September to Maine - Day 4

We slept in.  The only thing we had to do today was get home - and even that was open to discussion if we found someplace nice to stay at along the way.  There was no set time when you had to be seated for breakfast.  No community dining.  Do what you want, when you want.  So - we slept in.
But as usual, hungry mouths must be fed and we were lulled into action by the smells of breakfast below.   J2 declared the coffee good - which was a resounding accolade.  The coffee service is set up in the main hall and is self-serve:

My early morning requirements are more to the simple - give me boiling water for my puerh tea and I stumble along happily until awake.  So there we were again, inspecting the menu.  This menu is a study in class.  The suppliers of the food and decoration and utensils are each acknowledged:

..from the supplier of the eggs and coffee to the family making the pottery!  And then on to the actual menu items (which are all apparently available for your pleasure should you wish to eat them all)....

But the standard Maine starter is...

 

With a "bread course" consisting of  a banana-oat muffin drizzled with local honey ... the color of the honey, as you can see .... is wonderfully golden (my fingerprints included just as proof that I was there!)...

J2 decided to be healthy with granola and home-made yogurt....while I decided to be my usual self and go for the pancakes, bacon and two eggs  - which the young lady waiting on us unhesitatingly added to the list.

Together with local maple syrup of course.  And on the topic of which I must add that although Vermont Maple is well known due to the fact that it is well marketed and advertised, my preference by far is for New Hampshire syrup which I believe to have more character.  Maine's (or i should say Blue Hill's) syrup is at least as good as New Hampshire.  J2 will now say that i have prosletyzed forthwith and thus I will cease.
The breakfast was generous and excellent.  We decided that we would make the effort to come back to Blue Hill again.
After breakfast, we go outside to take pictures of the surrounding area and there is a school across the road...

This particular academy is especially noteworthy to me because of the inuksuk which dominates the front lawn of the institution. Having relatives in Nova Scotia, I had been introduced to this particular symbol while I was quite young - and the way I remember it is that that this symbol means "There is something nearby here for you".  Although the wikipedia reference emphasizes it being almost a signpost,  however my own personal interpretation is that it is a symbol of sharing, and generally it is meant to help other travellers find clothing or food that was left for them by others who had passed this particular way.  What an excellent symbol to have on the grounds of a school!

"This way to learning....."

We soon said goodbye to Blue Hill and were on our way back to Portland.  Taking the highway, we were soon in Portland and Down-east was to be a fond memory.  Not much was open in Portland and we arrived late afternoon.  We decided to forgo our usual spots in favor of a Japanese noodle shop called Pai Men Miyake.  Miyake is the name of the owner - apparently an American of Japanese descent, and making a name for himself in a town already well known for outstanding Japanese food.  It was not easy making this decision because we already had a long-time favorite who made Portland a destination city for us.  But as foodies, we had a cause to follow.  The restaurant is on a street corner, with floor to ceiling windows ... making it airy and comfortable.

The staff are mostly friendly - and the ambiance is that of a standard Japanese noodle shop - the quiet slurping of noodles.  We ordered a miso-dressing lased salad.  It was miso laden.  But we delved into it for the sake of gourmand-ism!

half a salad with miso dressing.

 J2 ordered the tea soba and I ordered the standard ramen.  A listing of home-made tamarind juice caught our attention and we had to have one of those.Although the tamarind juice was good, I am adapted to the sweeter drink found all over Asia.  The noodles however, were perfect!

Green tea buckwheat noodles (soba)

Exceptionally good ramen (salty)

Sated, we decided to go for a walk around one of our very most favorite towns.  The fall is a good time to visit - the crowds of tourists have mostly disappeared, replaced by nature lovers (we call them "leaf peepers" here in New England).  Portland had the feeling of a city just waking up on a lazy Sunday morning.  We walked the length of Portland and talked about dinner.  The seafood market was closed, so J2's wonderful singapore lobster dish was out.  What to do? We were definitely not ready for another fancy dinner.  We decided to try out Miyake's other (and more famous) restaurant.  We walked back the length of Portland to dismay.  Miyake had moved to another location.  The signs of a good restaurant remained behind - sacks of good Japanese rice on the floor.  J2 called the new location and a very pleasant man gave her directions to the new place.  It was 5:30 and still early for dinner.  We went there to check out the place - more to appease our guilt of not going to more familiar places.  Once we were inside, welcomed warmly by the host, we were hooked.  There were a half-dozen chefs behind the sushi bar with Miyake himself at the helm.

The ceiling of the room was a beautiful lattice work - and the ambiance was Tokyo class!  We immediately felt at ease.  The list of menu items however put us back in real-world.  There were many items which we had never heard of before.  We decided to play it safe and order the sea urchin.  My camera didn't make it on time:

The next and final dish was the "omakase sashimi" - sashimi as selected by the chef.  We were hardly prepared for the presentation:

As we waited for this dish to be prepared, we were engaged in conversation with one of the other chefs - about different foods and experiences - something that does not normally happen in a sushi restaurant unless and until you are old and regular customers.  We shared shopping information.  We ate.  We talked.  We were in restaurant heaven where it became a spiritual experience rather than just another bite to eat.  We will return - without the guilt - and soon!

And thus ended our vacation.  The trip home fast and uneventful due to the pleasures we had experienced.  An the bright welcome of J2's hanging flower pot int the doorway of Shangri-La.

fin