Love this small restaurant packed with big flavors served by really nice people. We always love…read morethe homemade pastas made with rich sauces. The family style house salad is simple and light - a good start to the meal. I got the pasta with sausage in a spicy red sauce - loved it. My wife ordered the chicken linen pasta. Everything was really good, though it could have used more lemon but otherwise delicious. We shared a bottle of the Barbera, which went perfectly with the food and our wallet (under $40). They are closing 10 April and will reopen Columbus Day weekend - we'll be back!!!

Hugs is always really good. The bread that they give you to start is to die for. The salad you also…read moreget complimentary is always great too and just a classic Italian. From the pastas, to the Parms, to the Piccata, you can't go wrong. I am a big fan of the Piccata, the havarti fritters, and the tiramisu! Such a great dessert. This place is so cute and tiny and quaint. It fills up super quickly, but is such a nice warm meal

Bear Belly's have been open for a few years now, located in between Philips and Madrid on Route 4…read more We have tried a number of times to stop in but always off times wise. Today, we hit the nail on the head. Just opened for the day we parked in front. Walked up the stairs and read the sandwich board with specials. Walked in to a cozy environment with wood accents, musical instruments on the wall, local artists work on the walls (also for sale), tiny flower vases on each table was very inviting. We chose to sit at the bar. Bartender was happy to see us and gave us specials information and told us to just holler when ready. Menu had a good variety of food I chose the chili and hubby their smash burger. Kitchen is located directly behind the bar. It is sparkling clean! The stainless steel was glowing it was so clean, I LOVE that having worked in F&B. While waiting bartender made small talk which we like, not overly sharing but enough to feel seen. Chili came with homemade cornbread that was toasted and out of this world DELICIOUS!! Chili was really good too. Not too spicy, thick with diced tomatoes, tinier peppers, and nice pieces of meat. Wowza was that good. Smash burger did not disappoint either, hubby said it's one of the best burgers he has had. They have a full display case with their homemade desserts so you can see before you buy. I was stuffed so did not take up on the offer. We did get a glance at the chef when we came in and asked the bartender to please give our compliments to the chef! Make sure to check for their hours, they open later than other places on Saturdays. They have a food truck outside, maybe they cater? Lots of outdoor seating for the nicer weather. If you are in the Western Mountains of Maine, don't drive by, stop and grab some amazing food!

While visiting family in Maine, we decided to try Bear Belly's based on a recommendation from…read moreanother relative. There was plenty of parking, and the atmosphere was enjoyable--spacious, comfortable, and featuring an outdoor bar with live entertainment. Our waitress was attentive and provided excellent service throughout the meal. I ordered the burger with onion rings, while my wife had the pulled pork sandwich with fries and coleslaw. The burger was cooked perfectly, though the roll--similar to a ciabatta--was a bit too firm for a burger. The onion rings were fairly standard, likely the frozen battered kind. My wife enjoyed the flavor of her pulled pork sandwich but found the bun too soft. It almost seemed as though the rolls for our meals may have been switched. Her fries were unfortunately soggy, as if they had been sitting under a warmer. Overall, Bear Belly's offers a pleasant dining atmosphere and friendly service, though there's some room for improvement in the consistency of the food preparation.

Quoted 20 minutes for a takeout burger, fries and cornbread. I arrived and was asked to pay (and…read moretip!) promptly. After paying, I learned of a miscommunication in the kitchen and was asked to check back in after about 10 minutes. On my second arrival, I was told that the "cornbread was just coming out of the oven" with no other updates or communication for the following 15 minutes . 50 minutes after calling (and receiving my 20 minute quote) I was out the door - no utensils, no condiments and a soggy burger bun. My meal: Burger was on the colder side, the cheese had gone translucent across the top of my patty. I had one hearty slice of romaine and a 1/2" thick crosscut of red onion as my toppings. Fries should have been hotter, and a serving of ketchup or other would have gone a long way. Corn bread was decent, and suitably hot for consumption.

Brisket sandwich was 3 pieces of fat covered in bbq sauce. Place smelt like a daycare. Waitress…read moretook 20 minutes to get drinks when we were the only people there. Never again.

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 Rack has always been the best Apres Ski bar in the east, serving up amazing live music and…read moredrinks that will have you struggling to make first chair. But in the past 2-3 years, their food game has gotten a complete make-over for the better. Our family's go-to is the Mexican Corn Street Nachos, add chicken, but recently we branched out more and let me tell you...it has not disappointed! Most recently, I had the Hot Pastrami Reuben (but had them remove the spicy components because #heartburn) and WOW, that was one of the best reubens I've ever had. not only that, but the pastrami itself was some of the best tasting pastrami ever. So juicy, flavorful, and not overly fatty. The BBQ is also phenominal. Maybe the post-skiing hunger and good beer selection makes me biased but hey....it really is good!

I've been going to "Taco Tuesdays" and "Wings Thursdays" for 4 years not. In that time the place…read morehas changed management. Prices are now 50% higher than 4 years ago. The taco table didn't have many items. For $15 a person, it was OK, but not great. They didn't even have TABASCO sauce or hot salsa. The beer was cold, and the twist of lime completed the picture. For 3 people, the tab came to just about $65 not counting tip. For that much money, I think I'll invite my friends over and make tacos, and I have Tabasco sauce too.

Over the last 3 years I've been rafting with Three Rivers, there is no way you can avoid The…read moreBoatman's Bar & Grill. But that's a good thing! The reason... well it's like this... the Boatman's is your central nervous system. Everything happens around the Boatman's. From the morning breakfast, to the rafting check-in and safety lesson, to the excellent meal after your exhilarating trip down the rivers followed by the slide show and video, to the amazingly awesome hollow log fire at night with live music, dancing, Friday Night Karaoke, and so much more! The Boatman's is great for a meal after a long day of rafting... they have excellent fall off the bone ribs, delicious and juicy burgers, delicious hot wings, and I hear from Bulb that the Bacon Pizza is to die for. The staff work hard here. Not only are they serving you, but some of them are also your raft guides, so be nice! Otherwise if they really want, they could dump you into the river. Hehehe! Drinks are cheap. Bands are always awesome. As Brian S has stated, "Always a good time!". Also, apparently there's now Wi-Fi, not that you'll be using the computer any time soon while you're up there, but just for informational purposes.

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.

It's been a long minute since I've written a YELP review, but I feel that places like this that…read moredon't get a lot of online reviews deserve a little effort when then deliver. I tend to lower my expectations a little bit when I find myself in smaller towns in rural areas, and this spot did a nice job exceeding them. My first time at the Black Pearl and I'll call it a fantastic addition to Rangeley, great space that felt well lit and comfy in a cold late winter night. Sat at the bar and had a really tasty blue cheese burger with an upgrade to risotto. Highlight of the night was the St. Paddy's special Guinness espresso martini. I had no plans for 3 of anything like this, but I had 3! Service was fantastic taboot!

Expensive, dreadfully overcooked branzino and tasteless Ahi appetizer. The only good thing was the…read morebread. The fish came without the advertised sides on the menu, but with completely different ones. I can't think of when I had another meal for $176 for two people that was this poor.