Blueberries

Maine is well known for a lot of things; its lighthouses, rocky coasts, when the leaves change to golden oranges and fiery reds, endless pine trees, brutal winters, potatoes (?), lobster, and of course blueberries. When I was in summer camp a million years ago they would gather up all the kids and take us blueberry picking, it was sort of a haul distance wise and keeping track of all of us was a pain so we were limited to one visit a season. I remember it being so much fun, even if the blueberries were far and few in between. Real Maine blueberries are actually pathetically tiny, so we had to gather a lot for the counselors to make us each a blueberry milkshake

These days I forget that blueberry picking is a thing, so when our friend Rachel invited us out to Blueberry Hill Farm I got incredibly excited. We picked over five pounds for only $14, what a deal! These blueberries were massive though, compared to the smaller-than-a-dime typical Maine stock these were about the size of quarters. We probably picked about ten pounds but ate half before we got the scales.

With two huge containers I decided we couldn't just eat them all by the handful, I mean we could, but we'd probably get sick of them really quickly. So I decided to whip up a blueberry pie, my first pie ever! With the squeeze's mom's help it was a success and I didn't burn their house down, with some vanilla ice-cream on top it was, how you say, magnifique!

Holy

They must have named their establishment Holy Donut because it's the closet thing to heaven that us mere mortals have on this good earth. But really though. If you've never had the opportunity to try a Holy Donut, make a trip to Portland, Maine, or have someone you know in Portland ship some to you. I don't know if that's legal or not but I would worry about the minor details later. This particular beauty is their pomegranate donut *insert Wile E. Coyote with tongue hanging to the floor* Did I mention that these are potato donuts? And for their sweet potato donuts they use actual sweet potatoes? 

Oh lawd. 

The potato makes them have a cake-like texture instead of that typical dry and crumbly stuff you so often find yourself biting into. The two shops in Portland are open for a good chunk of the day, but they tend to close once they sell out of donuts... which is very often. I am unfortunately stuck at work all afternoon so I won't be making any Holy stops today, but rest assured we will be taking some with us once we start our journey! I'll probably look into this shipping donuts things as well...

Brunch III

We're at it again! Yesterday we took a nice stroll from our apartment up to the top of State Street where Petite Jacqueline sits. We previewed a bunch of restaurant menus and this one caught our attention. Mainly because eggs benedict. The restaurant has a cool retro 60's mixed with Paris vibe to it, very sunny and not too crowded as well. The menu had changed slightly than the one we saw online, but that definitely didn't sway our decision to eat there. 

The squeeze opted for the bistro burger with a fried egg on top. If they serve hamburgers in heaven I feel like this would be on the menu. The most tender and juiciest burger ever! At a French place! Who knew! Even the fries made your mouth water. I ordered the plat de saumon, or salmon benedict. Also mouth watering. That ramen-looking thing on the bottom right of my plate is called rösti, which is actually Swiss hash browns. It kinda looked like fried noodles, but had the consistency of mashed potatoes in the center.

I may have gotten a little carried away with brunch cocktails, two in and I was starting my Sunday off with a bang. Their mimosas are so very good, I also ordered some sort of a mix of gin, chambord, and champagne that had a sugar coated rim and lemon rind. J'adore Petite Jacqueline! 

Crawfish

I had never had crawfish before visiting TX. I'd heard of crawfish and had eaten everything in between, but this little crustacean never made it to my plate. Despite being a Mainer I'm actually not a big lobster fan, I'd opt for crab or shrimp any day. Maybe subconsciously I convinced myself they would taste like little lobsters because that's what they look like. I'm a little upset I went so long without trying them though because they are delicious! While in Austin my friend took us to the Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar, a casual little spot where they serve you delicious cajun style seafood goodness in a giant metal pan. Buckets are of course provided to toss the remains of your sloppy meal. We got a mix of half shrimp and half crawfish all mixed in with red potatoes and corn.

Nom nom nom.

I love spicy food, perhaps in another life I was a southern native. I'm looking forward to diving into one of these enormous dishes again, that's for sure.

Brunch

I loveeee me some brunch. I am all about eggs benedict and am on a constant journey to find the best plate. The squeeze and I frequent Hot Suppa often, it's about a five minute walk from our apartment so that helps too. But mainly we go there for the delicious eggs benny. I opt for the fried green tomato and he the Canadian bacon version. I feel like this is the only place in Portland that does hashbrowns?! Everywhere else it's homefries this and homefries that. 

I told the squeeze I wanted to try out as many different brunch spots as possible before our big move. He obliged wholeheartedly. So yesterday we stopped at Caiola's in the West End. It's a cute little place that's longer than it is wide. I ordered the veggie benedict while he got his fill of protein with the steak and eggs. Brunch was yummy! But if we're being totally honest with each other... I still think I prefer Hot Suppa.

On to the next brunch location!

BBQ for Days

The same resort I stayed at in Austin, Travaasa, held an event with food vendors of epic proportions. We also had to wiggle our way into this party, basically slipping in with our non-existent tickets and flashing a smile like we were supposed to be there. There was BBQ everywhere! I mean of course, it's TX, but still! It wasn't limited to just delicious grilled meats that melted off the bone, there was a bakery that had endless amounts of cupcakes and cookies on display, and even vendors that were offering up their rums, vodkas, and collection of beers. Grapefruit infused vodka was a big hit there, apparently it's popular down south? No complaints from this girl, I eat half a grapefruit every night.

The scenery was completely fitting. There was a live band that played banjos while wearing cowboy boots, and scattered from the trees were mason jars with lights inside. The picnic tables sat underneath a large white tent to shield us from the sun, but it was just the perfect amount of heat for a summer day.

One of the vendors was the owner and crew of The Salt Lick, a very popular BBQ haven. I say very popular but that's probably an understatement, they have 2,300 reviews on Yelp alone. After sampling their BBQ at the party, my friend Katrina took me to the actual restaurant for my last dinner in TX. It was, of course, on point.

I told the squeeze we'd go there together.