Eating in Ellsworth

Food is essential to keep our bodies going, but its significance often transcends just the need to address our immediate hunger.

Food also draws people together and often reflects or creates a culture. Different styles of food vary from one locale to the next, and can help boost a town or state's profile, such as gumbo in New Orleans, deep-dish pizza in Chicago, or barbecue in Texas.

And in some places such as Portland, Maine, a vibrant restaurant scene itself -- not necessarily a particular type of dish -- can be a draw that pulls people in from far and wide looking for a rewarding and fulfilling experience. Even Biddeford (!), the esrtwhile mill town where once the air reeked of industry, is getting spillover from Portland's congested and increasingly expensive food-and-beverage

That said, I realize Ellsworth is nowhere close to being Portland or any other type of nationally-renown dining destination. But I like food, and trying different types of food, so I pay attention to who sets up shop in Ellsworth, and which ones succeed and which ones fail.

Unfortunately, there are a few cases of recent failure to report, though some may say that a few of the departed enterprises outstayed their welcome, or that their appearance was doomed from the start.

Let's start with Bangin' Whoopie. The Bangor-based whoopie pie store opened a satellite location downtown in the Maine Grind building in May 2019 but was a flop, closing again 6 months later.

I'll be honest -- it never made sense to me. The pies were not made on site (trucked in from Bangor?) and the presentation was weird: a few smallish whoopies in clear plastic bags, with different flavors arranged on shelves you could just walk up to and choose from. And much of the time it looked like no one was in there. It took me a few times peeking in to realize that the clerk usually was sitting unseen on the floor behind the counter, scrolling through his/her phone.

Selling trucked-in whoopie pies in the same building as a cafe that serves fresh-baked goods, sandwiches and other items also seemed like a recipe for failure. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic -- which appears to be why the local Denny's closed down this past May.

As brief as Bangin Whoopie lasted in Ellsworth, it last longer than Mi Sombrero, an authentic Mexican restaurant that opened in the former Thai Siam space on High Street. I had high hopes for Mi Sombrero, but every time I went in there I could tell they hadn't quite figured things out. The food was genuinely good, and they had customers, but there was someone new staffing the front counter with each visit who seemed mostly confused about how to ring orders up. Too bad.

But, even during the pandemic, there is reason to be optimistic. Siam Sky, the good Thai restaurant in Blue Hill, has expanded to Ellsworth, opening a second location in the former Mi Sombrero space. And

after some early difficulties, Jamaican cuisine seems to have established a presence in Ellsworth, in the form of Taste Jamaica at the intersection of State and Oak streets, near the Mill Mall.

A decade or so ago, there was a Jamaican jerk-chicken cart that opened at Newland Nursery on outer State Street, but it seems to have closed with the nursery's move to Washigton Junction. Taste Jamaica came along a few years later, opening next to an oil change shop on the one-way section of High Street, going up the hill toward MDI.

Taste Jamaica has since moved and, imho, has improved -- a lot. The jerk chicken, pan-seared haddock, and fried plantains all are really good, and I have no reason to dis anything on the menu. They, like most every restaurant still operating, are focusing on their takeout business during the pandemic.

Also, despite the COVID economy, Margarita's seems to be progressing toward opening at some point on Main Street -- with a brand-new front dining deck -- where The Mex closed last year.

I don't have the time to go into details about all the eateries in Ellsworth worth trying out, but there are several: Manny's Greek Grill and DragonFire at the Mill Mall, Finelli's on Downeast Highway (Route 1 heading east from High Street) Serendib, 86 This, Flexit Cafe, Finn's Irish Pub, Provender (all downtown), and Eat at Joe's, the food truck-in-residence at Fogtown Brewing, all are good/very good options (there's also good beer, and decent food, at Airline Brewing) -- and I am probably forgetting some. 

I've not tried Wicked Munchies, but I intend to -- and, as always, I encourage other people to do the same and to form their own opinions.