Route 66- Bar Harbor

Located in the middle of downtown Bar Harbor, nestled between 2 big buildings is Route 66.  This is a family owned and operated business. Being part of the Bar Harbor scene since 1986 so this is a very well- known restaurant.

First Impression- ADORABLE! Unique and eclectic. Above the main entrance is a big taxi. Something very hard to miss if you have ever been to Bar Harbor. Inside there is 1950's music playing and your always greeted with a smile.

Decor- Once inside, you are greeted by decoration craziness but in a wonderful way! There are metal signs, tea cups and saucers used in the table lighting. You have pieces of old cars, Elvis memorabilia, and so much more! The building is made up of pieces from an old church. There could be a 45 minute wait for food and who would notice because one would be distracted by so much to look at!

Cleanliness-  Clean but the place is worn. I presume it's because of  the traffic flow during the summer and because it has been in business for many years. They do keep all the decor very well dusted though and the tables and dishes were very clean.

Food-  First we started off with an appetizer. Hubs discovered Fried Mac and Cheese and was completely, absolutely SOLD! They ended up living up to the expectation and then some! Amazingly delicious, moist, crispy, cheesy and not greasy at all!
Next up was the entree. Hubs and I ordered a burger meal each. His was a Bacon and cheese, mine was a American and Cheddar burger with onions and mushrooms. Was it an amazing burger? not so much. Was it the worst burger I have ever had? not at all, but was just OK. A little too greasy for my liking and way to many mushrooms. Hubs loved his though. Of course, he loves anything with bacon and cheese...and grease. We each got fries and they were wonderful!! Vinegar, salt and pepper... and lots of it! YUM!
We had our son with us so we ordered him a kids meal. I was disappointed it didn't come with a drink but I rather him have water anyhow. He decided on the hot dog meal. It comes with fries for a side OR for an extra $1.00 can get mac and cheese. We figured he was fine with the fries and ordered that but somehow got tricked into thinking the mac and cheese was actually included so we switched...but later realized... it was, in fact, NOT included and we would have to pay the $1.00!  But hey at least it was under a dollar and our son loves mac and cheese.

Cost-
The Mac and Cheese app was $7.95 and came with 12 half dollar size pieces.
The burger meals was $11.95 each
The kids meal was $5.95

Not the cheapest place to eat but considering it was in downtown Bar Harbor it was a deal.

Service-  The staff was very friendly and welcoming. Food came out fairly quickly. The waitress joked around with our 3 year old son. They also didn't make you feel rushed.

Would I go again?- Of course. Maybe next time, save room for a dessert or a 50's style shake.
It's a wonderful family restaurant.

RATING: 7 out of 10 :)

College Dogs- Orono

Once reading about this place in an online news article I knew Matt and I had to go! We are fans of Man vs. Food and Diners Drive Ins and Dives and this place looked like could be on one of those shows.

First impression- the outside was almost unnoticeable. We would have drove on by if it had not had a giant sign stating it was in fact college dogs.
This restaurant is located in a plaza next door to Spotlight Cinemas.


Decor- Simple and modern. Walls were a dark turquoise blue color, tables were black. There also was a black couch near the entry. The decor was cozy. The tables could use some maintenance though. The one we sat at was about to fall over!


Cleanliness- The place was kept pretty clean, though not kept up with consistently throughout the day it seemed. I didn't use the bathroom so I am not sure how clean those were.


Food- The steamed burgers were amazing! Tasted almost like corn beef. They were moist and flavorful. We ordered the Bacon Cheese Burger.
We also decided to pick 2 hotdogs to try. There was about 20 on the list and all sounded fantastic.
I decided on the Mississippi Dog. Filled with homemade baked beans, bacon and homemade BBQ sauce it was very tasty. The beans are made at home by the owners Mother. They reminded me of the beans I ate at church dinners growing up in Northern Maine which I loved. The BBQ sauce was equally as wonderful and flavorful.
The Hubs got a Beer Battered Deep Fried Hotdog with a Deep Fried Pickle, Deep Fried Mozzarella Stick and a Deep Fried Onion Ring. Sadly the batter didn't hold well to the pickle or onion ring but was still pretty tasty.
Hubs being a big deep fried everything fan enjoyed the hotdog but didn't care much for the beer batter. He said it gave a wierd flavor.
We wanted to try so many deep fried creations on the menu so we decided on ordering the chicken finger basket too.  It comes with either onion rings or fries but we weren't ask which we wanted and instead were given the fries. Which we wanted anyways so it didn't matter.
The chicken was just... ok. Nothing to write home about. It needed a little salt or something. The fries I wish would have been crispy but they were not. The tables did have vinegar to use on them which was a big plus... love vinegar on fries!
For dessert we ordered a Deep Fried Snickers and a Deep Fried PB&J. The snickers was yummy and full size, Score! The peanut butter sandwich was not all I had hoped it would be and became a little mushy after sitting a few minutes but overall pretty tasty.

Cost- The total for the entire meal came to $22.00. The hotdogs were $2.50 each. The basket was $6.75 I believe. The burger was around $3.50 and each dessert was $2.00. Pretty decent prices.
Bonus: Right now through News Channel 7 "half off dining" you can get a $20.00 voucher or only $10.00.


Service- The owner was the only there and the only one cooking when we were there so service was pretty slow. We waited about 20 minutes for our order. People were being told to call in their order instead. The guy was going as fast as one could though. When we arrived there was two guys picking up an order and later two came in to place one. Just before we left an older lady and a young man came
in. We were there at dinner time and it was very slow, but it maybe because it being more of a food joint for college students and college being out for summer ...that could have
been why.


Would I go again?- Sure, sometime... I really enjoyed the hotdogs and steamed burgers.

The owner was quiet but kind of nice. The price was good too and even better if using the half off deal.  Makes for a very inexpensive meal.

RATING: 5 out of 10