Just outside the park entrance in picturesque Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream (7 Firefly La. and 325 Main St., 207-288-5664, $4, www.mdiic.com) handcrafts some of the most luscious frozen treats in this land. This is high-butterfat, top-quality ice cream that comes in both expected (blueberry, cookies-and-cream, peanut butter) and eyebrow-raising (cinnamon-cardamom, Indian pudding, chocolate wasabi) flavors. Dairy thrill-seekers might should sample the, eh, distinctive Neato Doritos ice cream which is, yes, laced with bits of genuine Doritos
You'll find a far-more traditional, but not less enticing culinary option within the park boundaries: The Jordan Pond House (Park Loop Rd., about four miles south of the turnoff to Cadillac Mountain, 207-276-3316, $11 to $21 lunch entrees, www.jordanpond.com) has been a refined venue for lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner for more than a century. Tried-and-true seafood classics, such as steamed lobster and shellfish chowder, are the hallmarks of this rustic spot with enormous fieldstone fireplaces on the inside and romantic seating outside on the gracious lawn overlooking Jordan Pond and "the Bubbles," a pair of gently sloping twin mountains. Don't leave without sampling one of the restaurant's famous popovers (try them filled with ice cream and covered with chocolate sauce for dessert). (Andrew Collins)