WHEN THE STORM RAGES, THE MOOSE DELIVERS!

While out exploring Exeter, New Hampshire, a storm came over and we faced the prospect of getting soaked. So we stepped inside the nearby THIRSTY MOOSE TAPHOUSE. 

The Thirsty Moose is a sports bar and restaurant with a huge selection of beers and ales on offer. It is also renowned for their fresh pizza, but as it wasn’t long since we’d had a late breakfast, we had no intention of having food - and yet - 4 hours later - we left very merry and very full!

We took seats at the bar (Sun Aug 4, 2024) and had an excellent view of the Olympics on the TV screens (and an amusing view of wet folks dashing in!). We cheered for Teams USA and GB as we enjoyed:

🍺 Bud Light x 7 = $38.50

🍺 Moose Juice (Tito’s vodka, strawberry puree, lemon juice & simple syrup) = $13.00

🍺 Sea Dog Blue Paw Wild Blueberry = $2.25

🍸 Margarita (Milagro Reposada) = $9.00 + $4.00

🌮 Beef Nachos = $14.99 + $5.00

😢 Tax = $7.40

💰 Total = $94.14

👍 Tip = $24.00

💰 Total = $118.14

The nachos were tri-color tortilla chips, topped with Pico de Gallo (a salsa), black bean corn salsa, jalapeños, and smothered in melted jack cheese for only $14.99. We paid an additional $5 for the beef. Well worth it and we cleared the plate between us!

 

Our only regret about the Thirsty Moose Tap House is that we are not local and therefore not able to come back and work our way through their menu! If you’re ever in Exeter, please give it a visit on our behalf!

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📌 THIRSTY MOOSE TAP HOUSE

72 Portsmouth Ave., Exeter, NH 03833

🌐 www.thirstymoosetaphouse.com

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DOCKSIDE DINING: INDULGING IN MAINE LOBSTAH AT THE PORTHOLE PUB, PORTLAND

While exploring Downtown Portland, Maine, on Saturday August 3, 2024, we stumbled upon the Harbor Fish Market and had an interesting peek inside, but the best thing, however, was discovering THE PORTHOLE PUB & RESTAURANT opposite. 

Tucked away down a waterfront side street in the cobbled Old Port area of Portland, the Porthole Pub dates from 1929 and has a checkered history with various renovations and owners, with the latest change of hands being in 2022. Despite the changes, pub’s copper-top bar is still in place and is at least 60 years old. 

We were drawn in by the giant vintage ‘Coca-Cola Fountain’ sign outside, but it turned out this was just a relic. Instead we enjoyed cold draft Blue Moons (reasonably priced for these parts) and some respite from the strong summer sunshine which had scorched our necks and arms during our waterside walk. 

As we sat at the bar relaxing, enjoying the live music coming in from the outside deck, we eyed up the food orders being served and agreed we couldn’t leave Maine without trying the local “lobstah”. 

We ordered:

🦞 Porthole Lobster Roll (5 oz Custom House Wharf lobster, chilled and served with lemon aioli on a roll with lettuce) = $34.00

🍟 +Fries = $5.00

🍺 Draft Blue Moon x 4 = $32.00

😢 Food Tax = $3.12

💰 Total = $74.12

👍 Gratuity = $15.00 

Service in the Porthole was friendly and swift, even when our original server ended her shift.  

The lobster was well and truly local: it was landed at the Custom House Wharf, a 3 minute walk away from the restaurant! The roll was perfectly toasted and the lobster meat had a delicate flavor, with the claw meat being stronger. 

We learnt that the price of lobster could vary and was listed on menus as ‘MP’, or Market Price, but the lobster roll was listed as $34. 

We shared the meal, as earlier we had chowed down on Maine’s potato donuts and a whoopie pie, and were satisfied with the portion sizes. 

This was a pricey meal, to be fair, but we enjoyed proud food and drinks - and can now say we have tried the famous Maine lobster!

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📌 THE PORTHOLE

20 Custom House Wharf, Portland, ME 04101

🌐 portholemaine.com

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SULLEN SERVICE, STELLAR SOUNDS: A NIGHT AT SUNSET BAR

SUNSET BAR & GRILL on Fenald St., at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was recommended to us by our motel’s owner, so it made sense to try it out. 

Sunset Bar was heaving when we arrived after 8pm on Saturday August 2, 2024, but we managed to get seats at the outside bar. It had a garden area and a raised deck with tables plus room for dancing. We never ventured inside to the main bar, for we didn’t need to as the weather was perfect outdoors. 

We enjoyed:

🍺 Budweiser (Pounder cans) x ?

🍺 Corona Light (12 oz bottles) x ?

As it was ‘pay per round’ we lost track of how many drinks we had and cannot recollect exactly how much they cost.  $7.00 each sounds about right. All we know is that it didn’t take us long to get merry!

Despite being sat at the bar, where we could watch all the action, service wasn’t as swift as we would have liked. The bartender was sullen, made no eye contact with us and seemed to be another of OOB’s grumpy servers (seasonal staff, maybe?). We did, however, see him smiling when the customers were female and buxom!

The Sunset Bar had a lively atmosphere thanks to the band which was playing - Northern Groove - and while we didn’t recognise many of the American favorites, some familiar songs did pop up. Northern Groove’s creative version of ‘Jump Around’ had us chuckling with memories of the Mrs Doubtfire house in San Francisco. We also had a good laugh at a group of ladies who were dressed as colorful blue bugs! Their intricate costumes even lit up in the dark! We assumed it was a bachelorette party - but they were too well behaved for that. 

We could see the Sunset Bar’s servers ferrying food to the tables in the garden area and the portions looked big and tasty. If only we’d skipped the pizza and Pier Fries earlier!

The music was live. The beer prices were reasonable. And the walk back to our motel was only a matter of minutes! We enjoyed our first night at Old Orchard Beach and would recommend a visit to Sunset Bar. 

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📌 SUNSET BAR & GRILL

4 Fernald St., Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064

🌐 sunsetoob.com

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PIER PERFECTION: COLD BREWS & OCEAN VIEWS AT OLD ORCHARD BEACH

THE PIER at Old Orchard Beach opened in the summer of 1898 at a cost of $38,000 and featured pavilions and a casino. Four months later, the pier was damaged by a storm and this wasn’t to be a one off disaster: it suffered a fire in 1907, another storm in 1909 then a blizzard in 1978! Yikes!

We visited the modern day Pier, which dates from 1980, on Friday August 2, 2024, when it was bathed in summer sunshine. The Pier was a mix of businesses, including souvenir stores, food vendors, bars, restaurants and designated spots for live entertainment. At 600 feet in length, it didn’t take us long to reach the end and a welcome sight - the Pier Patio Pub!

Taking seats on the south side of the outside deck, we had a pleasant 90 minutes enjoying beers in the 75°F sun, while watching the brave souls going further and further out into the Atlantic Ocean below us. 

We ordered:

🍊 Blue Moon x 2 cans = $18.00

🍺 Corona x 2 bottles = $16.00

❓ Oper Chg* = $1.36

😢 Liquor Tax = $2.72

💰 Total = $38.08

* no idea what this charge was. 

Our server Ambrosia was friendly and efficient and we didn’t have long to wait for our two rounds of drinks. We left an appropriate gratuity before heading off for a walk around the nearby Palace Playland and a stroll up the beach just as the sun was starting to set. 

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📌 PIER PATIO PUB

2 Old Orchard St., Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064

🌐 www.oobpier.com

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