During a recent road trip to Bar Harbor, Maine, for a family gathering, my traveling companion and I discovered two interesting restaurants along the way.
Docks Seafood Restaurant & Market, 15 Evans Street, South Portland, Maine, (207) 899-4433, www.docksseafood.com: Visited on our way to Bar Harbor, Docks was conveniently located a stone’s throw from I-95 and just a few blocks from our Courtyard Marriot. This super-casual restaurant/market combo features fresh, local & sustainable species of fish & shellfish, Maine craft beers, wine & cocktails, and local snacks & art.
The setting is unpretentiously utilitarian, but the welcome is warm and the regional cuisine carefully & lovingly prepared. And lobster, as you can well imagine, plays a significant role here. The Maine Lobster Dinner is a house favorite, or you can also go for the Lobster Roll, Lobster Nuggets, or the downright decadent Lobster Mac & Cheese.
Finny fare includes items like Grilled Swordfish; Salmon, baked or grilled; Haddock, baked or stuffed; and such sundry other possibilities as Seafood Newburg, Fisherman’s Platter, Seafood Alfredo, and baked or seared Scallops. My traveling companion opted for the Fish & Chips, while I settled on the Haddock Reuben (pictured), an utterly delicious amalgam of fried local haddock, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Thousand Island dressing sandwiched between toasted slices of Mainly Grains marble rye.
Landlubbers, however, may take heart, as the menu also features Hamburger, Pulled Pork Sandwich, and “Value Meals” such as Chicken Tenders, Grilled Hot Dog, and Grilled Cheese.
If you should be traveling north to Maine, Docks Seafood Restaurant & Market would make a very pleasant stopover.
The Fix Burger Bar, 108 Grove Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, (774) 823-3327, www.thefixburgerbar.com: Tucked away in an old warehouse building, the Fix Burger Bar provides a modern setting for custom burgers companioned by craft beers, a slew of innovative cocktails, and a number of spiked milkshakes.
The cocktails here are called Remedies; and they are certainly good for what ails you… The Hibiscus Mojito: Hibiscus-Infused Rum, Hibiscus Simple Syrup, Muddled Mint & Lime and Soda; the Navola: Drumshanbo Sardinian Citrus Gin, Italicus, Limoncello, Lemon Juice, and Simple Syrup; Plum Surprised: Damson 6 O’clock Plum Gin, Lime Juice, Plum Purée, Ginger Beer; and the Peach Piggy Smash: WhistlePig PiggyBack 6yr Rye, Peach Liqueur, Muddled Mint & Peaches, Ginger Ale… Well, you get the idea.
There are a number of interesting ways to start things off here – the Mac & Cheese with parmesan, cheddar & truffle breadcrumbs looks like a good bet… ditto the Spicy & Sweet Snaps, roasted sugar snap peas, spicy sweet soy glaze, crushed cashews, and red pepper flakes. Then there’s always Roasted Garlic Hummus or Potato Chip Nachos with short rib, cheddar, fresh jalapeño, whisky BBQ, corn, onion, and chili sour cream. Our starter of choice, however, was the Fried Pickles. They are crispy crinkle cuts with a dynamite horseradish dipping sauce (pictured). This is a really great starter. Just a hint of dill through the light breading with the sauce adding a nice bit of heat. If you’ve never tried fried pickles, you’re in for a real treat.
With a name like Fix Burger Bar, burgers are, as you have probably surmised, nothing short of spectacular. They are, as the menu notes, “cooked through while remaining tender and juicy.” Without doubt, the best I have tasted anywhere. Possibilities range from the Bigger Mac, obviously a takeoff on McDonald’s (2 ¼ lb. house patties, special sauce, lettuce, American cheese, pickles, onions, sesame bun), through the Mushroom (sautéed mushrooms, grilled onion, arugula, Swiss cheese, truffle mayo, brioche roll), the Bacon Blue (Great Hill blue cheese, bacon, red leaf lettuce, red onion, tomato, creamy Frank’s Red Hot, brioche roll), the Phenomenal (bacon, smoked gouda, fried egg, frizzled onion, sweet chili ranch, brioche roll), culminating with the Gatsby (pictured), the most expensive burger on the menu, (1/2 lb. American Wagyu patty, clothbound cheddar, slab bacon, grilled onion, ancho ketchup, brioche roll).
The menu also offers a number of intriguing alternatives to beef… the Green Acre (veggie patty), the Enzo (grilled chicken), the Spartan (lamb patty), and the Ghostface (roasted garlic turkey patty), as well as Burger Bowls featuring variations on both beef and chicken.
Desserts, which we did not sample, also look good. The two listed on the menu are B5 Chocolate Spring Rolls (white chocolate mousse, ginger strawberry sauce, whipped cream) and Pistachio Cheesecake (orange honey, crème Chantilly, candied pistachio).
Traveling near Worcester, Massachusetts…? The Fix Burger Bar is not to be missed.
Bon Appétit!
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