With a Record-Breaking Holiday Travel Season on the Horizon, The Daniel Opens its Doors for Holiday Cheer

The holidays are a special time for most families and this time of year usually means parties, dinners and gift-giving all around. But the holidays also mean travel, because for many the most cherished family and friends are not that close. At The Daniel we are prepped for a great holiday season for our guests and looking forward to what promises to be one of the busiest holidays in years.

AAA projects that 98.6 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday season, a four percent hike over last year. This represents the biggest year-on-year jump in travel and predicts the most travelers for a holiday period since the travel giant started keeping track of such things, all the way back to 2001.

At The Daniel, we have lined up a number of events for this year-end holiday period, which is defined as Dec. 23 to Jan. 4.

First, we celebrate the holidays with what is always the main center piece of any true holiday event — food.

Coast Bar + Bistro has two great meal options for Christmas.

Christmas Eve dinner will run from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 24 and Christmas day dinner will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 25.

Our kitchen has dreamed up a mouth-watering menu for the holiday dinners.

Start off with mixed greens with goat cheese, cranberries and toasted hazelnuts with a rosemary red wine vinaigrette or French Onion Soup.

Then delve into brown sugar glazed ham with mashed turnips and roasted asparagus with cashew butter or roast beef with roasted red bliss potatoes, green beans and a horseradish cream sauce.

Top it off with your choice of Eggnog Trifle or peppermint Needhams with house-made hot chocolate.

We guaranteed our dinner will put you in the holiday mood and fill the belly! Also, you can’t go wrong with all that delicious food on the holiday menu for just $36 per adult and $18 for children.

Click HERE for all the details on the Christmas dinner. 

Reservations are required for both dinners, with seating every 20 minutes. Call 207-373-1824.

But we aren’t done there on the holiday front!

We have lined up some killer entertainment and packaged it into a great New Year’s Eve event, featuring the live jazz music of Rob Schreiber’s Standard Issue, hors d’oeuvres, a dinner and dessert buffet, a glass of champagne at midnight and a bunch of other games and prizes to celebrate the start of 2015.

Check out the info for New Year’s Eve HERE. 

We also have a special New Year’s Eve Package for those that want a room for the night on top of all the great entertainment planned. 

In honor of what is expected to be a record-breaking holiday season, The Daniel offers some of the top travel trends for the end of 2014:

• Low gas prices are triggering more travel with the national average price of gasoline at the lowest level in five years and 69 cents lower than last year.
• The rise in the average Americans’ disposable income 3.5 percent over last year’s levels is prompting more travel.
• Low-cost airlines are driving down prices, with the average discounted round-trip airfares across 40 top domestic routes expected to fall seven percent this year, to $186.
•  According to TripCase, Hawaii (Kahului, Keohole and Honolulu), Florida (Palm Beach), California (Palm Springs) and New York (JFK International airport) are some of the top destinations this holiday season.

At The Daniel, of course, we are the top destination for our guests, but whether we see you this holiday season or not, we wish you all Happy Holidays!

Start a Thanksgiving Tradition with Dinner at The Daniel & Coast Bar + Bistro

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate family, friends and all those around you who make life better and fill up your days with the pleasure of their acquaintance. Nothing beats that decadent Thanksgiving dinner spread filled with both the traditional fare that harkens back to this country’s early days and also family favorites that have made the holiday meal special over the years.

While thoughts of Thanksgiving past may conjure up warm memories of a crowded table at grandparents’ house, the increasing trend now is for Thanksgiving dinner out or for families to take the holiday on the road for an extra-long weekend vacation. AAA Travel is predicting that 46.3 million Americans will travel this Thanksgiving holiday — the most since 2007.

At The Daniel and Coast Bar + Bistro, we are ever aware of the changing desires of our guests and customers. But we also wanted to jump at the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family and friends that fill up our days and for whom we are very grateful. So we are thrilled to offer a Thanksgiving Dinner on Nov. 27 at Coast Bar + Bistro.

Our culinary experts are in the holiday mood and they created a very special menu for a family feast as good as grandmother used to make it, but updated to bring a special feel to Thanksgiving dinner this year!

Coast Bar + Bistro has set up a fixed-price menu for $36 per person, $18 for children 10 and under, and kids under 3 eat for free. More details HERE.

Here’s what Coast Bar + Bistro can offer you for Thanksgiving eats — a mouthwatering experience that will allow you to enjoy the conversation and company of family and friends, but let your mouth savor same seriously good food, prepared 100 percent in the spirit of the holiday.

First dig in to some Butternut Apple Bisque with Nutmeg Crème Fraiche or Salad of Seasonal Greens, Roasted Beets, Herbed Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

Then loosen up those chops for three tremendous options.

Go for the traditional Thanksgiving bird with a Cider Brined Roast Turkey with Cranberry Apple Stuffing, Candied Carrots, Sautéed Green Beans, Home-style Gravy and Cranberry Compote.

Feeling in a pork mood? Try Maple Mustard Glazed Ham with Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Or finally, get the flavor of fall in a wonderful pasta package with Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce.

And don’t forget to make some room at the end to top off the meal with a dessert of Traditional Pumpkin Pie or Dark Chocolate Layer Cake.

In honor of Thanksgiving, The Daniel has compiled a list of some of the most popular Thanksgiving trends over the last several decades:

• In 2013, led by advice from food gurus such as Martha Stewart and magazines such as Bon Appetit and Saveur, bruleed pumpkin pies were all the rage.
• In 2012, the kale craze pushed many traditional greens off the plate, with creamed kale being the most popular dish served.
• Turkey glazes dominated in 2010, with everything from molasses, pomegranate, maple, cider, soy sauce and even malt beer dousing everyone’s favorite holiday bird.
• Sudden reports of the dangers of undercooked stuffing inside turkeys around Thanksgiving in 2006 had cooks across America taking the stuffing out of the bird and going with pan-roasted dressing.
• Thanksgiving 2005 was the year that the pig tried to take over and as a result bacon-draped turkey was popular, with recipes such as maple-roasted turkey with smoked bacon.
• The year 2002 has the distinction of owning the most outrageous Thanksgiving trend in the last 20 years with the “turducken,” a boneless monstrosity composed of a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey.
• Riding a late 1990s’ wave, balsamic vinegar took over 2001 Thanksgiving, with the dark liquid a popular glaze for everything on the table from carrots to sweet potatoes to squash to the turkey, itself.
• Right before the turn of the century the hip Thanksgiving trends might have gone a little too far. The result — truffle mashed potatoes, which rendered a timeless classic unrecognizable with copious truffle oil.
• In the mid-1990s, deep-fried turkey was all the rage, with the Food Network pushing the high-fat trend out across America.
• In 1995, the most recent Thanksgiving trends hit kicked off with an interesting note — faux turkey — as Tofurky, a vegan rendition of a roast turkey, stuffing included, was devised by an Oregon company.

We hope you will make your 2014 Thanksgiving trend to eat with us! 

Reservations at Coast Bar + Bistro are recommended for the Thanksgiving Dinner with seating every 20 minutes from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Call 207-373-1824 to get your family’s spot!

Fall in Maine is Not To Be Missed!

Camden Harbor, Maine (Photo by Cornexo)

Fall in New England is famous for many things, but above all else, is the yearly pilgrimage of the “leaf peepers” as they are known by some. It is the time of year when the color and beauty of New England foliage draws travelers from all over to see nature in its most vibrant state.

Mid-Coast Maine has its fair share of options to see colorful foliage and we at The Daniel are more than happy to help any fall enthusiasts find their way to visions of New England at its fall finest.

The foliage traditionally peaks around mid-October in the Mid-Coast region so you still have time to plan that perfect trip.

Maine’s state parks are some of the best places to target for leaf peeping.

Camden Hills State Park provides spectacular views of fall foliage and travelers can do so from the road to the top Mt. Battie, as well as from hiking trails on Mt. Megunticook and Bald Rock Mountain. 

The Donnell Pond Public Reserved Land in Hancock County near Sullivan and Franklin offers ambitious foliage enthusiasts hiking trails up Schoodic Mountain and Black Mountain that provide vistas on surrounding woodland, lakes and Acadia National Park across Frenchman's Bay.

For most, foliage viewing is traditionally an activity on the road and viewed through the auto window and Mid-Coast Maine has no shortage of options for a scenic foliage highway.

The Daniel recommends:

• Tourism Driving Tour: Windjammers & Water Views
  Start in Brunswick and head north along the coast to Camden, then inland to Unity and south through Union and Damariscotta State Park.
• Tourism Driving Tour: Acadia Harbors & Heights
  Begins in Bangor and then travel along the coast from Acadia National Park south, with many scenic lighthouse, water and wildlife viewing opportunities.
• Million Dollar View (Route 1)
  This stretch of U. S. Route 1 offers travelers unsurpassed views of the Chiputneticook chain of lakes including East Grand, Brackett and Deering.
• The Bold Coast Scenic Byway
  The 125-miles long Bold Coast route extends from the coastal fishing community of Milbridge eastward along the coast to Lubec, the easternmost town in the United States, and then scoops around Cobscook Bay to Eastport.
• Blackwoods Byway
  The towns of Cherryfield and Franklin, which serve as gateways to this byway, offer many good examples of 18^th century and 19^th century architecture, as well as the chance to experience rural small town life. 
• Schoodic National Scenic Byway
  This route passes through the only mainland section of Acadia National Park and beautiful Schoodic Point.
• Acadia Byway All-American Road
  Following Route 3, this byway follows Route 3 into Bar Harbor, and then follows the park loop road thereafter.

If leaves aren’t your thing there are plenty of other things to do as well.

The Coast Bar +Bistro has a killer lineup of music throughout October.

On Oct. 3 is James Good Eye offering up a unique blend of alternative and rock, inspired by Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen and Emmylou Harris, among others.

On Oct. 9, is Aaron Nadeau, a rising young artists from Maine who combines masterful guitar with his own blend of poetic lyrics.

On Oct., 10 is Andrew Yankowsky, a singer/songwriter from Portland, Maine, who specializes in a unique vocal style and a mix of folk, rock, reggae and jam music.

What we do expect at The Daniel is a busy fall season and the numbers back us up.

According to a recent consumer survey by AAA, the fall is a popular time to travel and that — depending on the region — as many as three of four people plan to take at least one, overnight trip of more than 50 miles in the next three months. AAA has also reported that as many as 45 percent of the public reports they prefer “off-season” based on the potential for savings versus peak travel periods.

Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA, said that people like to travel in the fall because they can find great deals, a lot of this stemming to school being back in session, allowing for hotels and other attractions not being as crowded and lower rates. He added that fall travel prices can be at some of the lowest rates you can find all year.

New research from Enterprise Rent-A-Car suggests that brief road trips and long weekends — of which the fall is a popular time for — may actually be the most desired vacations of all, even more than the traditional vacation of summer weeks at the beach. Enterprise found that two-thirds of Americans prefer to take a one-day or weekend-road trip as opposed to the one-third who prefer to take a least a week-long trip.

Whatever your fancy, The Daniel is ready to be the center of your fall getaway!