A Sommelier’s Maine Trip to Portland and Kennebunk

A sommelier walking into Maine with a shellfish allergy sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but honestly, it gave the whole trip a weird little plot.

Add a husband who wants birthday-level gyms, a tiny blue index card full of restaurant names, an airport hotel with a midnight check-in warning, and one fine-dining dinner worth eight hours in a car, and suddenly a few days in Maine had a whole personality. I wish we had time for a nice long, lazy Maine vacation…but we had a few days.

A few days means every stop starts to matter more than it should, and every meal has pressure. Every wrong turn feels expensive, and even the hotel policy becomes part of the story. You tell yourself the trip will be relaxed, then you write down seven restaurants, two gyms, a wine shop, a massage, and a destination dinner in Kennebunk like you’re training for some kind of culinary decathlon.

That was us. Well…that was me, I wanted to plan a whole little blast for Zak.

We drove from Philly to Maine for Zak’s birthday, with Portland as our base and White Barn Inn as the big glowing centerpiece of the trip.

The Little Maine Plan

The plan looked very cute on paper, which is usually how travel plans trick you.

There was Portland, then there was Kennebunk. There were restaurants and wine shops and gyms and maybe a swim if the hotel pool had its life together. There was the fantasy version of the trip where everything flowed easily and we became calm coastal people for 72 hours. The real version involved traffic, hotel check-in stress, skipped dinner plans, and me trying to make a Maine restaurant itinerary work around a shellfish allergy.

Still, the bones of the trip were good.

Driving from Philly to Maine makes you aware of every state between your house and your dinner reservation. Luckily, I happen to really enjoy spending time with Zak, and he made me laugh the entire car ride.

Our first real stop was Montanari Bros. Powerhouse Gym in New Haven, which was absolutely worth building into the drive. This is Zak’s kind of sightseeing and what he wants for his birthday. Some people want lighthouses or antique stores…Zak wants a gym with serious equipment and people who look like they understand pain tolerance.

Zakary Edington outside of Powerhouse Gym in New Haven, CT

Honestly, I loved it, anything to make him smile.

Montanari Bros. had that old-school, real-gym feeling. No sad hotel treadmill or dumbbell rack pretending to be a fitness center. Just equipment, effort, and the sort of atmosphere that makes you want to stop complaining and do the set. Zak loved the equipment so much he was sending photos to Rusty Jeffers (IFBB Pro and friend of his) to talk about each machine and what it works. We did legs which actually felt surprisingly good after sitting on our butts in the car for so long. The people here clearly know what they’re doing because good physiques were everywhere.

We were supposed to eat in Connecticut after, that was the civilized plan. Then the hotel told us if we didn’t arrive before midnight, they couldn’t save our room…so dinner became a race.

The Midnight Hotel Sprint

We stayed at the Embassy Suites by the Portland airport, and for this kind of trip, it worked. There are no Four Seasons in Maine (yes, trust me, I checked), so this one had to do.

The room was nice, we had a suite with a little kitchen area! The hotel must have just done some renovations and it showed (in a good way). It was close enough to where we needed to be, and since we were barely planning to be in the room anyway, I cared more about space, sleep, and not having a check-in disaster after eight hours in the car.

I’ll tell you though, there’s nothing elegant about panic-driving toward an airport Embassy Suites while your dinner plans dissolve somewhere behind you on I-95, but we made it.

Once we checked in, we still needed food. Unfortunately, it was around 11pm and all the places I wanted to go to were closed, so I looked around at the late night spots. That first night, we ate at Lazzari. At that point, I really didn’t need a restaurant to reveal the meaning of life, I needed pasta, a seat, and the feeling that I had officially exited the car.

Lazzari was decent enough for a late-night spot, and the pasta was good, which was enough for that exact moment. We got a pizza that was devoured in about 4 minutes flat and I honestly can’t even tell you if it was good (it was though) because of how quickly we ate it. Their wings were okay, and the salad did the thing salads are supposed to do (be there, be cold, crunch when you eat it). The meatballs were excellent and the pasta tasted homemade and really really good. There’s not a wrong way to cook pasta in cheese sauce, and boy did it hit the spot.

Zakary Edington enjoying an Old Fashioned at Lazzari’s in Maine

Was it the meal I would build the trip around? No. Was I happy to have it in front of me that night? Absolutely.

Jacked and Jilled

The next morning started at Jacked and Jilled in South Portland. What an awesome name, by the way, 10/10.

This was a great stop. They were in the middle of getting some new equipment in, so a few things were moved around in odd spots while they waited for the truck, but I enjoyed the energy of it even more because of it. The manager took the time to show us around and everyone was super friendly here. Zak ended up meeting someone named Liam who told us to catch up with him at the restaurant he works at later that night (we did!).

Jacked and Jilled was truly a great gym for bodybuilders in the area. It had personality, good equipment, and that local training facility energy where people are actually there to work.

Zak was happy immediately, because all he really wants at the end of the day is to have good workouts.

Everyone has their own version of vacation joy, and his includes gyms that look like they can humble you. Mine includes wine shops and restaurants where the menu makes me start emotionally committing to vegetables. Together, we make an itinerary that looks slightly unhinged but somehow works.

After the gym, we tried to swim at the hotel. In my head, this was going to be the soft reset. Workout, pool, maybe a hot tub, shoulders dropping, vacation mode clicking on.

The pool was very much a hotel pool, and there was no hot tub much to my dismay. I guess Expedia was mistaken. So we moved on to the part of the day I had been waiting for.

Maine & Loire Wine Shop

Maine & Loire is exactly the kind of wine shop I want to find when I travel.

This is the kind of place where the bottles feel chosen, not stacked. You can tell someone cared before you even pick anything up. Natural wine can get messy as a category because people use the words to mean everything and nothing, but a good shop makes it feel grounded again. I also hate wines that are pushed because they’re natural, but they don’t taste good. At the end of the day, I want my wine to taste good, or I’m not drinking it. Maine & Loire did a good job of finding good tasting wines that are all about the farming, taste, texture, energy, people, and place.

Maine & Loire Wine Shop in Portland, Maine

It’s sort of a wine shop first, then a little area off to the side where you can try some wines and grab a few glasses, or open when you purchased in the wine store. I ordered the French onion dip, because why not? It was on the list, and I was all for anything at that point the hunger pains were setting in.

We grabbed a few glasses of wine (Field Recordings “Boxie” and Domaine de la Patience Rosé) and enjoyed a moment of chill before rushing over for food.

Central Provisions

Starving at this point, we went to Central Provisions, which was excellent.

This was also one of the most practically helpful meals of the trip because they had allergy menus. As someone navigating Maine with a shellfish allergy, that matters so much. Maine menus can start to feel like a delicious obstacle course. Lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp, clams, scallops, all appearing from every direction like the state is trying to test your survival skills. So when a restaurant makes the allergy part easier, it changes the whole meal.

Central Provisions had that small-plates excitement I love when it’s done well. We started with the salad which might have been the best salad I’ve ever had in my entire life. It was just their chopped salad, but it had candied bacon on there, pickled celery, and the flavors were just perfect. Next was the tuna, and it was a show-stopper. Just the perfect amount of soy and ginger on that guy to keep my palate wide-awake.

The burger was delightful, and Zak made it vanish faster than I could get more than a bite, but the bone marrow toast was all mine, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The foie came out last, and it was perfect that way. The sauce on it was an amaretto sweet sauce, the cracker it was on was crunchy and salty, and together it really worked.

Central Provision’s Lunch. Tuna, Foie Gras, Salad, Bone Marrow Toast, and a Burger.

We sat at the bar and were able to watch the kitchen do their thing. It was both a blessing and a curse because I realized there was more food I wanted to order (especially their black pepper popover).

Central Provisions is an excellent choice for lunch, and I’d imagine dinner is the same.

The Thai Massage

After lunch, we went to Malai Thai Spa for 90-minute couples massages. Of course, it’s not the best to go with a stomach bursting-full, but I couldn’t help myself but order that foie.

I really don’t like floaty little spas where someone gently rubs your shoulders and tells you to breathe near a bowl of eucalyptus. I can do that at home. What I want is a full negotiation with my skeleton…brutal in the best way possible. I mean, especially Zak, with all his muscles needs someone to really dig into him and make it hurt a little.

Thai massage has a way of making relaxation feel earned. It stretches you, presses you, folds you, and finds tightness you thought you had hidden from the world. At one point, I’m pretty sure a knot near my shoulder blade started letting out the tension it’s carried since my 6th grade teacher yelled at me in front of the whole class.

I loved it.

I walked out feeling taller, looser, and slightly confused about how much tension one person can store in her traps.

It was the perfect thing to do before the fanciest dinner of the trip, because by then my body had been through the drive, the gym, the pool disappointment, lunch, wine shop joy, and a massage that basically filed an official complaint against my posture.

White Barn Inn was next.

White Barn Inn Was the Anchor

White Barn Inn was the reason the whole trip had a center.

I already wrote the full review of that dinner, so I won’t try to cram the whole thing in here. That meal needed its own post and deserved room to fully tell how great it was.

But in the story of this trip, White Barn Inn was absolutely perfect.

It was Zak’s birthday dinner, but it was also personal for me because Cornelia and Aman were there. I knew them from the Four Seasons world, from Jean-Georges in Philadelphia, and I’ve followed them around to a few places, so walking into White Barn Inn already felt special.

Then the food made it special for better reasons.

That dinner had heart, polish, and it had confidence without feeling cold. We did the tasting menu with the wine pairings and they easily accommodated our allergies. It’s always fun to do pairings because someone else is doing the work for you.

The room was beautiful, the food was outstanding, and Zak was happy. The whole thing felt like the kind of birthday dinner you hope a birthday dinner will be when you build a trip around it. I would drive eight hours again for that meal. Which is annoying, because now I know that about myself.

Drinks at ViA VECCHiA

After White Barn Inn, we went back to Portland and stopped at ViA VECCHiA for a drink. We were going to say hi to our new friend Liam, and it was just our luck that Cornelia and Aman wanted to check that spot out.

This is the part of the night where a sensible person might go to bed, but we’re industry, so we’ll stay out until the lights come on.

ViA VECCHiA had that Old Port glow. Brick, warmth, a pretty room, the feeling that Portland still had a little more night left in it. After a big dinner, I like a place that lets you keep the evening going without demanding too much from you.

Liam sent out octopus for us, because apparently this trip wanted every thread to connect in the weirdest possible way. One of my favorite things about travel is meeting new people and going to new places. You follow one little path, then another, then suddenly a gym connection turns into a plate arriving after dinner in Portland.

A good trip always has one or two details you could never have planned.

Room for Improvement

After ViA VECCHiA we went with Cornelia and Aman to Room for Improvement.

I love that name, first of all. It feels like a place that understands the adult condition.

Room for Improvement was exactly the right kind of after-dinner stop. Relaxed, funny, a little scrappy, full of personality. After a polished birthday dinner in Kennebunk, I wanted a drink, a bar with a pulse, and the chance to let the night loosen around the edges as we caught up with our friends.

The drinks were fantastic and Aman ordered some small bites that he said was wonderful.

The Wineries That Stayed on the Card

I also had two winery names scribbled at the bottom of my little blue note card that I wanted to get to in Maine: Eighteen Twenty Wines and Cellardoor Winery.

Those were part of the dream version of the trip, you know, the version where we had one more day, better timing, and a weekend tasting-room schedule working in our favor.

Alas, short trips have a way of making decisions for you. Their hours didn’t line up with the days we were there, so those names stayed on the card instead of becoming actual glasses in front of us. And honestly, I’m leaving them in the story because this is exactly how I plan wine travel. I always have a few extra places written down, and while some are realistic…some are wildly optimistic. I don’t mind this style though, because it always leaves something desired at the end and motivation for me to come back.

This time, Maine & Loire became our wine stop, and it more than earned that spot. But next time, I’d build the trip around a weekend tasting window and give the wineries their own little pocket of the itinerary. These two are the most “serious” wineries in the area, and while I heard good things about them, jury’s still out until I get back.

The Drive Home

The next day, we drove home.

The drive home from a good trip always has a different mood and for some reasons seems to take longer than the actual going part. The bags are packed badly, the nice dinner is behind you, and the photos are already starting to become proof, and you’re thinking about laundry, but also still trying to steal one more tiny vacation moment before real life gets its hands on you.

On the way back, we stopped at Oak Beach Bar + Grill in West Haven.

It was a good final pause. The food was excellent, honestly much better than we expected for a last minute stop. If you go, get the gnocchi, it was seriously wonderful.

There’s something nice about stopping near the water before the last stretch home. It keeps the trip from ending too sharply. You get one more meal, one more view, one more little breath before you become a person with emails again (47 of them).

Then we drove back to Philly.

Would I Do This Maine Trip Again?

Yes. I would just leave earlier and not gamble with a hotel check-in policy again. I would build in a real Connecticut dinner stop into the plan, and I would hydrate aggressively before the Thai massage like I was preparing for a sporting event. I would accept that hotel pools are rarely the glamorous post-workout fantasy I invent in my head.

But I would absolutely do the trip again.

I would go back to Maine & Loire, to Central Provisions, Zak would definitely go back to Jacked and Jilled. I would even do Malai Thai Spa again, even though part of me is still emotionally recovering from having someone stomp on my back so hard. And White Barn Inn was worth the whole drive.

That was the point of the trip, really. A few days had a first-night scramble, a good pasta save, two very serious gyms, a wine shop I wanted to move into, an allergy-friendly lunch that let me relax, a massage that rearranged my body, a birthday dinner that made the whole trip, and one last shoreline stop before home.

It was quick, full, and a little ridiculous, just the way I like it.