Portland Recommendations (2022)

Yeah, the FAQ at the Bissell Bros website says "sorry no dogs unless they are service animals." I've definitely seen dogs at Battery Steele/Definitive/Austin St on Industrial Way.

 

This multi-day event being put on by Mast Landing sounds like it would be a fun time to be up in the area:
https://wavydaysfest.com/

 

I agree this looks like a great event. But Thursday-Sunday in mid-July in Portland? Hard pass for me.

 

Yeah the beer festival part of this is 5 minutes from my house so we are excited to go. I’ll try to report back. It would be cool if this becomes an annual thing.

 

The fest looks awesome. The issue is finding somewhere to stay midsummer.

 

Would love to go to the Novare Schilling tap take over and the Lager Land event.

 

Checked out the Definitive Old Orchard Beach location.

The condensed list compared to Kittery(by us) and Portland is one thing. But two 16 ounce pours for $21. That’s beyond absurd.

Thats a one and done.

 

After a few years, I'm finally heading back to Portland in late September. My friends and I have been a few times, but one of us has never been to Novare. Well, wouldn't you know it but we'll be in town for Zwanze Day! Does anyone have info/advice on how the event works, how to make sure we score three tickets, etc.? We had a whole crawl planned for the 24th, but that just went out the window!

 

I believe they open at 11:30 am for ticket sales. Some people line up super early to get to the bar for the rarer items. Shouldn't be an issue getting tickets though.

I typically get to the area around 10ish, grab some donuts from Holy Donut and/or treats from Standard Baking Company. Then grab some coffee and eat. This will be followed by heading over to Novare around 11ish, get the tickets then go do some other stuff (whether it be other bars, more food, a brewery if you can fit it in) until about 2ish. That gives me some time to grab a beer or two of whatever rare is left and snag a seat while I wait for the toast at 3 pm.

If you're already in town though, I recommend waking up early and doing breakfast, then heading to Novare for tickets, then grabbing lunch before heading back mid afternoon for some pours and the Zwanze pour.

One year Thirsty Pig (right across the street) was having their Oktoberfest party. So we did that for lunch then walked back across the street for Zwanze.

 

This is how it was run last year…



Given business is back to usual, I’d imagine the second half about the patio does apply this year.

 

Heading up to Portland in a few weeks, I've been to most breweries in the area so this won't be a particularly beer-focused trip, but I of course want to check off a few places.

Sacred Profane on the way up and then I was thinking Bunker at some point. It's one of maybe two or three I have yet to visit.

What's the situation there? I don't see them discussed much on here but I've enjoyed their canned offerings that make it down to MA

 

Bunker is one of the most underrated Maine breweries, probably due to location. Their website is not great but you'll have some 6-8 draft options. Food is byo. It's always quiet.

 

Leeward has become something of a running joke in my household as we keep seeing all the critical accolades piling up. My wife and I are apparently the only people in the world who were underwhelmed by the place. Part of me wants to give it another go, but it’s also hard to muster enthusiasm to go back to a place we didn’t love the first time when there are so many great restaurants in town.

Twelve is awesome, but a word of warning…holy hell is it expensive. We spent $400 on dinner for two with two drinks each. Compare that to the $200-225 I’d spend at literally any other fine dining place in town. It was really great, but was it twice as great as Fore Street, Scales, Central, Broken Arrow, etc.? I’d say no. I’d love to make this a regular stop for us, but at those prices it will have to be a once every couple of years type splurge. I do highly recommend the food and overall experience though, just be prepared for the bill.

 

So many great cocktails! I’m drinking those more and more these days and saving my beer for brewery consumption.

Just to clarify the Twelve pricing, in addition to the normal prix fixe menu, we added Parker house rolls and both of us upgraded to the lobster roll course, which collectively added about $60. And my total with tax and tip was technically like $390. So if you just did everything straight up with no additions you might be looking at closer to $300. Still expensive no doubt, but closer to normal. Although I think you’d be making a big mistake skipping the rolls and especially the lobster roll, which was the single best plate I had that night.

 

Yikes, that's high end Boston steak restaurant prices...

 

I am going to be in Portland in a few weeks. I am looking for a good beer bar and/or restaurant with Sunday Ticket. Any recommendations?

Also, any good local fall beer (oktoberfest, pumpkin, wet-hop) recommendations?