We’re adding pounds merely by looking at the breakfast buffet. There’s an array of fresh fruit and juice, of course, and artisan coffee from a roastery down the street. There’s homemade granola. Blueberry johnnycakes. Asparagus and goat cheese frittata, made with local eggs, and sausages. Lobster quiche. That last entree seems particularly welcome. After all, we’re in Rockland, Maine, self-styled lobster capital of the world.
Each morning at the Granite Inn, owners Ed and Joan Hantz offer variety such as this. Ed knows his way around the kitchen. He spent most of his working life as a music professor at the University of Rochester in New York State. But after pulling up stakes for Maine a decade ago, he took on a stint as assistant to the pastry chef of Rockland’s Atlantic Baking, honing his self-taught skills. “Some days I had to make 50 quiche crusts,” he recalls.
Breakfast isn’t the only attraction of the eight-room inn, of course. The eclectic décor is free of flounce and frill, thanks to Joan, a graphic designer. On a living room table, for instance, a coal oil lamp abuts an abstract bronze of tango dancers. One two-room suite has modern Asian influences; another bedroom, with a 1950s feel, faces Rockland’s bustling harbor. "The decor is what I grew up with,” she says.
But it’s that groaning-board breakfast my wife and I will remember – and the lively conversation that went with it. "Part of the B&B experience is meeting other people," Ed says. "I like to think Red Staters and Blue Staters can sit down over good food, have a conversation, and discover commonalities."
Rockland is a town worth visiting. Situated along Maine’s rugged seacoast, it’s a hub of culture, anchored by the Farnsworth Art Museum and dozens of galleries. Foodies flock to restaurants like Primo, helmed by two-time James Beard Chef of the Year Melissa Kelly. The B&Bs have upped their game as a result.
Consider the pedigree of AAA four-diamond Berry Manor Inn. Built in 1898 by Charles Berry, who ran the state’s largest carriage service, the Victorian mansion was home to three succeeding generations of the family before Cheryl Michaelson and Mike LaPosta bought it 19 years ago.
They’ve retained much of its original character, from the 19th-century rug in the breakfast room to the flour and sugar bins in the pantry.
Family, Friends and Food:
By Peter Johansen
A WinningCombination inRockland, Maine