The smell of roasting coffee fills Rock City Books & Coffee (328 Main St., 207/594-4123,www.rockcitycoffee.com, 6:30 a.m.–7 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Sun. daily year-round), a favorite gathering place for locals and purveyor of gourmet coffees, teas, pastries, sandwiches perfect for taking on the ferry, and daily soup specials. (It also features a good selection of new and used books, including sections on Maine artists and boatbuilding.)

“Farm fresh” and “organic” are the buzz-words at Primo (2 S. Main St./Rte. 73, 207/596-0770, www.primorestaurant.com, 5–9 p.m. Wed.–Sun., $24–42), the number-one choice for destination dining in the region. Chef-owners Melissa Kelly and Price Kushner left New York to create their own restaurant in Maine, transforming a Victorian house into a series of intimate dining rooms surrounding an open-hearth kitchen. The elegance extends to the menu, which serves wholesome bistro fare such as char-grilled duck breast with buttered fiddlehead ferns and locally caught halibut with creamy white-bean puree and wilted dandelion leaves.