Gift-Giving, and Maine for the Win: Spilled Milk #150
Today's gifts include a preview of "Holiday Party With Andrew and Zoë" and a guide to why winter is the perfect time to visit Maine.
That’s right, it’s a big gift for you!
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So load up on the perfect knife for yourself that you always wanted, or gifts for friends and family. This only happens once a year, and huge love for our sponsors at Shun for making this possible for you.
Make sure you grab a look at the Holiday Party With Andrew and Zoë on Magnolia and streaming on MAX. Here are the recipes for everything in the show, from falafel to latkes, from brisket to Yule logs.
The gifts keep coming! I promised some more travel guides — and Chicago and Paris will drop this week — but here is something from my heart to tide you over.
I love Maine. My parents lived in Portland during the last 12-plus years of their lives, and my family would spend weeks there in the summer when the state famously BALLOONS to a zillion visitors (Maine isn’t nicknamed “Vacationland” for nothing), and everywhere you go are out-of-towners looking for the best lobster rolls or the perfect sailing vessel, the ideal rental cabin or a pristine lake to dive into.
That’s all fine and dandy, but I went to see my folks almost monthly during the winters and I LOVED it.
Restaurants, inns, hotels, stores and streets are less crowded, the locals aren’t in hiding (I love the people) and as someone who lives in a cold-weather state, I can say emphatically that if you embrace winter, it’s not only wildly enjoyable but it’s good for you. Here are my recommendations for Maine in the wintertime:
Go skiing. I have skied all over Maine. Love it. Is it cold? Sure. Is the season long and is the spring skiing superb? Yup. Here is the deal. Sugarloaf, Sunday River and Saddleback are all drivable from Maine’s bigger towns, and I would ski all of them basing out of my parents place in Porltand. It would dump on a Tuesday evening and I would just get up early and drive out, rent skis/boots on site and be on the lift on a January or February morning by 9 a.m. And I often would have the whole mountain(s) to myself on weekdays. Can’t beat it. Here is a one-stop shop for all your ski info.
Restaurants. GO. Full stop. reservations are easier to nab at Fore Street, bakeries aren’t as mobbed in the winter and Eventide’s oysters and clams are tastier in the cold-weather months. I loved sitting at the counter at the old Porthole with my dad eating a bowl of chowder, but nine or 10 years ago when Pai Men Miyake opened, I realized Maine was a noodle-soup-lovers’ paradise — I mean, it’s chilly there in winter, and tucking into a bowl of ramen made complete sense to me. Recently several new additions have made Portland a ramen-lovers’ paradise in particular, so go check out Afuri, the Honey Paw, Pai Men (duh), Kinboshi or Boxer. And believe it or not that’s just a few of Portland’s places I know of!
Winter Shopping. Not a plug for a store per se, but in Kittery and Freeport there is some of the best shopping for anyone looking for a discount, from luxury goods to L.L. Bean. In Portland I would loop down Commercial Street and wind my way through the old port from record shops pushing quality old vinyl to little boutiques offering some of the best clothes, handcrafts, art and more. It’s easy to navigate, you get your steps in and every other storefront is a bakery, snack bar, restaurant or coffeeshop. Gotta stay fueled to shop.
Photo by Flickr user Corey Templeton. The Arts. They are year-round. From the museums to the art galleries, from the theaters to the open-door policies of many crafters and makers in their studios, winter is the best time to enjoy the art scene in Maine. Rockland’s Farnsworth Art Museum is a great example, or check out Portland Stage, which always has a show in production. Start Googling and make your plans — you won’t be fighting the crowds.
Going For It All. Go ice sailing, also called ice boating. Speeds of 60 mph are possible, and Maine’s lakes make for some exceptional opportunities. If you have a pulse, this is something you will never regret, a winter sport without peer. Check out www.code-zero.com for general info and to get ahold of the folks at the oldest ice sailing club in Maine. Their home turf is Rockport but they will help anyone get into the sport and they have members on the ice on dozens of Maine lakes.
Ice Fishing. I caught the bug in Minnesota, and don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Pickerel, bass, salmon and trout are all on the menu, as it were. Head to Greenville or Portage Lake. Get yourself a guide — the Maine Professional Guides Association lists hundreds of them.
Snowmachining. That’s what we call snowmobiling in Minnesota. Maine is a snowmachiner’s paradise thanks to the state’s 3,500-mile Interconnected Trail System. There are a total of 10,000 miles of trails in the state! And the ITS is one of the best maintained in the world. There is also Madawaska’s International Snowmobilers Festival, where you can rent and get ready to rock at Millinocket’s New England Outdoor Center. Check out the Maine Snowmobile Association's website for all the info you need to get started.
Thank you! Growing up in Alaska it was a "snowmachine". In the U.P. of Michigan I got funny looks calling them that (they say snowmobile).
Caught the holiday party show last night. Looks like you had a blast making that. And definitely a table I’d love to eat at! Everything looked delicious. Also own an old house, so Zoe’s details in Xmas-ing that stunner up make that house so welcoming & cozy.
Curious about the conversation, or what led to that special pic in the kitchen? 😉 cuz if that’s how you cook....we’re going to need to see outtakes that didn’t make the show! 😂
Was planning a trip to Maine next year, I’m a warm weather vacation seeker. But loving the idea now of seeing Maine in the snow. (Maybe I’ve had to much Hallmark channel 🎄😬)