A Maine food tour by bike: Blueberry and lobster … pies

I bet someone has found a way to combine the two, but for me, it was blueberry pie for breakfast and lobster pie for dinner.

Not together!

Though I bet someone in Maine has come up with a way to combine them.

Pie is an important part of bike riding, as you can see here and here.

I finally did get my own slice at Helen’s Restaurant in Machias — that was called breakfast. Like the one I had drooled over on Sunday afternoon, it was a thick helping of blueberries that spilled onto the plate. None of that gumminess in cheap grocery-store pies.

On the other hand, that slice cost a touch more than Clive’s proper breakfast of corned beef hash and two eggs. Worth it!

my blueberry pieThe day ended with lobster in Ellsworth. Instead of lobster roll, I went for lobster pie. So rich! Lots of lobster chunks drenched in a cream sauce, with a layer of fine bread crumbs as the “crust”. It plus the sides left no room for dessert. Not that the ice cream shop stayed open until 9 p.m.!

lobster pie

Some of the others went for a full lobster, and Chris, who calls himself a newcomer to Maine since he’s only been living here at least part-time since 1976, gave the tutorial in how to twist and crack it open.

lobster lesson cropped

A happy rider:

don eating lobster

And if you didn’t want that, there was lobster stew, lobster dip…

The Union River Lobster Pot is one of those seasonal restaurants that fills up early. So we had a bit of a wait. But here, the “bar” is chairs on the lawn, with a view of the river. And yes, you can get beer.

ellsworth river view

How much lobster will I eat this week?

The lobster taste test begins.

I’ve decided that one of my focuses this week should be to seek out as much lobster as I can.

So I started in Portland with a 7-inch lobster roll for $10 at a non-descript deli:

lobster roll

I’m going to need to try a few more to discover what makes one truly great.

And if I can’t find lobster? The bus driver warned me it’s harder to find in northern Maine. It’s blueberry season, and those are plentiful in northern Maine.