21 Maine Restaurants That Have Been Featured on Travel Channel’s ‘Food Paradise’
Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions or personal experiences.
I can't tell you how many hours I have wasted devoted my life to food-oriented television programming. Realty shows, game shows, travel shows, holiday shows, the concept doesn't matter. If it's about food, I'll give it a shot.
One of the shows that always held my attention is the Travel Channel's 'Food Paradise' series. The show has a simple premise: seven or eight restaurants connected by a certain theme, are highlighted and typically feature one or two dishes.
It's typically a very fun watch. The audience is given the opportunity to see creative concepts and unique recipe preparations from across the country. It's cool to see what and where the restaurants come from. It was also the kind of show that you could watch from the middle, and didn't matter if you saw one episode or 10.
The other unique aspect of watching was hoping to see a Maine restaurant pop up. It took a little while, but it did eventually happen. The crown went to the Kennebunk Inn, which was featured in the 4th season in 2012.
The gates would open after that. Two more Maine restaurants, Mabel's Lobster Claw and Dysart's Restaurant and Truck Stop, were also featured in the 4th season. And another 18 Maine establishments would follow over the years.
Not surprisingly, Travel Channel has picked mostly seafood establishments. And why wouldn't they? Maine has world-class seafood, and is, of course, home to the lobster. However, some spots with iconic bites have been featured like Slab Sicilian Street Food and The Holy Donut.
Below is a closer look at those 21 Maine restaurants that have proudly been featured nationally on the popular food program.