Maine’s southernmost town has made quite a name for itself of late, as Kittery has gone from being known mostly for its naval base and factory outlets -- a stop in the road for people on their way to places like York, Ogunquit, Kennebunkport, Portland and beyond – to being a tourist town in its own right.
Today, this old seaside town just over the New Hampshire border has become a destination spot for its beautiful ocean views, vibrant arts and music scene, historic neighborhoods and its many top restaurants, including a few often mentioned as being among the best in all of New England.
While the charming Kittery Foreside area is where much of the draw in town is these days, the more generic-looking strip of Route 1 continues to be a popular spot, with its busy outlet stores and handful of dining spots that cater to shoppers. Included on this road are well-known restaurants like When Pigs Fly, Bob’s Clam Hut and the Weathervane, but there are also some lesser-known places, including the Maine Beer Café, a little roadside establishment that is easy to miss but is a must for comfort food and — as you might have figured out from the name — craft brews from a state that has quietly become one of the best in the country for beer.
Unlike some other factory outlet towns (North Conway, New Hampshire, comes to mind), Kittery’s strip of outlets is quite small, almost to the point of being a blink-and-you-miss-it area if all the lights happen to be green. Coming off Interstate 95 and heading north on Route 1, the strip begins almost immediately and ends just as quickly as it starts, the road suddenly becoming rural as it heads toward York.
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Right around the end of the strip of outlets is the Maine Beer Café on the left, and just ahead on the right, When Pigs Fly, both of which are just far away from the outlets enough to be overlooked by those who aren’t familiar with Kittery. The Maine Beer Café is kind of hidden in plain sight, residing in a commercial building just past a gas station and tiny strip mall, and its sign isn’t all that prominent along a mostly undeveloped straightaway where drivers start to pick up speed on their way north.
The part of the structure in which the Maine Beer Café resides appears rather tiny from the outside, but it’s pretty comfortable inside, with soft lighting, tables that are well spaced apart, a cozy bar in the center of the room and a couple of window seats in the front. Some limited seating can be found outside, including picnic tables on the grass by the parking lot for those who prefer sun and a table or two by the covered front doorstep area for those who’d opt for shade. The setup inside has the appearance of a counter-service spot, but this is a full-service place where the person behind the bar might be wearing two hats, pouring drinks while also waiting tables.
The name Maine Beer Café could be easily be mixed up with that of one of the best-known breweries in the state (the Maine Beer Company, whose Maine Lunch IPA is near legendary in New England), but the restaurant has no connection to the brewery in Freeport (another factory outlet town), an hour to the north. The Maine Beer Café does serve Maine Beer Company brews, however, along with some of the best that the state has to offer, but more on that in a bit, as the food here is great enough for people to come here even if they aren’t into beer.
Eat New England
This tends to be a soup, salad and sandwich kind of place that focuses on simple comfort food, and hamburgers and hot dogs in particular tend to dominate the menu.
Three types of burgers are offered — classic, Texan and BBQ — and each includes two thin patties that are basically smash burgers, though with high-quality angus beef.
The hot dogs are old-school Kayem franks on a New England-style split-top bun, and choices include a regular dog with the usual options for toppings or a messy but delicious chili cheese dog, and because the hot dogs are so cheap, many who come here opt for a pair of dogs rather than just one.
The menu at the Maine Beer Café offers more than just burgers and dogs, including a smoky clam chowder or a savory gumbo, along with a goat cheese and apple salad. Appetizers include some delectable chicken bites that are served with a choice of buffalo sauce, ranch, blue cheese or BBQ, and a French onion dip with kettle chips that may take you back to your youth.
Meals include a few chicken sandwich options, a BLT wrap and, this being Maine, a lobster roll that’s almost shockingly great considering that most top Maine lobster rolls tend to come from lobster houses and seafood shacks on the water. The ones here are done nearly perfectly, with just a little bit of mayo added and the meat (which comes from a local seafood wholesaler a couple of miles away) stuffed into a split-top buttered bun.
People always seem to talk about Vermont when it comes to world-class beers, but Maine may have surpassed the Green Mountain State when it comes to craft brews (though honestly, you can’t go wrong with breweries in either state, or much of the rest of New England, for that matter). The offerings here are a beer lover’s dream, including options from such breweries as Peak, Allagash, Maine, Belleflower, Geary, Battery Steele, Austin Street, Lone Pine, Banded, Barreled Souls, Gneiss and, well, you get the picture.
PHOTOS: Maine Beer Café
To further muddy the waters, the Maine Beer Café also offers beers from such beloved Vermont breweries as Lawson’s, Foam, Switchback and, last but certainly not least, the one and only Hill Farmstead, which has won too many awards to count. Beers from elsewhere in New England can also be ordered here, including from Schilling, Stoneface, Deciduous, Trillium and Moat Mountain, and moving beyond beer, the Maine Beer Café also specializes in bourbon, with nearly 50 different options available (you can do flights of 4 if you’d like to sample).
Some truly outstanding restaurants are scattered all over Kittery, including Black Birch, Anju and Lil's Cafe in Kittery Foreside, the aforementioned When Pigs Fly (whose pizza is among the best in Maine) and the wonderful Robert's Maine Grill on Route 1 for all kinds of seafood in a casual upscale setting. But sometimes you just want a burger and a beer (or a hot dog and a beer, or a lobster roll and a beer) and for that, it’s tough to beat the Maine Beer Café, a little-known local pub that makes it that much more difficult to decide where to eat when spending some time in this little pocket of Maine just an hour away from Boston.
Maine Beer Cafe, 439 US-1 (Suite #1), Kittery, ME, 03904. mainebeercafe.com.
