Perfectly decent food, especially being a ski resort! Fish and chips special was perfectly tasty,…read morewith the haddock being of appropriate flakiness. Steamed broccoli was probably frozen, but that's what I get for ordering the default fry substitute.

Perhaps it was our mistake for not ordering the burger. That seems like what everyone gets excited…read moreabout, here. What we had, instead, over the course of a few visits: four different pizzas, three different salads, a few sandwiches, and lots of different beers. The pizzas were made with a thicker-style crust, I guess what might be called Greek-style in CT: thicker than a NY-style crust, thinner than a Chicago-style crust, and middle-of-the-road glutinous. Toppings were in good balance, a not-overly-sweet tomato sauce topped with just the right amount of cheese in our view. Pepperoni comes in wide strips cut from sandwich-sized slices, and versions we ordered with peppers or olives came with a fair amount of each. Our contingent of pizza snobs enjoyed, but did not love these pies. Sandwiches were pretty spendy, but appeared to be nicely filled, e.g. with chicken salad or deli meat, cheese, and veggies. The primary consumers said they were "okay." The three salads we tried (Cobb, beet, and King's Bag) were weak: so wimpy and mediocre for the price. (The ones down at D'Ellie's were far better!) I would emphatically not get these again. A few of our beers tasted as though they'd come from taps that hadn't been properly cleaned in a while. (Others were fine.) We hear there's a robust apres ski / evening scene here at times.... and the restaurant sure smells like it! It sounds like this restaurant has some strengths, which I guess we didn't quite hit. I'd come back with friends for apres ski drinks -- but probably not so much for the food (unless those drinks need absorbing).

Maine-style barbecue. I never knew this was a thing, but it makes so much sense. Fat and protein do…read morewonders for the body and soul when you've put in a full day of skiing and/or it's 10 degrees F or less out. Not to mention there's plenty of maple wood to be had in Maine for smoking. I don't have much of a basis of comparison to other Maine-style bbq places, but what I tried of the The Rack's bbq was excellent by any standard. I'm not sure I detect a huge difference from, say, Eastern South Carolina style 'cue. In fact, the sauce that my ribs (half rack of ribs with mac 'n' cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread; $38) came with would feel right at home in Eastern SC: vinegary with a touch of heat. The ribs had a wonderful layer of bark and were moist, but not fatty. They were not heavily seasoned or salted, which many of those in the know prefer since the quality of the meat can shine through. It did, here. Of course I didn't snap a photo of my meal -- I was so excited to eat, I forgot! -- but it came with a generous portion of mac 'n' cheese (pleasantly cheesy, but undersalted by our standards), baked beans (very vinegary, made with onions that could've been cooked to a softer consistency, but were enjoyable in their own right), a mayonnaise-y coleslaw (fair), and a tiny square of cornbread. The cornbread was southern style to my surprise and delight, not the fluffy, sweet, cake-like version usually passed off as cornbread in the north. I loved the slightly spicy, slightly sweet pickles that accompanied, as well. The Pardner had the kimchi beef short rib (shredded beef short rib in a kimchi beef broth served over seared sticky rice with chef's vegetable of the day, pickled carrots and daikon, hoisin bbq sauce, Korean bbq sauce, fried garlic, scallions and cilantro; $38). He mostly enjoyed the dish, but I found the texture of the seared sticky rice too hard and chewy, personally. There was more sweetness and less spice in the bowl than I personally prefer and would expect from the name. The vegetable of our day was broccoli, cooked crisp. One of my progeny had the smoked brisket sando ($26). I didn't try the sandwich, since it was inhaled in seconds, but I deduce it was good. The fries I snagged were crispy on the outside, tender on the inside -- great! The other progeny had a L'il Rippers (children's menu) grilled cheese with fries ($12). She enjoyed it, but evidently not as much as my mac 'n' cheese, ribs, and cornbread, which she heavily poached. There are many good local beers on tap, from clean taps based on what we tried. There's a hand-written menu in the back room by the pool table, which listed $5 specials. This restaurant, partly owned by Olympic snowboarder Scott Wescott (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Wescott), is clearly very popular. (There was a 20 minute wait on a Friday evening, even on the dregs of the Sugarloaf ski season.) I think it probably draws Carrabassett Valley Academy students, families, and staff, given that this well-known ski and snowboard school is just a short walk away. Customers are a great mix of teenagers and young adults, old people, families, Mainers and tourists -- and everyone seems to have a good time. The pool table, dart boards, and arcade are fun for kids of all ages. We were given a compostable (non-waxed) cardboard box for leftovers. Appreciate the planet-friendly approach. The bartender in the back room was great -- so nice and helpful. Wait staff were nice, but no-nonsense in that extremely competent Mainer sort of way. It's easy to see why The Rack is popular.

The place looked great. That's why we stopped in for dinner last night but the BBQ plate was not…read moregood and the waiter didn't tell us that the blueberry lemonade was laced with THC nor did he tell us that if you order more than one sauce you get charged $2 each. Not a good dinner at all.

Girls annual fall trip for shopping and lunch found me at a new restaurant. The Backstrap has been…read morehere awhile but we have always drove past thinking it was more of a market. The ladies highly recommend so here I am. Ample parking and easy to read signage from the road, they are handicapped accessible. We sat at the bar with our backs to the door. Atmosphere is rustic with two seating areas, one for larger parties. Drink specials menu came with regular menu and specials. I ordered the House Margarita with Blueberry. The ladies had seltzer and a beer. We ordered the Smash burger, the Roast Beef melt, and the Ramen. There was a chalk board hanging on the wall which had the meat and fish options for sale! So they do sell meats and fish but are more of a restaurant! Got it! The food came out in a timely fashion and looked great! The Ramen especially looked delightful! My Roast Beef melt was good. A bit greasy but that's to be expected with melts, cucumber salad was delicious, the fries were crispy and tasty. Smash burger was Huge and very delicious or so I was told. Bartender was wonderful making sure we had what we needed as well as providing drinks for the wait staff. Everyone was having a nice meal on a rainy Saturday in September. I definitely will be back with my husband when we drive over from Rangeley. May even grab some Game sausages.

Friendly service & a great group of locals greeted/welcomed our large party of 15. The food was…read moreyour yummy, usual bar & grill fare. I had their Backstrap Burger which was very juicy & delicious! Their shoestring fries were awesome!! Others were happy with the fish sandwich and fish & chips and their speciality pizzas like the Big Mac pizza caught rave reviews.

We are very glad that we finally made it here to enjoy some delicious woodfired pizza (my favorite…read morefood!) We started with a margarita - I got the spicy margarita and my wife got the special which was an orange cinnamon Margarita - she loved it and mine was excellent as well. Each was also a large serving - not in some tiny little glass for too much money as sometimes happens. We started with the buffalo roasted cauliflower, and we loved it. Too many times this dish is ruined by heavy breading for the cauliflower or having it be too oily and greasy. This one was lightly roasted and full of flavor served with a side of blue cheese dressing. Because it was happy hour (which is 4 to 630 on Thursday, Friday and Monday), we were able to order a two topping pizza for $17. The mushroom and ham topping was just right everything was cooked perfectly. We have our own Ooni Koda 16 pizza oven, and I make my own dough, so we're pretty particular about pizza. Everything about the pizza is just right though, sauce, toppings, and the bake in the pizza oven in the back. I'm definitely gonna be a regular here just for the pizza. We each got a glass of wine to have with the pizza, and my wife's white wine was pretty good, but my red had probably been open more than one or two days prior and wasn't especially great. I hope that the owners invest in a nitrogen in ear system of some sort - they're not expensive or hard to use. The staff was very attentive and helpful, and they helped us quickly get an order in before the end of happy hour which we appreciated. This is a fantastic and needed addition to the Kingfield / CV area

Great time sitting at the bar, sampling the impressive bourbon selection and a number of other…read morecocktails. Pizza was excellent. Boneless tenders were really nuggets and mediocre , but overall had a great experience.

We loved our meal here! We ordered several appetizers to share and the Crispy Duck with Blackberry…read moreSauce, Yummy! The smoked trout was delicious and the duck empanadas were light and crispy. They hosted us by making us feel part the family. Great night!

So, this is a little dive bar in a sweet little town. The best part about it is the vibe. It is…read morewarm, welcoming, and comfortable. The staff was also so friendly. The beer list was long and on the day we were there they were having a fish fry. Literally every table was full! My favorite part of this place is that there are checker/chess boards built into the booths in the bar. They so want to you unplug and unwind; there are checker and chess pieces on the tables! We had the mac and cheese balls appetizer and the scallops dinner. The scallops were particularly good. I got a side of ranch dressing and dipped my mac and cheese balls in it...ranch makes everything better!

I go up to Sugarloaf once a year with my fiance and his family. We usually have lunch before we…read moreleave (we're about an hour away) and then have dinner after my fiance and his brother play a round. This time however, we didn't have lunch and my future mother-in-law ordered two sandwiches from Strokes as the rest of us explored the pro-shop. All I can say is wow! I would have never expected a club house to have such great food. Everything we had was great and the service was top notch! The servers were kind enough to package the food and beverages for us so we could take them out on the course and enjoy the round. Will definitely make an effort to patronize this place more often!

We drove up here just to see the area and Sugarloaf. We are so glad we read reviews of Strokes…read more We were quickly greeted and could sit anywhere with great views. We enjoyed their flatbread special and drinks from the bar. The menu is small but we were very pleased.

Finding a lunch spot as we traveled from Quebec City back to mid-coast Maine on a weekday in…read moreFebruary was not easy. Many restaurants are closed at this time but luckily The Hawks Nest Lodge was open the day we were passing through. We were the only patrons at lunch. Welcomed by several friendly staff and we decided to sit at the bar for lunch. A beautiful pine bar with rustic pine bar seats. The ambiance was very good and very welcoming. Really personable bartender talked with us about the area. Loved the menu of some classics and a lamb burger! Had to get the lamb and glad I did. Delicious. Made with lamb and feta cheese it was served in a burger bun. We upgraded to the French fries, glad we did as they were hot and had a perfect crisp. Really easy parking and good, clean restrooms. A wonderful stop!

We stayed here 4 years ago when white water rafting and we stopped for lunch again now in our way…read moreback to Canada and we loved it. The pizza is huge and delicious burgers. Everything and everyone great.

Breaking news! You can travel to the edge of the earth, to little Oquossoc, Maine, & there is a…read morerestaurant that is surely James Beard quality. It is called the Hungry Trout. The menu is hopping with excitement. Every item is a unique culinary masterpiece. From Pho Bowls to steaks to a short rib gravy meatloaf. The waitress we had was amazing & the place was full of life. I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. The serving portion was the biggest I've ever received at a restaurant. The taste was incredible. The marinara sauce, melted parmesan, melted mozzarella, & perfectly coated & cooked eggplant will all satisfy anyone's hungry & discerning palette. The others at my table said their dishes were the tops. Run to the Hungry Trout & let it reel you in.

Stupendous! If you are in the area, I highly recommend The Hungry Trout. I've been waiting for a…read moresolid place to come to this location since the Tall Tales Tavern closed and this place is it (sorry 45th Parallel). Our group came in on a busy Friday night and we were blown away by their seafood pie special. My son absolutely devoured their chicken fingers, which you would think would be run of the mill, but even those were outstanding. We were so impressed we went again during our stay and were again blown away by the nastiness of the dishes and the portion sizes. This is such a great addition to the area and I'm looking forward to going back for years to come.