Maine's great – even if you hate lobster

The driver gave us a knowledgeable overview of Portland's history and landmarks. As we passed a life-size mural of whales on a wall of Hobson's Wharf near an alley of lobster restaurants, we were told that well over a century ago, the crustaceans had once been considered beggars' food, fit only for consumption by jailed prisoners.

For perhaps the first time in my life, I found myself feeling something approximating pity for criminals under lock and key. It's not as if the prisoners had Amnesty International around to campaign on their behalf to get something besides lobster on their menus.

I was cheered, however, to hear that a law was eventually passed to halt the feeding of lobsters to inmates more than three times a week.

But the relief of that news was tempered by the tour guide's factoid that approximately 53 million pounds of lobsters are caught in Maine each year.

Oh. That hardly narrowed the chances of my avoiding one.

The multicolored buoys of lobster pots were certainly evident at a 15-minute pause at Fort Williams park, a lovely picnic spot and home to one of Maine's 67 lighthouses.

Alas, all too soon we are departing this lovely view and heading back past the Cape Elizabeth neighborhood. The homes in the town's suburbs lend promise to the state's license-plate motto – Maine: The Way Life Should Be. The leafy, quiet lanes and gentle sloping hills are lined with enviable late-1800s Federal- and Georgian-style architecture.

As the trolley enters the city, I am struck by the predominance of red-brick buildings. Again, a tour-guide explanation: Firecrackers burned Portland down July 4, 1866, and the city rebuilt with brick rather than all-too-combustible wood.

Hungry following our mid-morning tour, we headed to the Portland Public Market, a source of pride in a city that has become a beacon for gourmets over the past decade. One by one, top chefs have come to Portland to make their mark in waterside restaurants. But of all the food establishments available, the one that every true foodie and casual tourist must visit is the Public Market. Here, more than 20 stands offer the finest from Maine's farmers.

If, like me, you have trouble picking from 31 flavors of ice cream, you'll be both delighted and flummoxed by the enticingly presented varieties of seafood, salads, cheeses, fruits, meats, and breads at the stalls. Fortunately, there are free samples galore.

Just a few minutes walk from the market is one of Portland's oldest houses, the childhood home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

More interesting is Victoria Mansion. The home's main draw is its stained-glass windows, which would put most chapels to shame. If that prospect doesn't make you glassy-eyed, check out the Stein Gallery of Contemporary Glass where the artistic possibilities of glass are stretched to their limits.

If there's one must-see museum, it's the Portland Museum of Art. It has an impressive selection ranging from Munch, Rodin, Wyeth, Homer, and Magritte to marquee attractions such as Courbet, Renoir, and Monet.

Come dinnertime, every local can offer suggestions on the best places to eat..

As for me, well, I wasn't able to avoid lobster. When I visited Decoupage, an upscale restaurant inside the Eastland Hotel, it was one of the courses on a set menu. Help! Would I have to operate on a lobster? (Waitress, would you pass me the scalpel and the nutcracker-thingy?)

As it turned out, the lobster wasn't in a shell at all. The meat was mixed with a croissant, tarragon, and assorted spices inside the shell of a large caramelized onion. And I have to admit that, like the restaurant's other dishes, it was good.

I still can't say that I'll don a lobster bib inside a Portland restaurant in the future, but I will definitely return to experience the way city life should be.

• For more information, see www.visitportland.com.

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