This Sunday the New Orleans Saints will be on TV screens across Maine, but there’s only one place to go to sample some authentic New Orleans grub. Po’ Boys and Pickles (1124 Forest Avenue, 207-518-9735), which opened in Portland this past December, is a low-key southern sandwich shop that is cheap enough, good enough, and trendy enough to become a local favorite.

Not much could have made the first quarter of the Pats game this past Sunday less painful. But I happened to be planted on a stool at Loco Coco’s Tacos in Kittery (35 Walker Street, 207-438-9322, www.locococos.com). It’s amazing what good food does to combat a bad mood!

There’s no time like the holidays to crack open a bottle and get creative. Holiday cocktails can be a great way to make use of those comforting seasonal flavors — from pomegranate and cinnamon to nutmeg and vanilla.

Tom Laslavic, the mixologist at Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn, says holiday cocktails are about “creating something that’s light, inviting, warming, and adds to the holiday sprit.”

This past weekend I partook in a bit of classic Maine, enjoying a few of Maine’s quintessential autumn offerings as well as sampling some delicious food from local restaurants. It was so good, and I’m so grateful to live in a place that allows me to do it, that I decided to share my itinerary. I recommend it to any local or visitor looking for a spectacular culinary escape on the coast. Herewith, my weekend of food:

There's something about Maine and the New York Times. First, a well-written, well-researched piece on why Portland is a food Mecca.
Now, just a week or so later, a thorough article on Maine, coming out of its other shell: the oyster shell.

It seems like I can’t get enough burgers this summer. Whether it’s making my own with local meat from Caldwell Farms (or from my co-worker’s cow, Connor) or stopping on the road for a quick bite, I’m eating more burgers than I care to admit. Burgers really are a perfect summer food – a no-mess meal for many on the cheap and piled high with the best summer fixings.
 

There’s nothing more inviting than an old cookbook. The pages give you recipes, of course, but they also are a poetic microcosm of culture, of a place and its people and its food.
 

In the August issue of Down East read about these tasty places:
 
Blue Sky— a review of the Lydia Shire restaurant in York Beach.
 

The July issue of Down East is packed with tons of food coverage:

You might have spotted a Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll popping up in a town near you. Pick up the magazine to read the full story behind the L.L. Bean heiress' lobster dreams.

Despite the rain, festivities are still planned for July, including the Potato Blossom Festival in Fort Fairfield. Food writer Peter Smith takes us to the Aroostook County tradition.

Photo courtesy of Bard Coffee

Bob Garver is a coffee connoisseur. The owner of Wicked Joe’s Coffee, a wholesale roasting company based in Brunswick, Garver decided to explore the retail side of life and opened Bard Coffee on Middle Street in Portland in April. [To read more about the coffee scene in Portland, see this article in the Portland Press Herald.]