscasset
The Hight Family of Dealerships
Skowhegan, Madison, Farmington
BARGAIN STORE
Renys
Various locations
FINALISTS
Freeport Community Services Thrift Shop
Freeport
Heavenly Threads Thrift Shop
Camden
Marden’s
Various locations
Miles in Motion Thrift Shop
Damariscotta

Photo by Heidi Kirn
SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
Daytrip Society & Daytrip Jr.
4 Dock Sq., Kennebunkport. 207-967-8345.
We have stepped inside Daytrip Jr. with our kids and watched their eyes widen. Maine has a bunch of great toy stores, and this category sees some usual suspects year after year, including category-winning micro-chain Island Treasure Toys. But Daytrip Jr. is extra fun, in part because it successfully ports over the high-design, soft-adventure concept that owners Jessica Jenkins and Andy West (pictured) first established at Jr.’s adjacent parent shop, Daytrip Society, in 2007. That one’s a consistent reader fave too, in the gift-shop category (both are past winners), for the way it blends the appeals of a boutique and an outfitter and a souvenir stand — Phileas Fogg goes to Patagonia goes to . . . well, Kennebunkport. When the same sense of play and exploration infuses both your kid store and your grown-up store, you’re onto something.
GIFT SHOP
The Grasshopper Shop
Rockland
FINALISTS
Daytrip Society
Kennebunkport
GooeyGump Designs
Portland
Home Ingredients
Kennebunkport
Maine Micro Artisans
Gorham
Merkaba Sol
Augusta
Sonny’s Museum & Rock Shop
Augusta
ANTIQUE/VINTAGE SHOP
The Rusticators Emporium
Hallowell
FINALISTS
Antiques at 10 Mechanic
Camden
Freckle Salvage Company
Winthrop
Miles in Motion Thrift Shop
Damariscotta
Portland Flea-for-All
Portland
SHOE STORE
Lamey Wellehan Shoes
Various locations
FINALISTS
Colburn Shoe Store
Belfast
Renys
Various locations
Selby Shoes Etc
South Portland
Super Shoes
Various locations

SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
Colburn Shoe Store
79 Main St., Belfast. 207-338-1934.
“I can’t imagine Belfast without having Colburn Shoe,” the store’s owner, Colby Horne, told us recently, “and that motivates me to grow and continue to be a cornerstone of the community.” The Main Street shop is within a decade of its bicentennial, and it’s been in Horne’s family since 1922. (His dad, Brian Horne, who sold him the store in 2017, retired last winter after 51 years). But Colburn isn’t some dusty relic. You can count on the place to have a deep inventory of the brands Mainers dig — Chacos, Danskos, Keens, Carhartts — and always a nice selection of running shoes. The bargain basement is, well, full of the subterranean steals you’d expect. And the service is, refreshingly, never pushy. No wonder readers call the place a fave, year after year. Among the reasons Horne loves seeing the shop stay busy? “Knowing how proud my grandfather would be.”
PET SUPPLY STORE
Loyal Biscuit Co.
Various locations
FINALISTS
Ames True Value Hardware & Supply
Wiscasset
Pet Pantry
Freeport
The Animal House
Damariscotta
Two Salty Dogs Pet Outfitters
Boothbay Harbor
BOOKSTORE
Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops
Various locations
FINALISTS
Arctic Tern Books
Rockland
Left Bank Books
Belfast
Quiet City Books
Lewiston
Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop
Damariscotta
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Quiet City Books
124 Lisbon St., Lewiston. 207-809-7139.
With nine locations across Maine, it’s maybe no surprise that venerable Sherman’s often takes top honors in the bookstore category. But not a year passes without a couple of newcomers popping up — a testament to Maine’s vibrant lit culture and abundance of indie bookshops. Quiet City ain’t new, exactly, but when proprietor Courtney Schlachter opened the predominantly secondhand shop, in 2016, it was tiny. Last year, Quiet City moved into a whopping 1,700-square-foot basement on Lisbon Street, with room to delight browsers and host readings, kids’ story hours, intimate concerts, and more. With its low ceilings, exposed brick arches, and thrifted-furniture nooks for reading and writing, the place feels like your favorite teenage rec room or scrap- py small-town library — which book- worms will recognize as high praise.
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Photo by Jamie Mercurio
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
H&E Paint Bar
6 City Center, Portland. 207-536-4395.
15 Middle St., Portland. 207-536-0698.
When Eunjee Park (left) and Emily Fitzgibbon (right) opened H&E Nail Bar in Portland’s 6 City Center, in spring of 2018, they didn’t expect business to pick up so briskly. But before the year was out, they added a second location on the East End, and today, the two shops keep a fleet of 19 technicians busy offering mani-pedis, nail care, gel polish, wax treatments, and more — oh, and super-cute nail art that jibes with the bright, playful aesthetic of the salons. In case you’re wondering, yep, H&E (Fitzgibbon’s Korean name, Hyejung, is the H to her partner’s E) does indeed put the “bar” in “paint bar,” with a complimentary glass of wine or bubbly (or coffee or tea) as patrons settle into the comfy chairs.
NAIL SALON
Mainely Nails
Damariscotta
FINALISTS
Glossy Claws Nails by Nancy
Hallowell
H&E Paint Bar
Portland
Lucinda’s Day Spa & Hair Studio
Cumberland
Mountain Miracles Med Spa
Rangeley
Tropical Salon & Spa
Rockport
HAIR SALON/BARBER
The Hair Lab
Gardiner
FINALISTS
Bei Capelli
Scarborough
Dark Harbor Barber Company
Rockland, Waldoboro
Gloss Hair Parlor
Biddeford
Mountain Miracles Med Spa
Rangeley
CANNABIS RETAIL SHOP
Highbrow
Rockland and Bath
FINALISTS
Botany
Rockland
Cannabis Cured
various locations
Kind Farms Reserve
Berwick
New World Organics
Belfast and Rockland
Sweet Relief Shop
Northport
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YOGA STUDIO
FINALISTS
Big White Barn
Readfield
Chill Yoga
Lewiston
DownTown Yoga & Healing Arts
Augusta
Eye Candy Dance Studio
Bangor
Maine Outdoor Yoga
Damariscotta
DAY SPA
Senator Inn & Spa
Augusta
FINALISTS
Alexsandra Esthetics
Sanford
Cedar Grove Sauna
Montville
Field of Aesthetics
Scarborough
Lucinda’s Day Spa & Hair Studio
Cumberland
Mountain Miracles Med Spa
Rangeley
Nine Stones Spa
Portland
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Mountain Miracles Med Spa
2485 Main St., Rangeley. 207-864- 5700.
A first-time finalist in not one but four (!) categories: nail salon, hair salon, day spa, and massage studio — a winner in that latter — Rangeley’s Mountain Miracles clearly has its fans. Registered nurse Allissa Gurney opened the spa, on the mountain-town’s main drag, in 2019, with a focus on medical aesthetics like fillers, chemical peels, and IV vitamin treatments. A full-service salon soon followed, and the treatment menu kept expanding as Gurney gathered a crew of “extremely talented women,” realizing how many beauty and health services required a (sometimes long) trip out of Rangeley. These days, she and a much-expanded team offer everything from laser treatments to massage and bodywork to lash lifts to body waxing to LED tooth whitening to . . . well, call and ask.
DENTIST
Midcoast Family Dentistry
Rockport
FINALISTS
Glen Cove Dental Associates
Rockport
Hasenfus Family Dental
Augusta
Mount Pleasant & North Pond Dental Care
Rockport, Warren
PenBay Dental
Rockport
MASSAGE STUDIO/
PRACTITIONER
Mountain Miracles Med Spa
Rangeley
FINALISTS
Athlete’s Touch
Portland
Camden Maine Massage Therapy
Camden
Deeply Rooted Massage & Wellness
Kennebunk
Nine Stones Spa
Portland
Serendipity Studios
Portland
Wicked Good Massage Therapy
Lewiston
GYM/FITNESS CENTER
Rangeley Region Health & Wellness
Rangeley
FINALISTS
Central Lincoln County YMCA
Damariscotta
Eye Candy Dance Studio
Bangor
Fortitude Fitness
Warren
Ocean Blue Fitness
Damariscotta
TRAVEL & PLAY

Photo by Dave Waddell
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Lyman-Morse Camden
59 Sea St., Camden. 207-236-4378.
After a kitchen fire broke out in June of 2020 at a restaurant that was part of the campus of Camden’s Lyman-Morse boatyard and marina, smoke damage left much of the complex unusable. The silver lining: Lyman-Morse set out to reenvision and rebuild, and last fall, the legacy boatbuilder completed construction on a 44,000-square-foot mixed-use marina complex. Perks for the cruising crowd include handsome suites for crew accommodations, a state-of-the-art rig shop and full-service chandlery, a customer lounge with showers and laundry, and new capacity for dockage and storage. Fringe benefits for the rest of us include a nice wide harbor walk and two new eateries: Barren’s Distillery + Restaurant, with a bar full of small-batch spirits and a menu of New England pub food, and Salt Wharf, this year’s reader pick for best new restaurant, with clubby classics on the entrée menu (seafood, steaks, pasta) and what has to be Maine’s best rooftop bar (with a small-plates menu that’s more fun than downstairs — try the street corn or tinned-fish conservas).
MARINA
Lyman-Morse Camden
Camden
FINALISTS
Boothbay Harbor Marina
Boothbay Harbor
Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort
Boothbay Harbor
Carousel Marina
Boothbay Harbor
Dolphin Marina
Harpswell
BOAT CRUISE/EXCURSION
Monhegan Boat Line
Port Clyde
FINALISTS
A Morning in Maine
Rockland
Cap’n Fish’s Cruises
Boothbay Harbor
DoryWoman Rowing
Belfast
Hardy Boat Cruises
New Harbor
GOLF COURSE
Samoset Resort
Rockport
FINALISTS
Boothbay Harbor Country Club
Boothbay
Goose River Golf Course
Rockport
Mingo Springs Golf Course
Rangeley
Rockland Golf Club
Rockland
SKI MOUNTAIN
Saddleback Mountain
Rangeley
FINALISTS
Black Mountain of Maine
Rumford
Sugarloaf
Carrabassett Valley
Sunday River Resort
Newry
The Camden Snow Bowl
Camden
B&B/INN
The Craignair Inn by the Sea
Spruce Head
FINALISTS
Blue Harbor House Inn
Camden
Grey Havens Inn
Georgetown
Harraseeket Inn
Freeport
The Trellis House
Ogunquit
HOTEL/RESORT
Samoset Resort
Rockport
FINALISTS
250 Main Hotel
Rockland
Boothbay Harbor Oceanside Golf Resort
Boothbay Harbor
Cliff House Maine
Cape Neddick
Linekin Bay Resort
Boothbay Harbor
SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
Cliff House
591 Shore Rd., Cape Neddick. 207-361-1000.
It’s just shy of 10 years since Cape Neddick’s venerable Cliff House, overlooking the Atlantic on Bald Head Cliff, changed hands for the first time. The same family had owned the place since 1872, and for much of that time, it’d been a favored retreat of East Coast blue bloods (and a beloved splurge for others). When an out-of-state investment firm (with Maine partners) took over in 2014, some longtime guests worried the place’s character might get watered down. A decade later, those fears are quelled. Cliff House remains plenty luxe, with nautical-mod décor, impeccable service, and a top-tier spa and infinity pool that both allow guests to soak up some of the East Coast’s most gobsmacking coastal views. It also showcases tons of work by Maine artists, offers a reasonable simulacrum of a lobster shack in its bar, and hosts guided nature hikes along its trail network, oceanside yoga sessions, woodcarving demonstrations, and other activities that feel genuinely rooted here — or, anyway, a version of here.
ARTS & CULTURE
CONCERT VENUE
Merrill Auditorium
Portland
FINALISTS
Maine Savings Amphitheater
Bangor
State Theatre
Portland
The Strand Theatre
Rockland
Thompson’s Point
Portland
THEATER GROUP
Maine State Music Theatre
Brunswick
FINALISTS
Community Little Theatre
Auburn
ISLE Theater Company
Deer Isle
Ogunquit Playhouse
Ogunquit
The Public Theatre
Lewiston
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Marvin Merritt IV read Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in high school English, growing up on Deer Isle. He didn’t love it, but it’s crept up on him since. “It was definitely a hard piece to navigate,” says Merritt, a cofounder of ISLE Theater Company, “but a lot of people here connected with it because it’s a seafaring story.” Helping audiences forge connections through storytelling is at the heart of the mission of the Deer Isle–based company that Merritt and Harvard pal Anna Fitzgerald founded just after graduation, three years ago. ISLE has since produced an eclectic mix of site-specific shows, using professional actors and crew, at spots that include a Deer Isle quarry and a Penobscot farm. This summer’s Water, Water Everywhere, August 10–20, is a contemporary retelling of “Ancient Mariner,” staged at Brooklin’s WoodenBoat School. During a month of rehearsals, visiting artists stayed with local volunteer hosts. “It’s immensely fulfilling,” Merritt says, “to see a small island community pull together and make this theater company possible.”
FESTIVAL
Common Ground Country Fair
Unity
FINALISTS
Great Falls Balloon Festival
Lewiston–Auburn
Maine Lobster Festival
Rockland
North Atlantic Blues Festival
Rockland
Yarmouth Clam Festival
Yarmouth
MUSEUM
Farnsworth Art Museum
Rockland
FINALISTS
Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Rockland
Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine
Portland
Colby College Museum
Waterville
Portland Museum of Art
Portland
ART GALLERY
Saltwater Artists Gallery
New Harbor
FINALISTS
Dowling Walsh Gallery
Rockland
Gleason Fine Art
Boothbay Harbor
Littlefield Gallery
Winter Harbor
Page Gallery
Camden
SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
Littlefield Gallery
145 Main St., Winter Harbor. 207-963-6005.
Jane and Kelly Littlefield, who for 15 years have run an unassuming, captivating home gallery in Winter Harbor, learned all they know about exhibitions and sales as schoolteachers nursing a serious art-collecting habit. The truest lesson, Jane says: make everyone feel welcome. These days, the Littlefields represent 38 painters and sculptors, all with Maine connections, and enough readers have been wowed by their sculpture garden and white-walled gallery annex and the two public-friendly floors of their art-filled home to earn Littlefield Gallery a half-dozen wins and nominations in the gallery category since 2017. Closing out the season, mid-September through mid-October, is a three-artist show that includes the moody, stylized landscapes of Sarah Faragher (pictured).

GRANITE AND BASALT, VIEW TO NED ISLAND FROM GRINDSTONE NECK, WINTER HARBOR, MAINE – OIL/CANVAS, 24 X 18″, BY SARAH FARAGHER, IMAGE COURTESY OF LITTLEFIELD GALLERY
PRIVATE SCHOOL, SECONDARY
Lincoln Academy
Newcastle
FINALISTS
Cheverus High School
Portland
North Yarmouth Academy
Yarmouth
Saint Dominic Academy
Auburn
Thornton Academy
Saco
PRIVATE SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY
The Riley School
Rockport
FINALISTS
The Bay School
Blue Hill
Cornerspring Montessori School
Belfast
North Yarmouth Academy
Yarmouth
Saint Dominic Academy
Auburn
Thornton Academy
Saco
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FOOD & DRINK
LOBSTER ROLL
Red’s Eats
Wiscasset
FINALISTS
Bite into Maine
Cape Elizabeth, Portland, Scarborough
Claws
Rockland
The Highroller Lobster Co.
Portland
The Lobster Haul
Damariscotta
McLoons Lobster Shack
South Thomaston
DISTILLERY
Maine Craft Distilling
Portland
FINALISTS
Barren’s Distillery + Restaurant
Camden
Batson River Brewing & Distilling
Kennebunk, Portland, Wells
Cold River
Freeport
Split Rock Distilling
Newcastle
Wild Bevy Distilling
Wells
LOBSTER SHACK
McLoons Lobster Shack
South Thomaston
FINALISTS
Five Islands Lobster Co.
Georgetown
The Lobster Shack at Two Lights
Cape Elizabeth
Red’s Eats
Wiscasset
Young’s Lobster Pound
Belfast
ICE CREAM
Gifford’s
Various locations
FINALISTS
Dorman’s Dairy Dream
Thomaston
Fielder’s Choice Ice Cream
Various locations
Freya’s
Rockport
Round Top
Damariscotta

Photo by Dave Waddell
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
It’s been open just over a year, but already little Freya’s feels like a must-stop for dessert devotees traveling up the coast. After moving from Colorado to the midcoast a couple of summers back, married proprietors Therese Inman and Garett Reppenhagen renovated an out-of-the-way corner of the mansard-roofed 1856 Union Hall (it was a darkroom back when Maine Media Workshops occupied the building). Among other things, they put a deck out back with a nice view of the lobsterboats bobbing in Rockport Harbor. It’s a scenic spot to attack a dish (or house-made waffle cone) of Inman’s luscious gelatos or sorbettos, of which a dozen or so options stock the cooler. On a recent visit, the strawberry sage balsamic and lemon mascarpone, with blueberry swirls, were the MVPs. Freya’s also has a small menu of sweet and savory crepes and (rejoice!) is the all-too-rare sweet shop that also pours beer and wine.
FOOD TRUCK
The Zack Shack
Rockland
FINALISTS
Mow’s Munchies
Raymond
Mr. Tuna
Brunswick, Portland
The Muthah Truckah
Portland
Taco the Town
Brunswick
BAKERY
Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe
Brunswick
FINALISTS
Atlantic Baking Co.
Rockland
Barn Door Baking Company
Damariscotta
The Italian Bakery
Lewiston
Laugh Loud Smile Big
Camden
BAR
King Eider’s Pub
Damariscotta
FINALISTS
The Annex by Side Street Cafe
Bar Harbor
Blyth & Burrows
Portland
Corner Bar
Rangeley
Lucky Betty’s
Camden
MARKET FOR SEAFOOD
Harbor Fish Market
Portland
FINALISTS
Cantrell Seafood
Topsham
Delano Seafood Market
Waldoboro
Graffam Bros. Seafood Market
Rockport
Jess’s Market
Rockland
BREAKFAST/ BRUNCH SPOT
Moody’s Diner
Waldoboro
FINALISTS
Home Kitchen Café
Rockland
The Hoot
Northport
Peace Love & Waffles
Dover-Foxcroft
Terry & Maxine’s
Turner
WINERY
Cellardoor Winery
Lincolnville, Portland
FINALISTS
Dragonfly Farm & Winery
Stetson
Oyster River Winegrowers
Warren
Sweetgrass Winery and Distillery
Union, Portland
WillowsAwake Winery
Leeds
SPOTLIGHT: FREQUENT FLIER
Dragonfly Farm & Winery
1069 Mullen Rd., Stetson. 207-296-2226.
A few reader picks in the winery category have, shall we say, been aging for several years: Cellardoor, Maine’s largest winery, has won for eight years running. Sweetgrass, with its Union farm HQ and hopping Old Port tasting room (the pandemic, sadly, nixed a Kennebunk location) is a perennial finalist. Perhaps the more surprising stalwart, though, is Dragonfly, in tiny Stetson, 20 miles west of Bangor. Opened in 2004, the vineyard and winery changed hands in 2020 (a potato-farming family from nearby Exeter branched out) and is in its fourth consecutive year as a BOM pick. Its fans love the firepit tables on the outdoor tasting deck (a pandemic adaptation that stuck). On hot summer days, they seem also to love that some fruit wines come in slushy form (including in to-go pouches). And admirers of German-style wines will love grabbing a bottle of Edelweiss, a sweet, crisp white made with estate grapes. Zum wohl!
COFFEE ROASTER
Coffee By Design
Portland
FINALISTS
Carrabassett Coffee Company
Kingfield
Coffee On The Porch
Rockport
Rock City Coffee Roasters
Rockland
Wicked Joe Organic Coffees
Topsham
BURGER
Owls Head General Store
Owls Head
FINALISTS
Ancho Honey
Tenants Harbor
Coals
Portland
Mow’s Munchies
Raymond
Newcastle Publick House
Newcastle
HARD CIDER
Ricker Hill Hard Cider
Turner
FINALISTS
Absolem Cider Company
Winthrop
Fogtown Brewing Company
Ellsworth
Freedom’s Edge Cider
Albion
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Papi
18 Exchange St., Portland. 207-808-8008.
Not a bummer in the bunch among the year’s best new restaurant nominees, from category winner Salt Wharf, with its wowza harborside site, to Rodney’s, an ambitious hotel-restaurant makeover in Presque Isle. But the spot we’ve told the most friends about this year is Papi, the Old Port’s stylish Puerto Rican gastro cantina. We’d love to say we were won over after the first sip of the Bad Bunny cocktail — rum, amaretto, coconut ice cream, and pineapple syrup, with Mexican pepperleaf foam — that beverage director LyAnna Sanabria (left) handed over. Or upon the first bite of piquant pork sliders with plantains, crispy yuca fries, or perfectly pliant little empanadas from the kitchen, run by executive chef Ronnie Medlock (right). But in truth, we were sold on first glimpse of the dining room (run by manager Gene Valentin, center), a dead ringer for a low-key elegant taberna on some San Juan side street.

Photo by Ryan David Brown
NEW RESTAURANT
Salt Wharf
Camden
FINALISTS
Foda Restaurant
Appleton
Obscura Cafe & Drinkery
Lewiston
Papi
Portland
Rodney’s at 436 Main
Presque Isle
MAINE-MADE CHOCOLATE
Wilbur’s of Maine
Freeport, Brunswick
FINALISTS
Bixby Chocolate
Rockland
Haven’s Candies
Westbrook, Portland
Len Libby Candies
Scarborough
Ragged Coast Chocolates
Westbrook
APPLE ORCHARD
Ricker Hill Orchards
Turner
FINALISTS
Biscay Orchards
Damariscotta
Hope Orchards
Hope
Treworgy Family Orchards
Levant
Wallingford’s Orchard
Auburn
CANDY SHOP
Wilbur’s of Maine
Freeport, Brunswick
FINALISTS
Haven’s Candies
Westbrook
Len Libby Candies
Scarborough
Merkaba Sol & The Chocolate Shoppe
Augusta
Sweetz & More
Wiscasset
DINER
Moody’s Diner
Waldoboro
FINALISTS
A1 Diner
Gardiner
Becky’s Diner
Portland
Miss Portland Diner
Portland
Palace Diner
Biddeford
DONUT
The Holy Donut
Arundel, Portland, Scarborough
FINALISTS
Congdon’s Doughnuts
Wells
Old Time Donut
Damariscotta
The Only Doughnut
Belfast
Ruckus Donuts
Rockland
SPOTLIGHT: FIRST TIMER
Ruckus Donuts
377 Main St., Rockland. 207-975-4388.
It’s a sign of a good shop when you have to get up early on a weekend to score a donut, and so it is at Ruckus, which opened in downtown Rockland in 2021 after an infancy as a pandemic pop-up. Baker Todd Bross turns out yeasted brioche donuts — airier than cake donuts, but Ruckus’s are hefty, four inches across — in a bonkers array of adventurous flavors and kaleidoscopic designs. Summer faves include strawberry shortcake, with a pile of local strawberries and vanilla Italian buttercream sandwiched inside, and lemondrop, with lemon- shortbread cookie crumbles, lemon buttercream, and a drippy vanilla glaze. Whim flavors can seem like Instagram bait — donuts coated in breakfast cereal! stuffed with marshmallow fluff and encrusted with graham crackers! — but we have yet to try one that hasn’t left us oohing, aahing, and sticky fingered.
COFFEE SHOP
Rock City
Rockland
FINALISTS
Barn Door Baking Co.
Damariscotta
Blue Jay Coffee
Lewiston
Seafolk Coffee
Rockport
Zoot Coffee
Camden
FOOD CO-OP
Rising Tide Co-op
Damariscotta
FINALISTS
Belfast Community Co-op
Belfast
Blue Hill Co-op
Blue Hill
Gardiner Food Co-op
Gardiner
Good Tern Co-op
Rockland
PIZZA
Otto Pizza
various locations
FINALISTS
Coals
Portland
Cushnoc Brewing Co.
Augusta
Oysterhead Pizza
Damariscotta
Pat’s Pizza
various locations
Hey, why no Best Beer or Best Taproom categories this year? Check out the results of our inaugural Best of Maine Beer poll.
