From My Travels - Portland, ME
Arriving in Portland, it quickly became clear this was a hub of quality food and incredible service - a dream eating weekend destination. Extremely walkable - especially if you’re going on 4-5 meals each day - with a friendly atmosphere that is easy to settle into. Portland is high on my list for weekend trips. Here’s where we went:
Rose Foods - outside the city center is a wonderful bagel shop. Living on Nantucket, a truly good bagel is not readily available, so we ended up here for breakfast two days and bought bagels to bring home. You cannot miss out on the pastrami nova lox, as savory and salty as it gets, paired with the horseradish cream cheese, onion and parsley on the Henry VIII, I added cucumbers and opted for the rye bagel. A perfect bite.
The Honey Paw - the immediate highlights were the house made Thai chili sambal and the pickle plate, with a daily rotation we enjoyed green beans, hakurei radish and shiitakes (the standout of the three). Go for cocktails, small plates and share some noodles. A great stop along the food tour.
Blyth & Burrows - this is a must-visit. We spent hours here and could’ve stayed longer. Started in seats outside and enjoyed our first cocktail there, then we managed to find our way to the speakeasy - an industrial room behind a back wall where we made ourselves at home. The cocktail program is incredibly creative, with red pepper foams, tom yum inspired drinks and in-house carbonated bottled cocktails. The “Frieda Fuzzpaws” - mezcal, kiwi, celery, ancho lime and said bell pepper foam - was the star of the visit. Service matched the quality of the drinks tenfold. One note: it definitely will fill up so find your seat and stay a while.
Wayside Tavern - we stumbled upon here between meals; next time I’m in Portland, I’ll return hungry. Along with a lovely gin martini, we shared two bites: roasted scallops with caviar beurre blanc and a tuna crudo. The menu reads as though it would be impossible to order wrong. I’ll definitely be back.
Central Provisions - a truly stunning meal. Sit in - its tight and cozy, so get to know your neighbors and order it all. Hamachi with toasted coconut and perilla leaves, the simply perfect anchovies, and you cannot forget the section of the menu dedicated to foie gras. We found it quite easy to savor each bite, sip and conversation here.
Others worth mentioning include wine bar Maine and Loire, Via Vecchia, Crispy Gai, and Izakaya Minato - a Japanese spot that came highly recommended but was unfortunately closed on our attempted visit.
