Portland Recommendations (2022)

There’s a sports bar in Old Port called Fore Play (get it?). I’ve never been in but walked by it a bunch. It’s right by a lot of great beer places. Don’t know of any great beer spots with a lot of tvs. I’m going up to the area next weekend and we always watch NFL at Allison’s in Kennebunkport. They have great beer and a lot of games on. As far as fall beers to grab when you’re there, I like to follow the local breweries and stores in the area on Instagram to see what they are releasing when I’ll be there. Maybe try that?

 

I believe Fore Play was the bar I walked by numerous times this summer in the early morning and always saw several old dudes cranking cigarettes waiting for opening.

For sports and a solid tap list I’d go to King’s Head.

Even better might be Wilson County BBQ on West Bayside. Went there this summer for the Celtics playoff game per the recommendation of this board. Solid tap list (I think $3 High Life drafts) and solid BBQ. Lots of screens.

Also right next to the new Banded Horn tap room, which is a sneaky underrated brewery in my opinion. Of the few “hey we do more than IPAs” breweries in the area.

 

Well sure, King’s Head is a great option to hang out and drink. I don’t remember them having several tvs for Sunday ticket but I’ve also never been there to watch tv.

 

Portland isn’t really a great sports bar town, and I’ve never tried to go out to watch any games on Sunday, so I don’t really know what spots might have lots of games on.

But to back up the above recommendation, Wilson County is a really cool spot that I need to keep in mind more often. Great food, lots of space, cool atmosphere, and great beer and drinks. If they have games on, it would be a great spot to hang out and watch football. Also, not sure how late in the day it lasts, but their Sunday brunch menu is excellent.

 

Hi everyone - we’re headed up to Hermit Island this Friday, for three nights camping with my boys (6 & 4). A year ago (replying to my own post for reference) we came up sans kids for my 40th birthday this weekend. What I was hoping to get some ideas on:

- a good spot either in/around Portland (just needs to be on the route(ish) to Hermit Island) to stop for lunch on Friday on the way up that’s family friendly (and doesn’t have to be beer focused as I’m currently off the sauce). We were going to do MBC as it’s on the way, but would love to try somewhere we didn’t go to last time

- any food recs / ideas (restaurants but also any great spots to buy food/produce to grill) in general that are within 45 mins drive of hermit island

- finally (because I can’t post in this thread without a running humble brag type comment) I’m doing the Philly marathon on Nov 20 (using opportunity for a beer/alcohol reset hence off the sauce comment) and need to get an 18 mile long run in on Sunday. For anyone that’s been to hermit island are there any good options that require no (or at worst very minimal) driving to get to? 100% happy to do trails, but running 18 miles on the beach is definitely a last resort.

thank you and stoked to be coming up again!

 

I’ll throw a few things at you. We’ve been going to Hermit Island every year for a little while now.

We always look for Mexican when traveling. Terlingua is good for everyone if you haven’t gone yet. Portland had so many options though.

Not much for food in the Bath area. Cooks Corner is all chains. We do like Cafe Crème though in Bath for baked goods and coffee. You can do Hannaford in Bath for groceries. Only 20 min from the campground.

I don’t run but if I did I would probably run to Popham State Beach and back. It’s 8.6 each way and that beach makes a lot of Top 10s in the country. It’s all roads but not a lot of traffic. Otherwise, I would just run some trails and roads on the island to Sand Dollar Beach and back a few times.

If you need any intel about the campground or other things to do in the area feel free to message me.

 

There's farmers markets in Brunswick on Fridays and Saturdays and a farmers market in Bath on Saturdays for buying local food to grill.

 

I had a flight delay last year during NFL Sunday, and I went to Fore Play. I would definitely recommend. We couldn't get a seat (at least in an area I wanted to be to get optimal TV options), so if you're planning to be there a good chunk of the day, perhaps arrive early. I had Lunch on draft, and they had pretty much every game on TV. King's Head has one TV? If you're going more for the beer, then King's Head. For the football, Fore Play.
The crowd at Fore Play is definitely leaning dive bar, but whatever - it's a sports bar on NFL Sunday!

 

Thanks for chiming in! This is good to know.

I've personally never been to King's Head for a game, but people always recommend it for a place with a good draft list that also has sports.

Locally there's just about nothing that gets a bar more packed than a championship game. And when I went to Wilson County BBQ for the Celtics Finals game this past June we walked in and got seats on some couches in front of a huge TV, it was awesome. And the place was busy, but not packed. This might be because it's off the beaten path on West Bayside.

The other place I forgot about is Liquid Riot. They have multiple TVs with sports on, definitely a sports bar type feel for a brewery. Has spirits and beer, and solid food as well.

 

Binga's is your spot for sports, wings, and a good-enough taplist in Portland.

 

Portland one long gone to my knowledge, or at least still closed since COVID.

As an aside, most epic hot sauce I've ever encountered.

 

Sadly it closed down a couple of years ago.

 

Rivalries used to be a good sports option when I lived in the area. I imagine in this day and age they would have at least a few locals on draft. Or have they closed now too?

 

I’m a bizarre Long Island guy who hates the beach. But Popham is the shit.

 

I just realized we’ve got two competing Portland threads. I’m going to name this one The Sharks.

 

Being that @Verbl is from Minnesota, my guess is Sunday ticket and many TVs are a must if he wants to get the Vikings on say the 5th TV at a bar. I can't think of any purely craft spaces that offer that many TVs up in the Portland area such as Tavern in the Square around the Boston suburbs and RI which offer Sunday Ticket and have a decent tap list. It does look like Fore Play may be a solid possibility, but if not there unfortunately you are staring at Buffalo Wild Wings near the Maine Mall (B Dubs is in fact is the "mall" of sports bars)...

 

It's worth a call to these places to see if they have Sunday Ticket. These are all places I've watched sports at in Portland.

Liquid Riot
Little Tap House
Wilson County BBQ
Gritty's

 

Damn you COVID!

 

An update. Fore Play was the place to go for NFL Sunday ticket. They also had a free food buffet during the games. Thank you for everyone for their input. Two last questions, what is the best store in Portland for singles selection? Does the alchemist distribute here (and where can I get it)? Thank You in advance.