Amazing food, cute towns, and biking
 

My husband and I are looking for a cute town that we can rent & ride bikes in that has amazing food either on the east coast or a lake. We imagine riding bikes (must rent), staying at a B&B or resort and riding bike into town, with friendly folks, and fantastic food (we love to eat good food; seafood is a plus). We're going the last week of August for about 5 days after dropping our kids off at college and just want some down time for the two of us. We'll be flying from Chicago, something we need to keep in mind. Any experience or suggestions?

Concord NH probably doesn't rate as high on the foodie scale as Portland ME but it has some nice bike routes and some avid bikers. The Centennial is supposed to be very nice, not your regular hotel.

I think there's at least three homemade ice cream places. Red River Theater (independent) and a nice downtown, a several parks in various parts of the city.

You can also go kayaking on the Merrimack River. The rental service will drop off and pick you up at the take out place. The Boscawen/Jamie Welch Park to Rivco in Penacook is a great half day paddle (take a picnic lunch).

But to get a better food rating, you might head to Manchester for dinner. Lots of variety. Check out the Hippo Press, a free newspaper (see website) for things going on. A recent article on Bicentennial Square sounded nice (Concord). Coffee during the day. Brews at night.

Look at the Mystic, CT area. There is. A bike rental in town on rt 1. You could fly into Providence RI and rent a car, or take a track to the Mystic station.

Mackinac Island meets all of your criteria except the Amazing Food. Not that the food isn't good, but it isn't amazing unless you are addicted to fudge. The last week of August is a good time to go, as the peak summer crowds are gone, but everything is still open.

How about Simsbury Connecticut? They have a freebike program (google it) with miles and miles and miles of paved trail (the Farmington Valley Greenway). Cute Main Street, with nice inns. Not sure about food in Simsbury but a 15 minute drive to West Hartford Center has lots of great food options. You can also go tubing on the Farmington River in nearby New Hartford.

Have you ruled out Door County, Wisconsin?

There are many, many towns in New England that would meet your requirements as far as scenery, water,and biking, although some can be quite hilly. Perhaps the best choice might be Cape Cod - spectacular beaches of every kind, dozens of miles of paved, bikes only trails, and hundreds of good restaurants. Look at Wellfleet, Falmouth and Chatham for starters.
Other areas to look at might be the lakes region of New Hampshire (Sunapee, New London, Wolfeboro,etc), The Warren - Waitsfield area of Vermont, or the Hanover/Norwich area of New Hampshire & Vermont. Rural New England isn't considered a great food mecca, but there are some very good restaurants to be found.

Nantucket, MA has miles and miles of bike paths, great beaches, the quaintest town possible (cobblestone streets, hundreds of houses built before 1850), and world class restaurants, though at world class prices.

New Preston CT is your town. Lake Waramaug is your lake. The Boulders (or other inn on the lake) is your inn. Their rest. is your rest. Or even West Side Cafe in Litchfield.

You're in luck, the Wolfeboro Inn appears to have an opening. Fly into Manchester NH and drive to Wolfeboro. Be sure to take a hike up Mt. Major! Bring the bug spray just in case, though it's really not the buggy time of year.

http://www.mapmyride.com/us/wolfeboro-nh/