Rockport
We have eaten very well in Rockland at two very different places. Last night we went to the well known farm-to-table Restaurant Primo, run by chef Melissa Kelly. Very good thing we booked ahead because every room in the old house that the restaurant is located in was full of diners.
Children’s chapel
We soon found out why. I didn’t think I liked raw oysters until we mistakenly ordered them at Primo. Three were in a light sauce made with wild blueberries. Not sweet or heavy. The second three were fried in a crunchy corn meal (I think) batter, also delicious. We also had cheese-stuffed zucchini blossoms and two very different but equally delicious entrees – Saltimbocca
(pork pounded thin, cooked and served atop mashed potatoes and cooked greens in a delicious brown sauce) and seared local tuna served with two sauces, a green pesto and red sauce. (Red pepper?) Dessert was a float with espresso poured atop vanilla and chocolate gelato served with homemade light and sugared donuts. Too delicious. Excellent service, homey ambiance and we went to say hi to the chef in the kitchen (she’s a friend of Dirck’s sister, a Boston food writer.) Next time we will book a little earlier than 8 pm so we can tour the farm and gardens behind the restaurant in the day light.
Dinner tonight was totally different, at Claws, a popular (for good reason) lobster shack where we ordered at the window and got a goofy plastic lobster with our order number on it. We ate a tray full of seafood – lobster bisque, lobster roll, drunken mussels in a garlicky broth – all excellent and fresh tasting, eaten on a deck with picnic tables and portable heaters. And a lovely view of the harbor.
Rockport scenes
This morning, we followed our Airbnb hosts recommendation and drove to Latte Beach in Camden and then walked the back way to Rockport and back. Turned out to be six miles. Lovely scenery, walking on Bay View Road past gorgeous old and new mansions set on the water, then past an old farm with white-belted cattle and then to a pretty “children’s” open air chapel. 
Rockport was very quiet and pretty. After a picnic of Maine blue cheese and bread, we drove to Belfast and walked down the Main Street with old red brick buildings, popping into cute little shops. Very fun day.
TakeBetsywithyou 