We (my cousins Nancy and Kathy and myself!) decided we'd round up our littles and go on an adventure - a day trip to Portland, Maine. We originally were going to go to Napa, but with the arsenic issues paramount across the wineries in California we nixed that idea. We thought NYC might be in the cards too, but that got nixed because it was just too far and it would be too hectic to do for a one way trip. Since we're foodies one of the places we've been itching to go is Portland, Maine - a 1 hour and 45 minute drive from Boston. I love eating with my cousins - they're fantastic fooding partners because we love food (that's a given), we all eat similarly in that we're adventurous in that we're all open to new things, we're happy to order at our leisure instead of the entire kitchen sink, and most importantly we go with the flow. It ended up being an easy drive and we got there in time for lunch! I've definitely found a new favorite destination, and I can't wait to go back with Ken and Kasen. We are big fans of Maine, for the lobster, for the laidback easy atmosphere, and for camping - we always head to South Arm for camping (though we haven't been able to lately because all of our friends have young kids/are having young kids!). Am hoping we can get back to our South Arm hardcore camping one day.
 |
| Fried Hake |
 |
| Fried Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich |
Eventide was our first stop - we ordered brown butter lobster rolls in a soft white bao - we were prepared to know that they would be small bites as opposed to a full fledged lobster roll that most are used to - but it was so delicious. Since we were planning on eating small amounts more frequently throughout the day (more of a Portland tasting tour, if you will!) we were fine with having a smaller meal at Eventide. We also had an array of Maine oysters - all rather briny, but delicious. For the kids we got them fried hake and a fried buttermilk chicken sandwich - perfect for them. To accompany the food we were determined to choose something local, and something we haven't tried before, the Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale - a delicious summer beer. It's got citrus and pine notes - tastes just like Maine!
Our next stop was Little, this cute kid's shop on Exchange Street. I am so ridiculously love with the shop - they had a cute little tent where my cousin Nancy read to the kids. We ended up purchasing an Almost an Alphabet book along with several other purchases. My favorites? Small Frye Greene Mid Lace boots in Black (Kasen chose black...I liked it so much I ordered the next size up in brown), 3 pairs of bunny socks from Mini Dressing, and a navy tee from Tea Collection. I seriously wanted to buy EVERYTHING in there. I had to force myself to leave. I had it bad.
Our next stop was the Holy Donut, made from "real" maine mashed potatoes. The potato base gives the donut a chewy and far denser bite than many other cake donuts. My favorites were the dark chocolate sea salt, the maple, and the maple bacon. Delicious. I brought a half dozen back for my coworkers, and had to take a picture while in the toy store down the street, Treeshop Toys. Which by the way Kasen did not let me leave without buying him a carnotaurus, a green dragon and two Thomas the Train rescue trains. Sigh.
We stopped by the Love Locks Project, which mimicks the love locks bridge in Paris over at Pont des Artes that recently (sadly) got taken down. We stopped by for beers at both J's Oyster and fried clams at Portland Lobster Company. Yums!
We also headed to an early dinner at Fore Street - once the doors opened, we rushed in to try and nab a reservation and promptly got seated in 20 minutes. Reservations at Fore Street often have to made months in advance. I kid you not. And they only have dinner service. The food and service was superb. The mussels were to die for! While we didn't get to go to Standard Bakery, Fore Street is situated right above it and all of the baked goods at Fore Street are from Standard Bakery ;)
No comments
Post a Comment