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Directions:
Maine Diner (2265 Post Rd., Wells): From the north, take 1-95 south to exit 3. Turn left onto Alewive Road and then left onto Fletcher Street. Turn right onto Main Street and left onto York Street, which becomes Post Road. From the south, take 1-95 north to exit 2. Turn left onto Sanford Road and then left onto Post Road.
A-1 Diner (3 Bridge St., Gardiner): From the south, take 1-95 north to exit 28. Turn right onto Lewiston Road (continue onto Cobbossee Road, then Central Street, then Water Street). Turn left onto Bridge Street. From the north, take 1-95 south to exit 31. Turn left onto Civic Center Drive (continue on Mt Vernon Ave, State Street, Water Street and Maine Ave). Turn right onto Bridge Street.
Miss Portland Diner Note: This diner has since closed.
Where to stay: See area campground, hotel and vacation rental listings.
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 Colleen Stone recently moved to Maine. She's "from away," as Mainers say. Follow her as she explores her new state.
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One diner at a time
Colleen Stone, MaineToday.com
Dr. Atkins would have been horrified. Bread pudding. Biscuits. Home fries. My diet last week was a carb-hater's nightmare, but it was for the love of visiting some of Maine's best places — its diners. From the touristy to the townie, Maine has no shortage of them — my best estimate is around 70. In the interest of time and my waistline, I visited three distinct diners: The Maine Diner in Wells (oft-hyped and popular with tourists), the A-1 Diner in Gardiner (fancy diner) and the Miss Portland Diner in Portland (no-frills diner).
The Maine Diner, on busy Route 1 in Wells, hosts a banner boasting that it was "Featured on the Today Show." The hallway packed with patrons waiting for their beeper thingies to tell them their tables were ready pegged it as a destination diner. Would it be worth the hype?
I plopped down at the counter and ordered a cup of the seafood chowder, swayed by letters in the entryway begging for the recipe. When I said that all the cream and butter (not to mention the lobster chunks) in it was what made it so tasty, my waitress, Mari-Lee agreed with a quick "Darn right."
Sticking with the seafood theme, I tried a tasty crab cake sandwich and washed it all down with bread pudding — an enormous square topped with whipped cream. Bloated and happy, I chatted with the people flanking me and found them as diverse as the menu; a woman from Portland, Ore., who works for Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign, a painter from Kennebunk who vouched for the kitchen's cleanliness (he paints it) and a Berwick couple who tried to set me straight on why "Downeast" is so named.
Bottom line: Believe the hype.
Next up was the A-1 Diner in Gardiner, which lured me with its eclectic menu; along with traditional diner fare like franks and beans, dishes like sweet potato black bean chili and salmon with pesto make their home on the menu. A mention of bouillabaisse by a patron online sealed my decision.
I took a booth in the 1946 Worcester dining car to the sound of Madeleine Peyroux (score one for excellent music selection) and ordered a glass of Spanish red wine and a cup of carrot and dill soup. A lone man sat at the counter, a family of four was tucked into a booth and two women in the booth behind me discussed life and the annoying faces Renee Zellweger makes.
After polishing off the soup and accompanying biscuit (biscuit preferences here can earn you nicknames, hence "No Biscuit Bob" and "Two Biscuit Ned"), I tried the leek and asparagus strudel (no bouillabaisse that day). Delish. Not yet stuffed to the gills, I indulged in maple custard and chatted up people at the counter, which included the Fournier clan from Gardiner, real regulars. A quick survey of their plates — meat loaf, mac 'n cheese, burgers — revealed the Fourniers' penchant for the diner fare. Not to worry; according to waitress Lisa Lane, you can order wine with anything at the A-1. That's the beauty of the place.
With a new diner belly, I headed for the Miss Portland Diner. Like the A-1 Diner, the Miss Portland is a Worcester diner — one of three remaining in the state, a "real diner," owner Randy Chasse was quick to tell me. And indeed, a stainless "Worcester Diners" clock above the counter classifies it as such. But you won't find pesto salmon or other fancy fare there. Miss Portland is a diner's diner, cooking up the standards patrons have come to love over the past 55 years. Their trademark dish? Meat loaf.
The bacon, swiss and spinach omelette with toast and home fries I ordered wasn't fancy, but it was tasty and filling. As comforting as the food is the staff; service is friendly and some of the staff might make you think you've taken a seat on the set of Mel's Diner. When talking to a child who had taken a shine to her, waitress Mary Barnes asked if they'd like her to babysit and followed their affirmative nod with, "Hold on, let me get my masking tape!" and a hearty laugh.
A few minutes later, when regular Chuck Wordell expressed confusion over the only-breakfast menu being offered that day, Barnes explained it was because it was New Year's Eve. Then she stopped in her tracks and said, "You're usually here on Friday afternoons."
She was right. And that, more than a make of dining car, is what makes a diner a diner.
Three down. Lots more to go. As soon as I take a walk...
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