Maine Diner

The Maine Diner, 

located at 2265 Post Road in Wells, Maine (phone: 207-646-4441) 

had three items highly recommended by Jane and Michael Stern in their book, 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: (1) the no. 2 rated clam chowder; (2) the no. 3 rated lobster roll; and (3) the no. 2 rated lobster pie. We arrived about 2:30 p.m. and I thought it would be a great time when no one would be there. Wrong. It was jammed, people waiting inside and about 10 or 15 people outside. I checked in and got a buzzer and went next door to their Gift Shoppe where about ten more people were shopping while waiting to get a seat. We got seated about 30 minutes later in a quite crowded room. We discovered that Diner, Drive-ins and Dives had visited in 2010 and they had a dish named after the show, apparently the combination of items served on the show. I came in determined to eat clam chowder, but switched when I saw Triple D had eaten the seafood chowder and that their seafood chowder had been named best chowder at the Ogunquit Chowderfest for seven years (I don't have a clue what the Ogunquit Chowderfest is, but I was impressed anyway). I noted that Triple D had also featured a lobster pie. First our waitress brought us out a nice cornbread muffin, 

then the seafood chowder. The chowder was thin, but very buttery, and big chunk after big chunk of scallops (in almost every spoonful), lobster, 

clams and shrimp. 

We had a few chunks of potato, but the chunks were mostly seafood. I tend to like chowder thicker, but the massive amounts of chunky seafood made this a real winner. Then the lobster roll. In my post on lobster rolls, I rated this my favorite of the five I tried. It was simple, just fresh, warm lobster meat, very tender and sweet, on a hot dog-type bun, with drawn butter on the side. 

I poured on the butter and ate. 

It was like eating steamed lobster out of the shell, without having to do the cracking and cleaning. It also came with some potato salad (one of several choices I could have had) which was very good and creamy. Finally, the lobster pie. 

It had chunks of lobster meat and lobster tomalley, butter and Ritz cracker crumbs in a little pie dish. It also came with drawn butter, much of which I added to it. 

It was warm and the lobster was moist, but I felt the Ritz crackers covered up part of the lobster taste. By adding to perfection (fresh, warm, moist lobster and butter) you detract from the perfection. 

For me, the plain lobster and butter on the roll could not be beat. I wish I lived closer. The Maine Diner has a sizeable menu with some very fun and tasty sounding items. Everything we had was fresh and good.