Iconic New England Restaurant & Brewery Celebrates 24th Birthday

From Cape Cod to Aroostook County, New England is home to some of the country’s best restaurants.

A few of these restaurants, however, stand out from the pack.

The Moat Mountain Smokehouse is one of these standouts.

Since the summer of 2000, The Moat has been serving up amazing BBQ and great beer. Breaking a recent trend in restaurants this place has been around for over two decades. In fact, on July 2, the restaurant celebrated its 24^th birthday.

The Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewing Company is tucked away in the tourist hub of North Conway, New Hampshire. You’ll find the restaurant in an old farmhouse that sits along Route 16 just north of the village.

After a trip to Texas, the owner started dabbling in BBQ, so it should not be a surprise that the restaurant’s kitchen serves up some of the best BBQ in New England. House specialties include the Texas-style brisket, Carolina smoked pork, and BBQ meatloaf. The large serving sizes will leave no doubt in your mind that this restaurant caters to those with bigger appetites.

The Moat Mountain Smokehouse isn’t just about smoked meats, though. The menu is filled with amazing culinary creations dreamed up by the head chef. The garlic pepper-crusted ahi tuna bowl, the Thai chicken pizza, and the curried crab & asparagus bisque, for example.

The sides are amazing, too. Sometimes, they even become the most memorable part of the meal! The butternut squash will literally melt in your mouth, the ginger-lemongrass rice pairs well with some of the bolder entrees, and you must try the cajun fries.

Guy Fieri stopped by the restaurant in 2022, so clearly, they are doing something right.

Then there’s the beer.

Yes, Moat Mountain is more than just a great restaurant. They brew amazing beer there, too. They brew a variety of IPAs, brown ales, and pilsners.

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Learn more about the restaurant and brewery on their website.

We wish the team at Moat Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery another 24 years of success!

32 of South Portland, Maine's Best Restaurants

Just south of Moosehead Lake lies a memorial that some may not know about. The memorial is a short hike in, right on the southern slope of Elephant Mountain in Piscataquis County.

The memorial is the crash site of a B-52 Stratofortress that went down on a training mission in 1963.

The site is now a popular hiking destination for folks to learn of its history and to pay respect to the seven men who lost their lives that fateful day.

A thank you to Erin from Norway, who took these very powerful images of the site, and allowing us to tell the story through her work.

Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka