Portland Recommendations (2022)

It’s a new(er) spot, so that may be why you don’t know about it.

Much bigger than their original location.

Ah cool, gotcha. Yeah that makes sense, enjoy! Eventide is awesome, and at that time of the night on a Thursday in March I’m sure you’ll be ok getting in.

Oh yeah, totally forgot about that. No matter what, I try to get a Hand Slab when I’m in town. It’s a must-stop for me.

And if you’re full you could always split one. Plus, their craft beer list is killer.

If they have the lasagna pizza on the menu that day, get it. That is all.

As I said above, I’ll send your Slab comment!

On my last trip I heard multiple people rave about MBC’s pizza. There’s also a good chance you can have some Second Dinner when you’re there.

Another thing, it’s about equidistant to MBC as it is to Industrial. So it’s really not that far away.


Also love the Hampton Inn. It’s my go-to hotel when I’m in the area. Best location to get to places easily in my opinion, and they’ve always treated me right over there.

 

Oh two more things:

1). Since you’re staying at the Hampton, you’re RIGHT by the Portland Beer Hub. Great little beer store that also sells drafts and does flights. They’re super nice people in there and have a great selection of cans. Usually have a ton of Bissell stuff too. And they allow singles.

2). If you’re having dinner at Scales you should definitely swing by Liquid Riot for a drink since it’s right there. If they have a Gueuze on I’d get that.

 

I second the hub and scales. Hub was super friendly and great for on premises or to go. Barstaff was very welcoming of a tourist but not pushy. Selection was as good as any shop other than maybe the cellar, if you're looking for local stuff.
Scales was just a great seafood restaurant, and with our early seating they didn't side eye our toddler who had a solid 80 to 90 minutes in them quietly eating and doing puzzles etc, including waiting for the opening, before I took her for a walk (it's not a brewery so hopefully this doesn't start a flame war lol, she made it to dessert so i was fine with that, considering how top notch the meal was).

Eta I should say the hub was similar to my broweriji lane experiences in NYC, for reference, which in my book is a big positive.

 

If you decide to skip the Holy Donut on Commercial St, there is a location on Route 1 in Scarborough between Portland and Barreled Souls. It's an old Honey Dew donuts building with more breathing room than the "closet" in Portland. Also has a drive through window so far as I know. So that could be a Sunday stop.

 

I included Back Cove in both the runs I did there. Love running in a city I’ve never been before. Firstly the change of scene, but also just the fact that you do 1-2 runs and you’re able to piece the city together in a way that you’d otherwise need to stay for like a month.

Jealous of everyone’s posts. Need to head back!

 

How far of a run are we talking?

 

My go-to distance is 11 miles. I’m a little weird/obsessive about it. Sometimes do shorter in a pinch, and love to go longer when I have the time (I have two kids). But 11 (for me) is the perfect distance because it’s not a huge time commitment but still feels like an achievement. And I just looked up my 2 x runs in Portland from my trip back in October - both 11 haha - disgustingly predictable. And just to be clear I don’t mean in Portland (or any new city) I was running up and down streets as if I work for Google Maps (that would be a level of crazy that even I’m not capable of), but I just feel like a couple of decent runs really allows you to get your bearings.

 

Exactly my thinking lol -- I'm a former college runner and in nowhere near that shape / as competitive anymore, but I make a point to run in every new city I visit as there's no better way to get your bearings (usually after getting lost once or twice). Plus, it helps me feel a little better after consuming so much beer and lobster.

 

Hahaha the caloric offset definitely a big part of it too!

 

I enjoy that as well. On my solo trip I did a lot of biking too. I did The Back Cove and also to Industrial Way and back during the day, which was a nice alternative to taking an Uber.

 

Ah, gotcha.

I asked because I'll usually knock out 10-15 miles a day on trips and can really get my bearings that way. I'm a runner too, but opt for walking on trips.

My "bakery hopping" in the mornings in Portland is a favorite of mine. Get a good two hours of walking in while having coffee and picking up treats. Even did it in January on the two coldest mornings of the winter up there. Even in that bitter cold there was still a line outside of Tandem...

 

Totally. I was in Austin right before the pandemic kicked off. Awesome place to run. And ended up having two great meals on the back of places I’d spotted mid-run. And running along the river at dawn was magic.

 

Jumping in dt running talk. 11 should be great for an out and back across casco bay bridge to fort Williams around the Portland headlight and back. I much prefer running the greenbelt/fort Williams than back cove. Plus I love running bridges.

 

So how much you guys bench?

 

8 inches soft

edit - sorry misread the question

 

Got home from our trip last night, we had an awesome time and I really appreciated the suggestions / recommendations that everyone had in here. A brief breakdown of our visit:

Got to the hotel and then got a late bite at Eventide. Is it over priced? Sure. But the food was damn good. The oysters were on point, as was the fried oyster bun and brown butter lobster roll. The tteokbokki on their late night menu is legit too. Headed to bed after we got back to the hotel.

Friday morning we went over to The Holy Donut and frankly, we weren't impressed. We started with a vanilla donut and a chocolate donut, and they both seemed under salted, just kinda bland. The gimmick'd donuts (coffee cake + chocolate coconut) were better. Honestly, the thing we were most impressed with there was the coffee. Killer cold brew.

After breakfast we took a trip over to the Cryptozoology museum which was definitely $10 worth of fun. We ended up at Bissell for open on a Swish release day. I know that the hype has died down and that it's the off-season, but I wasn't expecting literally no one to be there. It was eerie. Anyways, had a couple of quick beers here and then headed off to Industrial Way.

My first time at Allagash and my wife and I really enjoyed it. The beers were obviously great, as were the lobster rolls. I went Connecticut (butter) style, and my wife went classic Maine (mayo) style. Both were delicious and the lobster was near impossibly tender. We got some beers to go from Allagash, Definitive and Foundation.

Back to the hotel for a bit and then we went to our dinner reservation at Scales. If you have the means and you like fish, go to Scales. It wasn't a cheap meal by any means, but it was an incredible meal. Sit at the bar if you can, and make sure to try a couple of cocktails.

We wanted to go for a post-dinner night cap, so we went to Blyth and Burrows. A recommendation: don't go to Blyth and Burrows. My wife and I each got terrible overpriced cocktails along with bad and overpriced small plates of (hot!?) olives and overcooked pretzel bites. The staff couldn't give any less of a shit about what's happening in there. I wish we went to Novare instead, but my wife was craving another cocktail. Well, this is how we learn. Back to the hotel for the evening.

Saturday morning we started off with a trip to Rose Foods. Holy crap, put it on your list. The Henry VIII bagel sandwich is nuts. Bagel with Pastrami Lox, horseradish cream cheese and parsley. Go and buy 12 of them and eat all of them at once. That's how good it was.

Following a delicious in-car breakfast from Rose Foods we made our way to Freeport and spent a week's salary at LL Bean, as one does. Then we hit up Maine Beer at open. Got a pour of Dinner, a pour of the Black Barn IPL they just put out and a cheese pizza. The pizza is fantastic. My wife liked it better than Tree House Deerfield, I thought it was not quite as good as Deerfield, but outstanding none-the-less.

Then we made the drive to Saco to pick up my 10 month Barreled Souls Bottle Society backlog. That was a lot of bottles. Enjoyed 4oz pours of the Bookers Honey Pot and Gnome's Soul. Both delicious, I can't wait to crack those bottles.

On our way back up towards Portland we hit up the Portland Head Light, it was a perfect day for walking by the coast and it was an absolutely gorgeous view. Recommended.

We had a 5:30 reservation at Terlingua, but we ended up getting there a bit early so we got a couple of pints of Guinness at The Snug. Solid dive bar. Good pints. Friendly bartender. Happy hour Guinness prices are always nice too.

Now, Terlingua. Guys. I felt like people were really gushing about it a bit much and I expected to be disappointed. I was not disappointed. That Brisket taco tho. We also got the special Cubano taco, which was similarly absurd, and then a half BBQ plate. All incredible. Go there. Now.

We wandered across the street for a quick beer at Oxbow afterwards, I liked my pour of Sap Haus, my wife wasn't a huge fan of the beer she got (a sour with honey, can't remember the name of it.) We headed out of there rather quickly, as there were many free range children and not properly leashed dogs.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the main Duckfat location. The fries were fantastic, as were the shakes. We took the server's advice and ordered a large fry, and we definitely only needed a small fry. We really want to go back and get a meal there the next time we're in town. Following this we just head back to our hotel room, got into bed and watched night one of Wrestlemania, as one does.

Sunday morning we checked out early and hit the Maine Diner in Wells on the way back towards home. We expected it to be a tourist trap, but it was better than expected, and more reasonably priced. Three blueberry pancakes that were the size of my head for $8.99? Sold.

Next time we're in town we definitely have to hit Slab and Novare Res, along with probably 30 more places. We had an awesome time though. Once again, thanks to everyone for the recommendations!

 

@TheMattJones88 I like your style. Nailed it.

I need to check out Rose Foods too. Sounds awesome. Maine Beer Co. is on the list as well. Unfortunately couldn't fit it in because it was only a two day trip last time. Heard so many good things about the pizza.

How does it compare to some of your favorite spots in MA? Maybe some I might know of near the Boston area?