Customer Reviews

Chow Maine: The Best Restaurants, Cafes, Lobster Shacks & Markets on the Coast

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have lived in and have travelled to Maine for over 40 years and have a pretty good idea of both the local restaurant scene and the new commers. However, in a travel format I think the book should have focused more on the wonderful Seafood, Lobster Pounds and Clam shacks dotting the Maine coast. Yes they have some but give too much space to new wave cooking. If you are going to visit Maine I think you want the flavors of Maine, not spaqgheti alla carbonara.
This book missed the mark and excluded several of Main's best well known Lobster Pounds and Clam Shacks.

Well worth getting for locals and visitors alike spending time on the Maine coast.

The idea of such a guide is great...but the result is lousy not to say something worse. This is supposed to be a food guide but you have no ratings! in addition you have no signs enabling you to know at first sight if a place mentionned is a luxury restaurant, a casual lobster place or a family hamburger cafe.
In addition to the negative side, no mention of wine list.
Out of the tens and tens of restaurant guides I have bought, this one is certainly the worst.

Nancy English has been a Maine restaurant reviewer for years and years, and Chow Maine is the real deal. I know, because I live in Portland, Maine, and I have eaten in many of the establishments she describes in the Portland segment of the book. She has selected the eateries I would send my own out-of-town friends to, and she does it with an honest, down-to-earth style that makes Chow Maine a pleasure to read.

Make sure you check out the "Introduction," in which she offers a lesson in lobster rolls elucidating even to this Mainer, and tells you where to find the best in Maine.

She also suggests farms and farmer's markets that will enrich your visit to "Vacationland," and her photos are nice, too.

The subtitle does say "on the Coast," so it's not misleading per se, but you won't see Augusta, Bangor, Auburn. The information contains quite a bit of what is on the menu and the cost, and notes decor and staff, but has very little about how the food tastes. It's almost as if many times the writer sent someone in to look at the place, get a menu, and talk to some people without ever having eaten there. The book is very good for narrowing your choices in places to eat, but usually doesn't give subjective information that I would expect from a professional food reviewer.

Mon chere Herve-Guillaume, you have completely missed the point of this guide, which I love and have given as a very-much-appreciated gift to family and friends who troll Maine for good eats. The book isn't intended as one of those starred-ratings directives that pits local restaurants, food shops, and fish shacks against one another. It's a fun, well-written guide to some of the best yummy stuff you can find when meandering along the Maine coast. In my humble opinion, vacation-style coastal exploration is best when you relax, discover, and make great experiences out of what you find--and don't abuse a lovely road trip pursuing a strident quest for bragging rights among best-restaurant connoisseurs. This great little book will help anyone have fun and taste delicious local food on the Maine coast. It's well-worth its price.

I love this book - it comes with us on our travels to Maine.. Very informative and wonderful reference book!