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Sean Faircloth
Sure, restaurants are about good food, but I love good atmosphere. I like individual character and deep community roots. Most of us recall fondly Bangor restaurants that are no more, like the Green House (I did dinner theater there), Seguino’s, and Perry’s Fried Clams! (I loved those cholesterol bombs dipped in tartar sauce while sitting at the old-style bar with JFK’s picture on the wall.)
This city still boasts great local eateries, eateries that evoke a time when I listened to records—on a record player.
Some truly historic take-out places include the Coffee Pot (dating to 1937!), Frank’s Bakery (1945, seating added in the ‘90s), and, of course, Tri-City Pizza (1962).
If you want to sit down where people have ordered meals since the 1960s, you’ll can go to Nicky’s Cruisin’ Diner. Grant’s Dairy originally offered a dairy bar at that location; then the Brountases owned it (renamed Nicky’s around 1970)—then in 1987, Howard Day bought it. (Yep, Howard’s son is rocker Howie Day of “Collide” fame). And who doesn’t love Cruise Night with those cool old cars?
In 2010, Arlene Geaghan turns 90. She’s still working at Geaghan’s Pub. Geaghan’s opened when that upstart Steven Spielberg changed movies forever with Jaws, in 1975. Employees like Judy Cluff and Stella Clement also know Geaghan’s history because they’ve lived it as stellar waitstaff for the Geaghan brothers.
The Geaghan brothers play prominent roles in long-standing Bangor restaurants. Chris Geaghan has owned the Whig and Courier since 1984 (same downtown location since 1986) with great trivia games Mondays.
Like at Geaghan’s Pub, trains are a feature at Captain Nick’s (1985—an actual train dining car), and Governor’s (1986—kids love little trains choo-chooing around).
Judy’s has held its own on State Street since 1977. Another ‘70s arrival, McLaughlin Seafood (1978) now has tables outside when it’s warm—a good place for those delicious but messy lobsters. Oriental Jade has offered great Asian since 1978 (relocating near the Mall Cinemas in 1989). So does Panda Garden (1988). Pepino’s has moved a couple of times, but started in 1984, bringing us our first taste of Mexican food. Thistles also brought in some new international gourmet cuisine (1989).
A few more restaurants predate the Internet: EPI (1990), Bahaar Pakistani (1991), and Bobo, Tesoro, and the Sea Dog (all 1995). Those of us who remember pre-Internet (before 1996) are but dinosaurs, soon to sink into the primordial ooze, and, in the restaurant business, five years is an accomplishment—a decade-plus is remarkable.
Certainly Bagel Central (2000), A Taste of India (2001—yummy!), and Luna Grill (formerly New Moon), and Paddy Murphy’s are four post-digital-age restaurants that seem like they’ve been around a lot longer. Every restaurateur deserves respect for giving it a go as a business, but I think most fondly of all these local restaurants because they’re part of the Bangor family.
Sean Faircloth loves Bangor and has written about Bangor cemeteries, neighborhoods, and politics. If he’s missed a restaurant you like, he’s eager to know: sfaircloth@gwi.net.
Scott K. Fish
Good portions, cleanliness, prompt service, comfort, atmosphere, ease in getting in/around/out. From fast food, to diners, to fine dining—these are characteristics I look for in restaurants. A restaurant lacking in any one of those areas probably won’t have me as a repeat customer. Which is a shame. With my big heart and poor math skills, I’m a great tipper.
Years ago Dixmont bed-and-breakfast Ben Loch Farm included a public upscale restaurant. The open, welcoming dining area had nice lighting, soft colors, good tunes, and a cordial host and staff. The food was delicious. But for my money there just wasn’t much of it.
In the same way, Burnsies was a famous Augusta sandwich shop where I was one of the daily hordes buying lunch there. The sandwiches weren’t cheap, but there was a lot of excellent sandwich for the money. Over time, sandwich prices went up and sandwich portions went down. When I felt the pricey-but-great fare fell to “rip-off” status, I was gone.
Driving home one night from Newport, my wife Claudia and I saw for the first time Cervesas Southwest Grill. On a whim we decided to have dinner there that night. Excellent! The dining area was tight, but the food portions, staff, and owner were terrific. I asked the owner, who appeared to be acting that night as both chef and bartender, why he chose to open a place offering southwestern food in Maine. He said he had tired of working for other restaurant owners and wanted to open his own place. The greater Bangor/Brewer area, he said, had one Chinese/Asian restaurant for every 1,000 people. So southwestern food it was.
Cervesas has since almost doubled its dining area and parking lot size. And the place is jammed every time we drive by. We drive by Anglers, another recent Newport restaurant, three or more times a week. It’s always packed—with people standing in lines outside waiting for a table. As much as I’d love to go back to Cervesas, as much as I’m curious about the dining room and food at Anglers, I hate waiting.
Getting in/around/out of restaurants might seem odd unless your legs don’t work. Claudia’s multiple sclerosis insists she use a scooter when she would otherwise be on her feet for all but brief periods. We’ve been to restaurants where steps (outdoors and indoors), even raised doorsills, make eating there impractical or impossible.
Expecting all restaurants be fully-accessible to all disabled people is too much. (Expensive modifications for few customers make no sense.) But it would be cheap and sensible for some restaurants to have portable ramps and door signs telling customers the ramps are available. If you’re building or redesigning a restaurant consider this paragraph a friendly FYI.
On balance, from the eggplant sandwiches at the Bangor Folk Festival, to the grilled chicken salad at Applebee’s, to the all-around excellence of Thistle’s, exploring Maine food places is positive and fun.
Scott K Fish is owner/editor of the political web forum www.asmainegoes.com.
