2. Brown Bag
City: Rockland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 596-6372
Address: 606 Main St.
Description: A lunch spot par excellence, the Brown Bag used to be so popular that locals would avoid it in summer. You simply couldn’t get a parking spot, never mind a table in the restaurant’s pretty brick confines. Things seem a little better these days, but it isn’t because the food has gotten worse. The fare is still the same: great, made-from-scratch sandwiches, soups, and specials, fresh comfort food of the finest kind. Roast turkey—cut right off the bird—has always been a particular specialty, and you can get it a number of ways: in sandwiches, in pie, in soups, and in wraps. Seafood is big as well. Everything comes with chips and a pickle. Don’t forget to stop in the bakery on your way out.
5. Rockland Cafe
City: Rockland, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 596-7556
Address: 441 Main St.
Description: This downtown Down East diner has a devoted following—many people eat at the Rockland Cafe several times a week. The family-style menu is filled with seafood options. A lobster roll and fries is a favorite, or you might want to try the homemade fish chowder. From hot pastrami sandwiches to burgers to tuna melts, all the usual suspects can be found here. The specials board is always leaned against the entrance so it can be read from the street. Open year-round daily from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (closes at 8 p.m. in winter).