We love to visit Portland to get a little bit of the flavor we miss from NYC. We love sampling different foods and checking out the beautiful architecture all over the city.
Being the foodies that we are, we decided the
mission on this trip was to get a little bite to eat and a drink at several different spots. We wanted to feel out the ambiance at as many places as we could and enjoy the view. People watching at it's finest!
The first place we visited was Sonny's.
I love the exposed brick and the different seating options throughout the restaurant. We sat at the bar and ordered the daily ceviche. I was a bit scarred from a previous ceviche restaurant experience, so I didn't expect too much here. Luckily, it was quite appetizing. It was a white fish ceviche and was fresh and well prepared, but the dish could have used a bit more salt and some spice. The plate did come with house made chips, which was definitely a bonus.
The next stop was a restaurant/pub called Rí Rá to watch a soccer game between Arsenal F.C. and Leicester City F.C. Living in Rockland, we don't have a lot of bars, especially ones that show soccer matches. It was exciting to watch the game surrounded by fans, except for that obnoxious guy in the group that you just want to punch in the face (sometimes that can be us).
This space is pretty unique. There is a large room for the restaurant with a bar that connects to another room that is a continuing bar. I call this room the soccer den.
The whole room is wood. The floors, the chairs, and the ceiling...all wood. It felt very cozy in there.
After the game, we met our friends, Bob and his wife, MJ at Crema, an awesome coffee shop with specialty, overpriced beverages. It's almost like you're paying their exorbitant rent prices in SOHO with the looks of this place. We had a great time catching up about life, in a charming and rustic space, so it was well worth the pricey iced latte.
After saying goodbye and promising to definitely do this again soon, we parted from our friends and headed to the hotel to check in. There are 8 major hotels downtown Portland that are around $300-$600 a night, at least in the summer. Ridiculous! Well, at least for our budget. We found a motel 6 on the outskirts of town that was a fraction of the cost. As long as the room has a clean bed, with no bedbugs, and a shower with clean towels, then we're happy. It doesn't take much. This place had it all, so no complaints here.
Since the motel was on the outskirts of town, we decided to explore the public transportation system. People in Maine don't really use this feature that should be available EVERYWHERE!!! I understand train lines are difficult to put in, blah, blah, but what about buses? There is nothing around here besides cabs, the 1 bus from midcoast to Portland, and a couple of buses in the Portland area.
Oh, how I've missed waiting for a bus, not knowing when or IF it was going to arrive. The #4 bus we were waiting for arrived 40 minutes late, but we were happy that for $1.50 each, we could get downtown in a nice, clean, air conditioned mode of transport. The only problem was that the bus stops running at 5pm, so we were on the last bus. Luckily, the loyal taxi is always there, waiting in the night...
The first place we visited was Sonny's.I love the exposed brick and the different seating options throughout the restaurant. We sat at the bar and ordered the daily ceviche. I was a bit scarred from a previous ceviche restaurant experience, so I didn't expect too much here. Luckily, it was quite appetizing. It was a white fish ceviche and was fresh and well prepared, but the dish could have used a bit more salt and some spice. The plate did come with house made chips, which was definitely a bonus.
The next stop was a restaurant/pub called Rí Rá to watch a soccer game between Arsenal F.C. and Leicester City F.C. Living in Rockland, we don't have a lot of bars, especially ones that show soccer matches. It was exciting to watch the game surrounded by fans, except for that obnoxious guy in the group that you just want to punch in the face (sometimes that can be us).
This space is pretty unique. There is a large room for the restaurant with a bar that connects to another room that is a continuing bar. I call this room the soccer den.
The whole room is wood. The floors, the chairs, and the ceiling...all wood. It felt very cozy in there. After the game, we met our friends, Bob and his wife, MJ at Crema, an awesome coffee shop with specialty, overpriced beverages. It's almost like you're paying their exorbitant rent prices in SOHO with the looks of this place. We had a great time catching up about life, in a charming and rustic space, so it was well worth the pricey iced latte.
After saying goodbye and promising to definitely do this again soon, we parted from our friends and headed to the hotel to check in. There are 8 major hotels downtown Portland that are around $300-$600 a night, at least in the summer. Ridiculous! Well, at least for our budget. We found a motel 6 on the outskirts of town that was a fraction of the cost. As long as the room has a clean bed, with no bedbugs, and a shower with clean towels, then we're happy. It doesn't take much. This place had it all, so no complaints here.
Since the motel was on the outskirts of town, we decided to explore the public transportation system. People in Maine don't really use this feature that should be available EVERYWHERE!!! I understand train lines are difficult to put in, blah, blah, but what about buses? There is nothing around here besides cabs, the 1 bus from midcoast to Portland, and a couple of buses in the Portland area.
Oh, how I've missed waiting for a bus, not knowing when or IF it was going to arrive. The #4 bus we were waiting for arrived 40 minutes late, but we were happy that for $1.50 each, we could get downtown in a nice, clean, air conditioned mode of transport. The only problem was that the bus stops running at 5pm, so we were on the last bus. Luckily, the loyal taxi is always there, waiting in the night...
The bus dropped us off downtown, where we started earlier, but this time we had a different agenda. For the first stop of the second leg of the day, we head to our first choice destination, Central Provisions (a hot, trendy new restaurant). It was a complete mob scene and totally packed. I guess a write-up in Bon Appetit magazine will create a huge buzz for your restaurant and create a line out the door as soon as it opens.
Plan B left us at MJ's wine bar, a cool place that only serves wine and small plates with cheese, nuts, olives, and chocolates. I like that the wine list is diverse and you can get a 3 oz pour, 1/2 glass, or a full glass. That allows you to try several different wines without drinking too much.
This side of the space was charming with a long wooden table. The other side felt a little like a hotel lobby. There is a beautiful wine map on the wall with the major wine regions of the world highlighted. When a customer asked the owner/bartender why South Africa and Pinotage were not highlighted, he said "Only the best wine regions are represented"(smirk). That's the kind of place this is.
We got the cheese plate with manchego, one of my favorite cheeses. I found this to be the perfect plate with what a cheese plate "should" come with, in my opinion of course. Components of a cheese plate should include the cheese, bread or crackers, some sort of nut, and something sweet.
This plate hit on all the points. A great amount of cheese, sliced baguette, marcona almonds, and quince paste.Very close to perfect.
This was written on the wall right in front of us. We thought it was directly related to the 911 truth, but the owner said, they just ran out of "t's". I guess you can always see, or not see what you want. Everyone's perception is completely different.We headed down Congress street to a different part of town to check out a spot called Congress Bar and Grill that Bob recommended. This was another place that was super crowded. Luckily, we were able to get a seat outside because it was raining and I guess most people mind that kind of stuff. It was a great spot to experience the city and watch people as they passed by.
My partner in crime...
and me.You never know who you're going to see...like our friend Mac! He just happened to be in town for the Tom Petty concert and ran up, just in time for a photo bomb!
By this time, we hadn't really eaten that much. At least not enough to keep up with our appetites. We had the cheese plate and some baba ghanoush, so we were ready for some more food. Another recommendation we got was a Chinese place called Empire. It was getting late for dinner and by late I mean 8:30pm, but we made it in time to get seated. I am so glad we did. This is the BEST Chinese food I have ever had. We only had 2 dishes, but the lo mein is what sold me.
The ceilings in Portland have an awesome loft-like
industrial feel, which is my favorite. This restaurant
had it all; tasty food, slick decor, and attentive service .
I love the brick and low hanging lights. The space is very creatively utilized with it's seating arrangements.
I love the brick and low hanging lights. The space is very creatively utilized with it's seating arrangements.
Back to the lo mein. Everyone has had it before; the greasy, slightly overcooked noodles with huge pieces of broccoli and peppers and that baby corn. It's usually salty, oily, and moderately tasty, especially when eaten out of the Chinese container directly from the corner take-out joint. Wait, that's back in New York. There are 2 Chinese restaurants in Rockland and they are mediocre at best.
The photo is blurry because I couldn't even keep my hands steady, it was that good.
Mirrors always make a place look bigger.
Full and happy, we decided to check out the night life scene in downtown Portland. The best kind of place is a chill spot with some pool tables and dartboards.
We found a dive bar called Amigos Mexican Restaurant where they had everything we wanted. As we walk in, we see another person we know from Rockland, our friend Derek, sitting at the bar! Small world. 
They had an outdoor area where these people looked like they were posing for me in the doorway. I met some art students, some parents, and of course the assholes. All in all, it was a great time. 
I love the outside patio, especially after a rain storm. This city has a certain electricity in the air. It's quite refreshing and inspiring.
Fore street at night.
Cool Gotham style building, one of the expensive hotels. Looks like something from the Batman movies.
We woke up the next morning and I really wanted pizza; good, crispy, thin crust pizza. There is a place called Otto which is not related to the Mario Batali one in NYC, but has a similar logo. It looks really cute in there, so we decide to give it a try.
We are the first ones in the place and order a margherita pizza, which by definition is, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra-virgin olive oil.
After a long wait, we get this:
THIS IS NOT A MARGHERITA PIZZA
My heart sinks as I see this cracker with stewed sliced tomatoes on top. NO SAUCE??? WTF? This is not what we were expecting, nor what we wanted. After the initial visual shock, we tasted it to see if maybe it was incredible. NO. It was not. It was dry and too crispy, not to mention the tomatoes should not ever be put on a pizza like that. And how hard is it to evenly disburse everything?
Unsatisfied from lunch, we walked around town and enjoyed the day, talking about how horrific that pizza was. What a shame. We found a Thai place called Mi Sen that was open and had air conditioning.
You can mix and match different noodles with different broths. We got a noodle dish and a curry dish. Both were pretty good, displaying authentic Thai flavors.
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