In any beach community in northern NE, you’ll find plenty of French Canadiens. It’s worthwhile invading their territory to visit Montreal and Quebec City as well.
If you do decide to head up towards Brunswick and to to Bailey Island try Morses Curbstone Grill. They catch the lobster right at the dock while you are waiting - so good! Then when you get to the end you can go to Lands End gift shop and buy lots of tacky but fun Maine souvenirs.
My favorite up there is the Dolphin Marina restaurant out in Harpswell. The view is amazing and the food is SO good. You get a fresh, warm blueberry muffin with every entree. We always ask if they have extras and bring few home for the next morning. Last time we were there a helicopter landed on the grass out front and a family came in to eat - I think it is a service from Portland so if you want to splurge you could look into that!
My husband and I just took a trip to Portland for my birthday. What a fun little city. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and it was actually really nice…had a craft beer and eatery attached and a great view of the harbor. Duckfat Restaurant was behind the hotel. My daughter recommended it for dinner but their was a long wait and the seating wasn’t ideal…we took a stroll down Fore Street and happened upon a restaurant that looked interesting. It was mentioned here several times…The Fore St restaurant. It was fabulous in both atmosphere and food.
We would highly recommend it.
Ya know, this thread’s getting a lot more attention than the recent one about a trip to Chicago. Guess we love us some Maine. <3
I am thrilled with these posts!!
How did I forget my favorite spot? If you make it to Brunswick you must go to Fat Boys if you like really good bad for you food. It is a drive up spot where they come to your window to take your order and serve your food. (there are a few tables inside as well) They have everything from burgers to lobster rolls and everything is super cheap yet still delicious. We go every summer with friends and the favorites seem to be the fish sandwich, the Whopper burger, the lobster roll and the milk shakes. The husbands like to order the fish sandwich or the burger with a lobster roll on the side. 
The only thing to remember is that it is cash only.
On Friday I ate at the East Ender, mention in the burger article I linked above. Great smoked burger, great draft beer. They subbed in some really outstanding roasted brussels sprouts for the fries, at my request. Friend had a swordfish special that she said was excellent.
If you are driving up Route 1 and plan to stop in Ogunquit there is the Lobster Pound and another good lobster roll option when down at the harbor when you come off The Marginal Way, sorry I cannot recall the name. Red’s in Wiscasset has already been mentioned, not sure that it is the “best lobster roll” for sure but always a good stopping point when en route to Boothbay.
Last year we had a day in Portland while in Ogunquit on vacation and had wanted to go to Fore but they open at 4 PM and it was torrential downpour and so without reservations headed back to Ogunquit where we always enjoy the Old Ogunquit Inn for a nice dinner on at least one night.
Unfortunately no Maine trip for me this year. It’s Berkshires time this year!
In Bar Harbor, my wife and I enjoyed Mache Bistro (the hanger steak is outstanding), Cafe This Way and Side Street Cafe.
We stayed at Stone Throw Cottage, which was reasonably priced and ornately and finely appointed (especially the bathrooms…).
Years ago found a good local-type lobster pound in Southwest Harbor on Mt Desert. An off-the-beaten-track thing to do there is take the ferry out to the Cranberry Isles. Little Cranberry, aka Isleboro has an interesting museum, restaurant, kayak rental, et al. I think the ferry leaves from Southwest Harbor.