Diet in advance, order conservatively, and plan to share. That advice comes paired with nearly any recommendation for Grammy’s Country Inn. This unassuming restaurant in Linneus, just southwest of Houlton, has a reputation that may exceed the ginormous portions of scratch-made comfort foods it serves.
Now I’ve been to a lot of home-cookin’ joints in Maine, but I’ve never seen portions as huge as those served in this place. Nor have I ever seen such humongous whoopie pies.
“One lady asked us to weigh one,” a waitress told me when I was admiring one of these two-fisted treats. “So I took it out back. The scale only goes to 2.5 pounds, and it went straight down and stayed there.” A customer standing nearby said she buys one and easily splits it four ways.
Mostly made from scratch with local ingredients
“We make almost everything from scratch,” says owner Steve Graham. “Every piecrust is hand kneaded. We boil our own eggs; peel our own potatoes. They’re aren’t many places that go through the gravy we go through and make it from scratch.”
Whenever possible, making from scratch means locally sourcing ingredients, including fiddleheads, broccoli, and seafood. “We use about 3,000 pounds of potatoes each week, all County potatoes, I’ve never bought a bag from elsewhere,” Graham says. He loads his pickup at a local farm, and it’s not unusual to see workers stationed outside the restaurant peeling mountains of them.
Plan on plentiful leftovers
Everything at Grammy’s comes in gigunda sizes. The couple next to us ordered chicken salad sandwiches. There must have been a pound of homemade goodness between those two slices of homemade bread. It required a fork to eat (seriously!).
Tom had a chef salad made with home-cooked chicken and home-cooked ham plus lots of other goodies (tons of vegies, meats, and cheeses and very little lettuce). It fed him for lunch, then the two of us later for dinner. One salad: three meals.
Had to laugh when I saw an ice cream puff go by: Must have been a pint of ice cream atop the pastry and drowned in chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Could have fed a family of four, but it was ordered by one lone guy at a table, who washed it down with milk.
Grammy’s Country Inn fries everything
Now Grammy’s will deep fry just about everything. The day’s specials might include deep-fried fiddleheads, deep-fried broccoli, and deep-fried lobster (?!…Sometimes, you can take a good thing too far, lobster? really?) But when it comes to fries, remember, Aroostook is Maine’s potato county. Now plenty of places claim to make their own fries, but as I left, I watched two young men outback peeling the potatoes. I’m a believer. The plates of fried clams came mounded atop the fries. Honestly, it kind of looked the Mt. Everest of fried seafood dinners!
Bottom line: Planning on leaving with leftovers. Even then, you’ll barely make a dent in the wallet.
UPDATE: Visited Grammy’s in 2019, and it still dishes out humongous portions of comfort food. And those whoopie pies still weigh in well over 2 pounds.
we need your address! we think you have a whoopie pie with our names on them!!!
Just wondering how early this restaurant opens on Saturday mornings? I’m from New Brunswick and we often stop here. We love this place!!
good question. anyone know? If not, I’ll give a call one of these days and get the answer.
Monday through friday were open from 6am to 9pm. Saturday and Sunday were open from 7am to 9pm. Breakfast stops at 11am.
Thanks, Brian. And are those four-pound whoopie pies available all day?
I am so home sick now grew up in Bangor & have lived in Lakeland,Fl.
for the past 15 years. I will always love Maine & now I crave fir it even more !
I have eaten at many places around the country and this is up there amoungst the best. I was there this weekend and my main goal was to have the cream puff but I was so full I could not order one of those monters!! Decided next time I am up at camp I will go just for dessert!!! 🙂 Did however take a whoopie pie back to camp!! I recommend to everyone headed that way to stop in.
OOOHHHH I GUESS ITS ALRIGHT, ARE YOU KIDING ME, I GOT IN THE BOOTH, BUT I’LL BE DAMED, IF I COULD GET OUT, IN FACT, I’M STILL IN THE BOOTH BY THE DOOR, AND THEY KEEP FEEDING ME, SO I WILL NEVER LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P. S. HELLPPP ME!!!!!!!!!!! P.S.S. JUST KIDDING, IT WAS THE BEST FOOD EVER. WE WILL BE BACK.
Best place to eat in the county! Drive from Pennsylvania each winter to snow sled and EAT at Grammy’s. They keep you coming back!
Best place to eat in the County! Drive from Pennsylvania every winter to snow sled and EAT at Grammy’s. They keep you coming back for more!
I get to go to Maine a couple times a year, and every time we go to Grammy’s Country Inn. No place better!
We visit every year or two from florida and look forward to eating at grammy’s. The food is great ,the countryside is beautiful and the people are the best. See you in july .
My husband and I just love this place. Can’t say enough about the great service we get each and every time we are there. We are from NB and planning a trip there tomorrow. I can’t wait. Leftovers for the rest of the weekend! Excited to see my favorite waitresses again! You girls rock!!!
Ya’ll better come back soon.
Grammy’s is CLOSING in Linneus.
Moving to Houlton. It’ll be a great loss for us in Linneus.
Sounds like a great place to eat. Has it moved to Houlton yet?
Grammy’s plans to remain at its current location in Linneus at least through the summer.
From Bathurst N.B., and totally love your place……Be sure to let us know when and where your moving .
any of my cousins ever stop by ie clyde,or,bruce warman????linneus boys philip sharp rehoboth ma
My husband found Grammy’s while he was doing a job in Houlton a few years ago. He came back raving about how good the food was and how insane the portions were. He finally got the chance to take me and the kids there; a 3 hour drive from our home in Machias. It was and still is soooo worth it! With mountains and mountains of food, all delicious, and whoopie pies and cream puffs as big as your head what could be wrong? Absoultly nothing! Service is always friendly and great even when its jammed-packed. This is one of those places I would love to see featured on Food Networks, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
Where will you be located in Houlton? Also, when will you be open in the new location?
Just wondering if “Grammy’s Country Kitchen” has moved out of Linneus yet ? And, if so – where are you now located in Houlton ??
We will be there for Thanksgiving are you open and can we get a phone number please to make a dinner reservation. Thank you Tresa King
Again to clarify, I’m not Grammy’s and I’m not sure how often the folks there check here. You probably want to Google the phone number and call directly. Enjoy!
i found the best resturant in aroostook..the food omg ,1 plate could feed 2 adults easily…it sure beats chinese food .. dont move to houlton ,, MOVE TO MARS HILL!!!!!!!!!!! lol thank you
best food in the north
My late husband and I happened on this great place 17 years ago. We visited it again a few years later. Next week my son and I will be visiting Maine, and this is the Maine restaurant I plan to visit again! My son is a 6’4″ guy who loves to eat, so I’m sure it will be a highlight for him, too. I am SO happy to know they’re still around!!
Grammy’s isn’t moving to Houlton. It’s staying put in Linneus.
Everytime my wife and I go to Grand Lake we go to Grammy’s three times in one week. Once for each meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Love the place.
We live in our home in phoenix,Az .we take one month vacation at our home in Oakfield every year.we always stop and eat at Grammy’s,we love eating at your nice and humble country style restaurant and the homecooking and the plentiful amount of it ,that no others do. we leave very happy and full, no room for desert but we eat half of a whoppie pie and other pies and take the rest of it to our lovely home in oakfield. Please do not move from you location, it is in great country location and very well known route.Advice from an excook from Chicago,ILL who is going to have his own after retirement somewhere in arroostook or Washington county .THANK FOR GREAT GREAT FOOOOOOOOOOD THE BEST…OMAR&SHIRLEY
Ate at Grammys for the first time. I had the clams and they came piled high on hand cut fries. They were the best clams I have ever had, and I live on the downeast coast. I took one of the gigantic whoopie pies with me. Great service and great food. Can’t wait to go back.
My hubby and I found Gram’s when we were with a few friends on our motorcycles.The food is great and a lot of it…I saw a turkey dinner come out and tow people shared it. We met up with some friends and had breakfast.My hubby’s pancakes were as big as a hub cap…I kid you not….Go hungry and enjoy….
great just need more bake potato’s
Found Grammy’s just after they closed on a Saturday nite. Five hungry guys snowmobiling. They unlocked, opened up, fed us our fill of coffee and desserts, pointed the way to the trail we wanted, smiled and waved goodby. Great people. My wife and i have introduced many to Gammys. Never anything but exceptional. We make the trip up to the county thru the “woods” a couple time a year from Bangor.
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