1.25.2014

Weekend Trips: Portland, Maine (Day Two)

The first order of business for me each day is a cup of coffee - and I had spotted a place called Speckled Ax on the walk home the night before. Portland is serious about it's coffee and the Ax is no exception. I ordered up a cafe au lait to fuel my walk.

Cafe au Lait at Speckled Ax in downtown Portland
From there, we walked down Congress Street - one of the main areas of downtown - that was dotted with historic architecture and snowy city parks.

Park on Congress Street
Honestly, after DuckFat, I thought Eventide Oyster Company was going to be a madhouse. I was steeling myself for a crazy hour wait for lunch. But within five minutes we were seated at the bar and had local oysters and litteneck clams on the way and brunch cocktails in hand.
Littleneck clams and a dozen local oysters at Eventide
You guys... the menu. It's insane. I wanted to taste everything on it. And, damn near did. I started off with the Fluke Carpaccio which was served with these gorgeous watermelon radishes and spiked with jalapeno pepper. Next - hat tip Jim Webster - I had the Fried Oyster Bun. We're talking perfectly fried oysters nestled in a Asian-style soft steamed bun. I could have eaten four more of them. 

But I had to poach off my dining companion's plate. After all, he had the Lobster Benny - a decadent take on Eggs Benedict - and the Lobster Roll with Brown Butter Vinaigrette (they also make a mayo based version if that's your vice.)

Clockwise: Fluke Carpaccio, Oyster Bun, Lobster Roll, Lobster Benny
As we digested, we chatted with the bartender and tried more of the great local beers and liquors. In particular, I had really liked the Portland-made Ingenium Gin - and Eventide made me a gin and tonic with their house-made tonic that was right up my alley. (On the beer front, I became a huge fan of the Oxbow.)
Ingenium Gin and Eventide House-Made Tonic
At this point, we either needed a nap or to walk it all off. But the sun was breaking through, and I was amped to see the water, so we headed up Munjoy Hill to check out Casco Bay.

It was so cool to see people sledding down a snowy hill with beaches at the base. The Eastern Promenade allows you to easily walk from Munjoy Hill all the way around to the harbor and back downtown.

Walking the Eastern Promenade along Casco Bay
As cool as walking a snowy beach is, my feet were freezing in my rookie Floridian boots, so we headed up from the harbor into downtown to check out the boutiques. JL Coombs on Exchange Street hooked me up with some wool socks and a pair of fuzzy warm snow boots. I was much warmer after that and insisted that we keep the day going at The Thirsty Pig across the street.
Allagash White and new boots at The Thirsty Pig
We had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Street & Co., so we wandered around downtown. One of my favorite finds was Vera's Fizz House on Fore Street which is stocked with all kinds of bar accessories and ingredients. Basically, everything to make your booze better. And, there's a tasting bar in the back that also makes hot chocolate, cider and more. We left with all kinds of bitters, tonic syrups and stirrers to make our home bar better.
Vera's Fizz House
Cold again, we were coming upon Fore Street which a lot of people had recommended (hey, we can only fit so much in!) It was so quaint and beckoning that we had to go inside and check it out. This is most definitely on my list for next time. This time, we just stayed for a drink and a perusal of the menu.
Manhattan at Fore Street
Our final meal that day was at Street & Co. I was exhausted, and possibly still full from all of the other things we'd had all day. But, the Linguine with Clams and White Sauce was worth every bite... even the ones I had the following day as we ate leftovers in the hotel room.
Linguine with Clams & White Sauce at Street & Co
As I collapsed into bed, I was already thinking, "Where are we going to eat tomorrow before our flight?" I might have a problem. 



1.24.2014

Weekend Trips: Portland, Maine (Day One)

I had no idea how easy it was to get to Maine from Washington, DC! We left DCA and an hour and a half later (plus a 15 minute cab ride to the hotel) we were sipping amazing coffee and on our way to a gluttonous, romantic, fun weekend.

When Maine in the dead of winter was proposed, this Floridian gave a side eye. But, a quick search of Portland's menus and it's simple to see how this walkable, waterfront downtown is one of the best "foodie" trips in the country.

I insisted that we hit the Portland Winter Farmers Market, which was a bit of a hike, but doable. There's a coffee and crepes food truck out front, a kombucha bar in the back, an apocathary, a bakery and loads of vegetables, meats and dairy.

Portland Winter Farmers Market
Next up, we wandered two buildings down to visit Tandem Coffee Roasters, an adorable cafe and roastery where I immediately zoned in on a Chocolate Sea Salt Donut by Holy Donut and a latte. I'm still thinking about it. The barista was super cool and we struck up a conversation about how great the DC coffee scene is getting. It was fun that he knew about places like Chinatown Coffee and Dolcezza (which BTW is opening a gorgeous tasting room near Union Market in March 2014).

Tandem Coffee Roasters
With all of the eating ahead of us, we knew we needed to walk. a. lot. And, walk a lot we did. Portland's a great town to explore, particularly in a snowy winter wonderland. I loved the street art around town.

I wanted to see the water. Which, I kind of could through the snow and fog. I loved this Christmas tree made of crab (or maybe lobster) traps.

Portland Harbor
Our lunch target was the much-hailed DuckFat. The poutine was decadent - maybe because we doubled down on the fried eggs on top. We also sampled the pork belly panini and the duck confit panini. The meal and service was great, but I'll warn you, even in the dead of winter, this joint was jammed... and lousy with foodies. You know the type (points at self)... the ones in for the weekend that were oohing and ahhing and being all reverent of the meal and taking photos. Basically it was a bit like going to Paris and finding yourself surrounded by Americans at a cafe. 

DuckFat
Sculptures Downtown
We had planned to go to dinner at Eventide, but after the foodie feeding frenzy at DuckFat, we wanted to go off the reservation a bit. (Spoiler: Lots more about Eventide to come...) As we were walking off lunch, we passed this tiny place called Piccolo that looked adorable and served Italian. We sort of looked at each other like, well we didn't come to Portland to eat Italian, but something about it felt right. So as soon as it opened, we called to get a reservation.

I almost don't want to write about it lest it become taken over by people like me, but Piccolo was perfect. The tables were taken up by locals and we found seats at the chef's bar where the team helped us navigate the best bites on Chef Damian Sansonetti's menu. 

We started off with a salumi (please note that it was served on a board made by Maine state prisoners... clearly I must have one) and the pulpo, which was nestled in kale and chick peas.
Spuntino at Piccolo
For dinner we shared the special of the day, a buttermilk-soaked chicken with truffles and the spaghetti with crab and chiles. Loved every minute of it.
Entrees at Piccolo
I'd like to say we collapsed after that, but our server at Piccolo recommended we check out The Portland Hunt & Alpine Club on the way back to the hotel. It's one of those joints with no sign. You look for the neon sign with the stars and your reward is classic and creative cocktails and great music in a cool but laid-back environment. I had a perfect Sazerac in a nod to my previous weekend trip to New Orleans.

I either had enough layers or the cold in Portland is different than the cold we get in DC. It was constantly snowing, but it was fluffy and pretty, especially this park outside of Hunt & Alpine.


Keep reading to see what I ate and where I went on day two of the Portland, Maine weekend trip...

[NOTE: I flew the US Airways direct flight from DCA. Southwest also flys direct to Portland Jetport from BWI. If you're looking for a place to stay, the Westin Portland Harborview Downtown is convenient, was reasonable and is located in the historical Eastland Hotel. It also has a rooftop bar that has floor to ceiling window views to take in the town, while staying warm and hydrated.]