Portsmouth NH and East Harbor Maine?

[mbf]

Hi,

My family is headed off to Porstmouth NH for a few days next week and then onto East Harbor Maine for a week. Has anyone been there recenlty and can you suggest any good health food markets or maybe even a raw restaurant or juice bar?

Thansks!

Mara

[Lay-Lay]

Hi,

My family is headed off to Porstmouth NH for a few days next week and then onto East Harbor Maine for a week. Has anyone been there recenlty and can you suggest any good health food markets or maybe even a raw restaurant or juice bar?

Thansks!

Mara


I believe sport posted a great thread earlier today where you could look up different areas and find all the raw/vegan/vegetarian stores, bars, and restarunts. I know the thread was about good places in Texas.

[cnoellea]

Hey mbf,
The only place I know of is a juice bar in Portsmouththat does fresh juices and smoothies with things like MegaGreen and wheat grass, maybe algae. I haven't been there since becoming raw, but I remember it being delicious juice. If you're on main st you need to go to the bottom of it towards the water, then walk left in a diagonal direction and you'll see another line of shops in that direction. Once you're headed that way there are a few sides streets to your left. On one of those streets across from the parking garage is the juice bar.

I'm sorry if these directions are crap and if you get lost. Not many people really even know the place exists, but when you find it you're hooked. I haven't been there in a few years and time is fading my memory of how good it was.

Also, in Portsmouth, if you go back up Main St where the shops look like they're fading out and there is a fish shop on the left, if you keep going a bit past that there is a nice natural food store on the right that has some interesting foods. Probably a good place for dates and nuts at least.

[mbf]

Thank you! Those are great directions and it will give me something to look for!

Lay lay you are probably referring to HappyCow.com which is a usefull site but they do not update it. I have gone on many a wild goose chase looking for places posted on their site so if you use it call ahead! I have also gone looking for places posted and found some wonderfull places that have not made it to their site...I find our raw friends here are a great resource!

Thanks again!

Mara

[rawjojo]

Hi!

I was in portsmouth in March / April and they have a great health food store with organic produce and great smoothies and juices. I believe the name of it was Portsmouth Health Store or something simple like that. It's right in the towns area! I will try to find a link for you!
Jodi

[goodbeets]

Dear MBF,
I live near Blue Hill, ME. Where is East Harbor? I don't know Portsmouth too well but I do know they have some veg. restaurants and a health food store. Portland (1 hr. North) has 2 health food stores sharing a parking lot, one store being Wholefoods, so it's a great place to stock up!! North of there there are some health food stores and lots of farm stands but if you find a raw food restaurant or juice bar I will pay you $10 for finding it!! I live raw... and simply! I hope you have a great visit. I was born and raised in Portland and lived in Bar Harbor for a few years if you need some good travel tips.

[mbf]

Thanks Jodi and Goodbeets!

We are going to a resort in East Harbor that is 18 miles from Bar Harbor so any info on that area would be great!

Jodi, let me know if you find the link, I did find a few listed at happycow.com so at least we know we can get some produce and our daily juices while staying in Portsmouth, hope we get that lucky in Maine !

Thanks again!

Mara

[goodbeets]

I think you mean NorthEAst HArbor. I lived in Mount Desert Island (the island BAr Harbor is on) for 5 years and never heard anyone refer to a East Harbor. I'll have to look at my map!! For raw your best bet will be farmrs markets/farm stands. There is a health food store in Bar HArbor called The Alternative MArket. There is a great farm stand called Beech Hill far,, it is in a gorgeous location and is run by a small college on the island (I know this because it's wehere I went to school). There's even a biodynamic farm/farmstand about 5 miles north of Ellsworth on Route 1. There are no raw restaurants but there are some delicious places who's food is so good that you can piece together appetizers/salads etc. Our favorites are Havana and The burning Tree. They are pricey but, since we get out like once a year(!!!!) that's where we go. Mount Deser Island is a beautiful place. We are a 1 hour drive and we go over at least once a month to play. It get's pretty darn touristy but you can get away from that. Hey, also, there are a few companies making fresh (raw) salsas. I often get some with an avacado and call that a meal. Sorry if this is a long post but "raw" and "MAine" are rarely synonomus so it's fun to share some good raw info!! HAve a great time and if there's anything you need to know let me know as I know the region extremely well.

[mbf]

Thanks Goodbeets! We are in Southwest Harbor...my bad :o ! we love it and are on day 5 of our vacation.

i'll start with our drive to Portsmouth from NY we stopped in Hartford, Conn at an amazing RAW cafe' called Allechemy a MUST if you are traveling rt84 through Conn. the food was wonderful,I think the website is www.allechemyjuicebar.com

Portsmouth was a great great place to stop,we stayed there 2 nights and it's only 5 minutes to Kittery.I e-mailed Alissa but she was out of town. In Portsmouth you have a nice selection of restaurants that were more then willing to accomdate our food needs, also have a place called The Juicery but beware,they use a lot of processed juices!! You can get wheatgrass shots and grren drinks but again watch everything they put in it! Best bet in Portsmout is the Natural foods store,it has a better juice bar and nice selection of organic produce as well as Young Thai coconuts!

On our way to South West Harbor we stopped in Portkand at both the Wild Oats and Whole Grocer, both Great! We really stocked up at Wild Oats!! We bought a weeks worth of frozen organic fruit and are having great smoothies here in our condo! Had we known about the place in Ellsworth called John Edwards we would have waited on the frozen stuff but Wild Oats prices and selection was better anyway...also Wild Oats had a great juice bar where we got smoothies and they too offer wheatgrass shots!

Now in SouthWest Harbor there is a small general store I think called sullivans?? it's the only general store in downtown, they have a HUGE selection of organic produce and natural foods!! it was such a great surprise!

We hit Bar Harbor last night, the Eden Vegetarian cafe was a huge dissapointment, we did not eat there but the Alternative Market is fantastic! The restaurants in Bar Harbor were also great about creating nice salads without dressings etc..but I am still bringing almond butter and bananas with me everywhere we go.

Gotta go..sand beach is waiting!

Mara

[goodbeets]

Be careful at Sullivan's, Martha Stewart shops there in the summer. Think she'd go raw??!! It is funny to think your just an hour away. Ask me about any restaurants and I'll be happy to give you a review. Sorry, I forgot to mention Johnathan Edwards, I live in Blue Hill and we have a great, though small, co-op, also, most of the regular grocery stores carry organic produce and have "natural" foods sections (makes me wonder why everyone is eating "unnatural"foods). Well, have a great time at Sand Beach. Please let me now if you need any info. Have fun!!

[mbf]

Thanks again goodbeets! We are basically eating in at night and breakfast, trying to make lunch our only restaurant meal. There is a downtown Southwest harbor cafe we are going to try today after the morning at sand beach! I love Acadia! At Sandbeach the other evening a young seal came right up on the beach!! We were only 2 feet away from it!! It was an experience we will all remember forever!

Only 2 days left :( I could easily spend another week here!

Mara

[IamLoved]

Welcome to Maine!

We live just outside of Augusta, the state capitol.

If you make it out to Waterville there is a great health food store called Uncle Dean's.

Thanks for the info on the cafe on 84. Gosh we have driven that route so many times and I never knew it was there!

I hope you enjoy your stay here. Maine is a beautiful place!

[IamLoved]

Hi again!

The website you provided for the cafe didn't work. Do you have a number for them or any other contact info?
Thanks!

[goodbeets]

There's a restaurant called "Eat-A-Pita" right there in SW Harbor, across from the school and the community center. The people who own it are really nice. They have great salads and usually all their stuff is really fresh and local. I have been to Sand Beach so many times and we have never seen a seal!! How exciting! There's a group ( I think they're still doing it) that does a sunrise Tai Chi thang in Albert Meadow which is in Bar HArbor. It is a big open field on the water, on the Shore Path. I hope this isn't too many reccomondations but we really go there a lot!! HAve a great time! Sounds like you are.

[mbf]

Thanks Goodbeets and MM5!
I believe I spelled Alchemy wrong so try it with 1 L, they can be founf at HappyCow.com that is how I located them in the first place the phone# is 860-246-5700. We can't wait to stop there on the way home!

Oh and we are going to try eat-a-pita for a late dinner this evening I think! and the name of the market in SW Harbor is Sawyers....Martha Stewart HUH?? your frightening me!
I asked a lifeguard about the seal today, we spent another day at sand beach, my 2 younger kids just love it and my older son and husband went hiking most of the day, anyway LG said they do come up in the evening occasionaly and young ones get lost from the herd sometimes but it sounds like this one was young and may have been sick or injured :( since it lets us get so close.

Thanks again!

Mara