In recent years, Portland, Maine, has emerged as one of New England's buzziest culinary destinations. From cafes to bakeries to fine dining establishments, the city offers a range of dining experiences for gourmands to enjoy. Book a room at the Longfellow Hotel for a convenient base camp as you eat your way around town. The minute I crossed the Piscataqua River Bridge connecting New Hampshire to Maine , I felt a gnawing in my belly. The weather was classic coastal New England: cold, wet, and foggy. At 3:30 p.m., it was a little late for lunch. But the smell of the ocean and the sound of the seagulls told me, a born-and-raised New Englander, two things: that I was home, and that I needed a lobster roll.  When I was a child, my parents had summer houses in Ogunquit and, later, York—two seaside villages that embody the “Vacationland” motto still printed on Maine license plates.…