PortLand

originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
In the first week of August will be in Salem MA and Portland MA for two nights each, also Camden MA for one night. Would be grateful if anyone has more up-to-date suggestions for any of these.
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do you mean Portland ME (Maine?)

Maine & Loire wine shop in Portland
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Thanks. Yes, meant ME not MA.
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I have MANY thoughts on Portland ME and surrounding towns. PM me.
 
originally posted by scottreiner:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
In the first week of August will be in Salem MA and Portland MA for two nights each, also Camden MA for one night. Would be grateful if anyone has more up-to-date suggestions for any of these.
Click to expand...

do you mean Portland ME (Maine?)

Maine & Loire wine shop in Portland
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes, meant ME not MA.
Click to expand...

I have MANY thoughts on Portland ME and surrounding towns. PM me.
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me too. I'm there now. but Scott knows the area very well.
 
Oswaldo, I'd highly recommend that you make dinner reservations soon-ish for an August visit to Portland. It's a very popular tourist destination in the summer.

I'll post some recommendations for you soon. There's a lot of new places since this thread started.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
Oswaldo, I'd highly recommend that you make dinner reservations soon-ish for an August visit to Portland. It's a very popular tourist destination in the summer.

I'll post some recommendations for you soon. There's a lot of new places since this thread started.
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Thanks, Bill, will do.
 
Here's a list of restaurants I've eaten at as recently as last week and over the last couple years.

LEEWARD, one of the more interesting wine lists in Portland. Food didn't quite live up to the hype for me but I would definitely return.
CHAVAL, consistently very good. Basque, Spanish, French influences. Not a great wine list but there will be something of interest. All colors of Lopez Heredia were on the list last week. A Francois Cazin Petit Chambord was excellent with dinner.
IZAKAYA MINATO, Food is excellent. Drink sake and cocktails here.
TWELVE, new and getting a lot of attention. Food is exceptional. Wine list is terrible. I hear that may change but I don't know when.
CONG TU BOT, delicious Vietnamese. Drink beer here. Quirky,small but very fun atmosphere.
SCALES, Beautiful space on the docks of the Casco Bay. Terrific bar. Food is predictable New England fare executed very well. Wine list is hit or miss. Mostly misses.
FORE STREET, One of the old guards. Lovely space. Food is solid. Wine list has gotten much better over the years.
HUGO'S, I think the only place offering contemporary preparations. Haven't been in years.
CENTRAL PROVISIONS, Food here is really good. Some creative small plates that you can build a nice meal around. Wine list tends to vary from meh to having a few interesting things on it. Very popular. reservations are essential.
MIYAKE, One of my favorites. I always get the omakase with sake pairings.Wine list is disappointing.
HELM, I haven't been but the wine list looks like it may. be the best in the city. Mostly an oyster bar with a few entrees offered.
THE SHOP, go here for oysters. $1.50 a shuck is best price in city. Nice outdoor deck to relax on and slurp oysters mostly from New England.
HONEY PAW, I like this place a lot for lunch. Never had dinner there. Will be packed at lunch in the summer though.
EVENTIDE, gets lots of media attention. always a line to get in. expensive. not worth it in my opinion. go to THE SHOP to eat oysters.
DUCK FAT, people love this place. The French fries done in duck fat are exceptional. the rest of the menu is forgettable for me.
PAPI, a new Puerto Rican themed bar. Exceptional cocktails and atmosphere. I didn't eat here but the menu and dishes I saw coming out looked delicious. If I lived in Portland I'd go here all the time.

BEER- Maine is awash in good breweries. I am not a huge fan of IPAs which every brewery has in spades but a lot are now making very good lager, pilsners and stouts. Here's a list of worthy places to check out.
OXBOW, RISING TIDE, GOOD FIRE, BELL FLOWER (mostly too hoppy for me but theres some decent pale ales), LIQUID RIOT. Just outside of Portland in Freeport, MAINE BEER CO and MAST LANDING are worth a look.

Random Places to check out. Portland Museum of Art, Casco Bay Artsians (small but very interesting art gallery) Rosemont grocery stores. The bakery alluded to upthread below FORE STREET restaurant is STANDARD BAKING and it is excellent. Don't miss the EASTERN PROMENADE. Gorgeous views of the Casco Bay. There will be Food trucks there pretty much every day. Look for MR TUNA for delicious hand rolls.

Another fun thing to do is go to the docks and buy lobster and have the store steam them for you. HARBOR FISH MARKET AND FREE RANGE LOBSTER are best for this.

If you can take a side trip to Biddeford (20 minutes or so south of Portland) stop into Rabelais book shop. This place is a treasure. A large collection of first edition, out of print and rare cook books. The owner is incredibly knowledgable and very friendly. Best to email and see if he is going to be open when you are thinking of visiting. DM me if you want me to reach out to him as he's become a friend over the years.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some places but this should update the thread.
 
Thanks so much, Bill. With our son at Colby College for the next 3 years, we’ll surely be spending some time in Maine.

Mark Lipton
 
Can't believe I forgot Maine and Loire for retail wine shop. Peter and Orenda have single handedly raised the bar for the wine scene in Portland. Any disorderly would be at home their shop.

Wine programs still have a way to go in Portland. They haven't kept up with the growth of good, independently owned restaurants but they are light years ahead of where they were just 10 years ago. Maine and Loire has a lot to do with that.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Thanks so much, Bill. With our son at Colby College for the next 3 years, we’ll surely be spending some time in Maine.

Mark Lipton
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Enjoy it Mark! The state of Maine is stunningly beautiful.
 
Fabulous list, thank you Bill. We only have two nights and have already booked Scales for the first and was going to book Bar Futo for the second. Will now have a rethink based on what you wrote.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Fabulous list, thank you Bill. We only have two nights and have already booked Scales for the first and was going to book Bar Futo for the second. Will now have a rethink based on what you wrote.
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I was at a dinner last night in Philly that was a chef collaboration with owner/chef of Mr Tuna. Turns out he owns Bar Futo and Crispy Gai too. We talked for quite awhile and I think Bar Futo is worth checking out.
I also think you'd love Leeward, Chaval or Central Provisions.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Fabulous list, thank you Bill. We only have two nights and have already booked Scales for the first and was going to book Bar Futo for the second. Will now have a rethink based on what you wrote.
Click to expand...

I was at a dinner last night in Philly that was a chef collaboration with owner/chef of Mr Tuna. Turns out he owns Bar Futo and Crispy Gai too. We talked for quite awhile and I think Bar Futo is worth checking out.
I also think you'd love Leeward, Chaval or Central Provisions.
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Much appreciated. Since not every place opens on Sundays and Mondays, the sequence will indeed be Scales and Bar Futo.
 
If you're in Biddeford, go to Rover Bagel - they're not the super chewy NY style, but they're my favorite bagel anywhere. They bake in a wood-fired pizza oven.

Magnus on Water is also well worth a visit. Disorderly list, lovely space, decent cooking.
 
originally posted by twlim:
If you're in Biddeford, go to Rover Bagel - they're not the super chewy NY style, but they're my favorite bagel anywhere. They bake in a wood-fired pizza oven.

Magnus on Water is also well worth a visit. Disorderly list, lovely space, decent cooking.
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Thanks, we'll be driving through Biddeford on our way from Salem to Portland, so maybe! Especially if they have wood-fired cinnamon-raisin. Most likely will get me be thrown out, if this crowd is any indication.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
originally posted by twlim:
If you're in Biddeford, go to Rover Bagel - they're not the super chewy NY style, but they're my favorite bagel anywhere. They bake in a wood-fired pizza oven.

Magnus on Water is also well worth a visit. Disorderly list, lovely space, decent cooking.
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Thanks, we'll be driving through Biddeford on our way from Salem to Portland, so maybe! Especially if they have wood-fired cinnamon-raisin. Most likely will get me be thrown out, if this crowd is any indication.
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Could be. But I can definitely tell that you are not from NYC.
 
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