Exploring Biddeford to Portland, Maine (Part 1)

This past weekend, I traveled to the Biddeford/Portland region for a short vacation, and had lots of fun exploring this area. We began our trip on Friday morning, spending several hours in Biddeford, and then driving to Portland, stopping at several sites on route. We spent two nights in Portland, leaving for home early on Sunday morning. 

During this short time, we found a number of interesting restaurants, bakeries, donut shops, wine shops, and more. I'll be highlighting these places in a couple of articles, but please note that there are also plenty of cool spots that I didn't visit while I was in Biddeford/Portland, which hopefully I'll get to see on my next trip there. 

If you're traveling north to Portland, you should take some time and visit Biddeford as well, which is becoming a very cool destination, with a number of interesting restaurants, breweries, wine shops, and more. 

Our first stop in Biddeford on Friday morning was the Palace Diner, located at 18 Franklin St., and it's open every day from 8am-2pm. The diner is within a Pollard train car which was constructed in Lowell, Massachusetts back in 1927, and has been operating as a diner since that time, making it maybe the oldest still-existing restaurant in Maine. The diner has been at a few different locations in Biddeford, but all very close to its current address. 

In 2014, Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell took over ownership of the diner, which only has 15-seats, and they have been receiving accolades ever since. The diner doesn't take any reservations, and only accepts cash. We were fortunate that when we arrived, there were two still spots available, so we didn't have to wait. By the time we left, there was a small line of people waiting for seats. Breakfast and lunch is available all day, and the menu is relatively small, with 7 breakfast plates and 4 lunch sandwiches available. Prices range from $10-$20, averaging about $15.  

The Omelet du Jour ($17) was made with broccoli, feta and cheddar cheese and accompanied by Palace potatoes and your choice of bread. The omelet was well-made, with lots of cheese and broccoli bits. The smashed potatoes were excellent, so crispy with fluffier potato inside, and these are one of the reasons for the fame of the diner. You can find the simple recipe for these Palace potatoes here.

The Lumberjack Breakfast ($20) comes with 5 silver dollar flapjacks, two eggs, Palace potatoes, and a side of meat. I loved the smashed potatoes too, and probably would order an extra-side of them next time. The bacon was also thick, crisp, and tasty. The pancakes are made from a recipe inspired by research through old American cookbooks, and a couple of the ingredients include buttermilk and lemon. The pancakes were nicely fluffy and light, with a hint of lemon flavor. I ordered a side of toast ($2), but that only included a single slice of toast. If you want more than one slice, you need to ask for it. 

The Pepperell Mill Campus includes a series of connected buildings, located in historic old textile mills, which are home to numerous businesses. It's located next to the Saco River, and from the windows of the Campus, you can see the Saco falls and dam. If you look at the Campus directory, you can see many businesses of interest, including Lucky Pigeon Brewing, Banded Brewing, Round Turn Distilling, Rover Bagel, Time & Tide Coffee, and a number of art studios. 

My favorite stop at the Campus was at Rabelais, an amazing food & drink used and rare bookstore. I used to shop at their former Portland location, but this was my first time to their Biddeford location. The new shop is much larger than it used to be and it contains such a large & diverse selection, including some very rare items. Besides books, they have various ephemera, from restaurant menus to advertisements, and much more. I could easily spend hours there, perusing through all the shelves & boxes. Their service is exceptional as well, and they will help you find books on any subject you desire, even showing you boxes of items which haven't yet been shelved. Highly recommended!

We stopped for coffee and iced tea at Elements: Books, Coffee, Beer, located at 265 Main St. Quite a combination here, a bookstore that offers both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Their coffee is locally roasted, and they have a number of local craft beers on their menu. They also sell hard cider, hard seltzers and wine. In addition, you can find bagels, pastries, cheese boards, and other snacks. A cool place for a rest while you're walking around Biddeford. 

The Awesome Hobby Shop, located at 311 Main St., is a fun comic book and game shop, just a short walk from Elements. Get some of the newest items, or just more collector's items. 

A few of the spots we didn't get the chance to visit, but are on my short list for a future visit include:

--Jack Rabbit, 14 Main St., A Scandinavian inspired bakery.  
--Lorne Wine, 61 Main St., A bar & wineshop

--Nibblesford Cheese Shop, 5 Washington St., A cheese shop.

Finally, on the return home, we stopped at Valerie's Scratch Kitchen, at 45 Boulder Way, Biddeford for breakfast. This is a much larger breakfast spot, with quite an extensive menu, and was nearly full when we arrived on Sunday morning. Breakfast sandwiches, Benedict dishes, Crepes, Pancakes, Waffles, Omelets, French Toast, and more. Most dishes cost under $10, making this a very reasonably priced breakfast spot.  

We began with the Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Bites ($7.99), which were far larger than the usual donut bites. Probably more like five-bite donuts, with a crispy exterior and a softer interior. 

The Bellybuster ($14.99--and the most expensive dish on the menu) includes two eggs, two bacon slices, two sausage links, a ham steak, two pancakes (or French toast), toast and home fries. It would certainly fill anyone's appetite, and was a tasty breakfast. 

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After leaving Biddeford on Friday afternoon, we drove north on Route 1 toward Portland, making several stops on route, whenever we saw a place of interest. I'll note that some places were seasonally closed, like ice cream shops, so there would have been even more places to visit during the spring and summer. 

We checked out the Southern Maine Indoor Flea Market, located at 578 US Route 1, Scarborough, which is quite large, with numerous vendors selling a wide selection of items, from records to clothes, toys to tools, and so much more. If you're a collector of any sort, this market will appeal to you. As the vendors generally aren't present, there's no haggling over price. Some vendors though were running sales, offering discounts on all of the items at their stall. 

We also stopped at one of the locations of Holy Donut, at 398 US Route 1, Scarborough, which produces donuts made from riced potatoes. I've enjoyed their donuts before, impressed by their texture and taste. When I saw it up ahead on the road, I knew I had to stop there for a donut. There are two locations in Portland too, so you can get your donut fix there as well. 

As it was later in the afternoon, their donut selection was smaller than it would be in the morning, but there were still plenty of good choices.

Their Donut prices.

The Toasted Coconut Donut is topped with a coconut glaze and toasted coconut. It was fresh, with a soft exterior and a bit denser and moist interior. A delicious coconut flavor, with the added crunch of the toasted coconut made this an excellent choice. 

The Holy Cannoli Ginger Glazed is topped by sweet cannoli cream, which is added after you order the donut. The donut has a ginger spiced glaze, and its texture is similar to their other donuts. Another very good choice.

The Cheese Iron, located at 200 US Route 1, Scarborough, is a cheese, wine, charcuterie, candy and speciality food shop. Lots of appealing choices here, and there's a very wide range of different cheeses available. They even sell fresh salads and sandwiches. The wine selection has some cool choices and there's lots of other intriguing foods that will entice your palate. I ended up buying a bottle of wine, an Orange Picpoul from Paso Robles, some cheeses (including a goat blue cheese), and some salted caramels. Definitely a worthy spot you should check out. 

Our final stop, before entering downtown Portland, was at Maine Vintage Toys, located at 650 Main Street (on Route 1), South Portland. It sells a variety of older toys, from action figures to Legos, Pokemon to sport cards. One of the cool items are the Lego custom mini-figures, which depict characters from television series, movies, books, and more. You'll find Sesame Street characters as well as famous wrestlers, horror creatures to Disney characters. 

To Be Continued...