Will Grunewald

2 weeks ago | downeast.com | Will Grunewald |Joel Crabtree

Ice cream is a critical element of every Vacationland summer. Strolling down Main Street or sitting on a bench by the shore or relaxing after a hike — are any quintessential Maine experiences not improved with a waffle cone in hand? If we missed any of your personal go-tos, — this list might need an update. Velma and Earl Butterfield opened this stand on their farm in 1950, and though ownership has changed since then, not too much else has.

1 month ago | downeast.com | Will Grunewald

Fly-fishing and Maine, together, bring a number of things to mind straightaway: the quicksilver flash of brook trout, trailblazing guide “Fly Rod” Crosby, Carrie Stevens’s iconic Gray Ghost fly, casting from a sturdy Rangeley-style rowboat, the quietude of upland rivers and streams. Ever since the middle of the 19th century, when word of Maine’s big and abundant brookies reached the East Coast’s big cities, fly-fishing has been intrinsic to the state’s sporting culture.

1 month ago | downeast.com | Will Grunewald

Oun Lido’s chef and co-owner BounahcreeKim, who goes by “Bones,” has a strong Portland pedigree. He cooked for several years at Cong Tu Bot, chef Vien Dobui’s lauded Vietnamese restaurant, and most recently worked at Miyake, the most venerable of the city’s sushi counters, and its sister noodle bar, Pai Men Miyake. At Miyake, where his brother is head chef, Kim was training to be sous chef when Dobui approached him about partnering to run his own kitchen in the city.

2 months ago | downeast.com | Will Grunewald

Since time immemorial, the humble hoe has been an essential implement of agriculture (and, consequently, civilization). Both the ancient Sumerians and ancient Chinese believed deities had conferred hoes upon mankind. Fast-forward to the present to find hoes leaning against sheds around the globe and featuring in innumerable YouTube and TikTok videos that tout their virtues — “Know Your Garden Hoe” or “What Your Favorite Kind of Hoe?” In Mozambique, a hoe even adorns the national flag.

Jan 13, 2025 | downeast.com | Will Grunewald

Every winter brings ice bars to Maine, although the lineup tends to ebb and flow. One year, an ice bar pops up here. The next, maybe it doesn’t, but some other restaurant or hotel hosts one instead. Chalk it up to the fundamental nature of any object cut entirely from blocks of ice: there’s no storing it in the shed till next year.