What a beautiful and delightful way to spend three hours! Our food tour encompassed not bites, but big samplings of different meals. Of course, sometimes I remembered to take pics, other times, we all just dug in and chowed down. AJ, our tour guide, was fun and, as is the case in most tours, so knowledgeable about the history of the area and the foodie history. She did a great job. Another side benefit is meeting new and fun people... Folks on our tour were from Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Maine and Washington (that would be us!).
We tried the official pop of Maine (yes, there is a thing), Moxie. At first tasted a bit like Root Beer, then had a licorice after taste. Odd, but in a small amount, was 'okay'. Accompanying the drink were savory type pastries... unique but good (mine had scallions in it). On we went and AJ was sitting on the steps of the old Customs Building. We were treated to an unexpected tour of the first floor from an employee who was entering the building... first time that has happened for the food tour groups. Building history was so interesting... every ship checked in there. Original wood structure burnt to the ground 1860's, new one rebuilt. There is even a brig under the street we were on connected to the building. It's now used for Cold Storage. The inside has been kept pristine and the GSA is now in control of the facility.
So back to the FOOD! Gilberts Chowder House... superb; next course, oysters being shucked by AJ while we were near one of the wharfs (and I even broke down and had one... it just had fresh lemon juice on it, that was it! They are much smaller than what I see in Washington and it wasn't so bad); we walked on to try some beers and a lobster roll. Time to catch our breath, so we took a longer walk, cuz next was gonna be a Fish Taco, with, yes, more beer! Some siracha sauce really topped off the Taco. The beers were quite good. Jerry had a Pumpkin Ale which I even liked! I had more of a plain ale... I know, boring! By now, we're getting full due to the large size of the samples!
Time for another walk, this time for some sweets to end our journey. We had a Needham candy... made with mashed potatoes and coconut cream chocolate, covered with dark chocolate! It was a perfect way to top off the meal! We bid adieu, learned of even more restaurants we want to visit on our own, then meandered back to the hotel. But wait, not quite back to our digs, when we found fresh, locally made gelato! Another stop, another indulgence. Glad our 'steps' showed we had at least walked almost 4 miles to wear all that food off!
EPILOGUE
So, thought we had our fill of food, but alas, about 8PM, we were hungry for a snack. Got ourselves put together and left for a walk-a-bout to find some food... which in this town, is not difficult! Now, sometimes getting a seat is, but there's lots of places to eat! Anyway, we get to the lobby of the hotel and find AJ, our guide on the Food Tour and a couple of the folks that were on the tour! They had run into each other an hour earlier and were coming to our place for dessert! We were invited to join them so we did! Zert and some champagne! What a great day!
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| Where the Captains signed in! |
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| Look at that clock! |
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| Original Door and know... that's Medusa symbol under the knob |
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| Stopped by the Fish Market |
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| Tuna Steaks |
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| Yummy Gelato |
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| Our Surprise meet up with AJ and tour folks |
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