In the coming weeks I will be putting together a three part primer on the areas we visited and the highlights we discovered - a mix of lots of research, conversations with locals, and dogged determination to find some special discoveries of our own, away from the Instagram havens that inevitably plague every itinerary.
In Maine the license plates read “Vacationland” or “Lobster.” They could just as easily read “Cold Beers” or “Sailboats,” but perhaps the most accurate option would be “Ice Cream.”
We are winding down a three week trip to this beautiful state, and I’m in for about two ice creams a day. I am leaning on this article to defend my habit.
All that is to say I’ve been eating ice cream up and down the state, and I feel like I’ve uncovered some gems. My highlights are Town Hill Market for soft serve, Morton’s Moo for hard serve (and the maple soft serve), and Dorman’s Dairy Dream for their Mint Chocolate Chip.
My favorite, however, is a special place worth a detour: Lulu’s in Rockland. I can’t link you to their site, because they don’t have one.
These days, there is something to be said for a business that is resolutely against the tide of breathless self promotion and an endless stream of social media content. It’s my own dream to rebel against it all for my own businesses, but simply put: I don’t have the gumption to do it.
There is hardly any evidence of Lulu’s existence online at all, despite being open for over 25 years. As far as I can tell, outside of a few Yelp reviews, no one has even recommended this place - a travesty.
I loved this place so much I am making this post free to all subscribers, but for my upcoming three part primer on Maine, you can opt for a paid subscription below:
We found Lulu’s strolling down Main Street in Rockland, Maine. I saw this sign, perched on the corner of an otherwise empty alley:
Who makes a sign like this?
It was distinctive. Handmade. Clearly the work of an artist. Even the little base was made by hand.
The sound of jazz drifted down the alley. I was sold. We walked down the alley and found the open air ice cream shop with a (kickass) jazz quartet playing.
We sat down, I turned to my wife and said, “This is the greatest ice cream shop I’ve ever been to. How is it not world famous?”
The place is called Lulu’s.
The soft serve was all made in house, an important distinction as most soft serve (including the one we serve at Leon’s) is from a purchased mix that is poured into a machine to freeze and dispense. It’s good, but being homemade is a beautiful distinction and a mark that someone really, really loves ice cream.
The menu was another sign that things were on point. First of all, it was beautiful and also handmade. It offered gelato in a series of flavors that humans love to eat. The hits, I’d call them: Pistachio, Mint Chocolate Chip, Sea Salt Caramel. No filler, no bullshit. The toppings were inspired. (Hello, freeze dried strawberries?)
And beyond the ice creams and sorbets, they offered floats (hello, nostalgia), sundaes, and traditional milkshakes as well as milkshakes punched up with booze.
We had a series of flavors: pistachio, lemon ricotta, ginger, and the toasted coconut sorbet. They were all perfect; the coconut sorbet was so good, my mouth waters when I think about it.
When the jazz quartet wrapped, the proprietor (Lulu was her dog) turned her large speaker on which continued the theme. Jazz gently filled the air, a soundtrack to the day.
This was all before dinner. After dinner, we returned for a customized shake: Toasted Coconut Sorbet with a dose of Cruzan Rum. So, so good.
Lulu’s is that rare place in America, serving a flawless product in a brilliant environment, but still relatively unknown after 20-plus years. Cleary they are doing enough business to still be around after so many years, but I wonder how NO ONE had mentioned it to me before. I hadn’t encountered it in any guide. My business partner, a fountain of information when it comes to these kinds of places, hadn’t mentioned it to me.
In a way, I’m glad to know these little gems still exist. In a world where everything has been breathlessly hyped and endlessly documented, it’s nice to know you can still discover something new. Maine was full of these kinds of surprises, and I was so happy to have the chance to explore the coast, creating my own guidebook that I could share with others.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my own guide to Maine. It’s never too early to start planning your adventures for next summer.
Best,
Brooks
There are many reasons I love going to North Haven Island off the coast of Maine. But first among them is the opportunity to hang out in Rockland while we are coming and going on the ferry. As a lifelong ice cream fanatic, Lulu's is a first stop whenever possible! But also the Rockland Cafe (441 Main St.) has the most divine, old fashioned comfort food (get the fish cakes) and The Atlantic Bakery (351 Main St.) has such fabulous granola I order it by mail all year long. Rockland is a little foodies' paradise!