Cutler Coast, Maine
Our most photographically prolific VFYT eater, the invaluable James from New England, sends this from a weekend trip to the Maine coast. He says:
Hiking the trail today, I was able to pick enough wild mushrooms and blueberries for lunch—here is some of it.
I have always been curious about New England, but never for culinary reasons. I’m not kidding when I say that James’s VFYT shots have made me want to visit New England to eat.
Joshua says: Fresh scallops from the Gulf of Maine / Bay of Fundy will change your understanding of what seafood can be.
Liam says: Just so you know, Portland ME has a wonderful restaurant/food community. To my mind (and I know I am not alone), it’s the heart of the New England food scene in a way that Boston – while much bigger and more diverse – is not. Think Charleston vs Atlanta.
Michael Dougherty says: I was in Portland recently. I was shocked by the amount and quality of the food there. Dying to return.
Chris Jones says: Liam,
Portland ME has a wonderful restaurant/food community
Amen.
I don’t get up to Portland very often, but when I do I know I’m always going to get a great meal. Several years ago I did a several-month-long consulting gig up in Portland and had ample opportunity to sample the restaurants there. Fore Street and Street & Co (owned, if I recall correctly, by the same folks) are particular favourites of mine.
James C. says: The other commenters aren’t kidding about Portland. I was just in Portland today, on my way back down to Massachusetts. Went to a place called Duckfat. The fries were fried in—yes—duck fat. Mmmmm.
Yes, the seafood in this area is pretty close to peerless IMHO. Ditto on the scallops. And lobster is going cheap in Maine right now—had a great lobster roll a couple of days ago, and it set me back 7 bucks! Whole lobsters are often cheaper by the pound than cod and even haddock!
And blueberries. Wild Maine blueberries have an immense hold on me. Doesn’t matter how I eat them—in pies, beer, ice cream, pancakes or all by themselves—I can’t get enough. I was lucky to catch some on the trail—the season for them is late July to late August.
JonF says: Er, isn’t the table missing?
Rod Dreher says: His hand is his table!
James C. says: Haha, I couldn’t fit the entire meal on my table, so I had to settle for a portion of it.
BTW, I took the photo on Cutler Coast, a vast tract of state-owned coastal wilderness in northern Maine. I had always wanted to see this place. Ever wonder what Acadia National Park would look like without the roads and summer crowds? Besides the isolated ANP island called Isle au Haut, Cutler Coast is it. I couldn’t recommend it more for any reasonably fit person planning on a trip to Maine.
Oengus says: Be careful with those mushrooms.
JonF says: Well, gee, if I knew that a table was not necessary I could have grabbed a pineapple and posed with it at Kilauea Crater today. That would have trumped James’ Maine coast scenery I would think 
I have always been curious about New England, but never for culinary reasons.
That’s what I always thought, before I moved here. Now I think differently (and eat differently).
Start with lobster. Nothing could be simpler than boiled lobster and a bit of drawn butter. But there is no doubt that it tastes better in New England no matter how fast you air-ship the lobster to someplace else. (And it tastes better in Maine than in the rest of New England, and best of all sitting on a picnic table overlooking the lighthouse and the Atlantic at Two Lights Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, with a bottle of Cambria Central Coast Chardonnay).
Then there are steamers — simple steamed clams, but irreplaceably delicious. Grilled haddock. Mussels in white wine and garlic broth and garlic bread. Blueberry pie with Maine blueberries.
I’m sure every regional cuisine is at its best with fresh, local ingredients, simply prepared to let the flavors speak for themselves. But that formula works very, very well here in New England.
Look me up when you’re coming up here and I’ll guide you to some unforgettable eating.