Since we moved into Dave's parents house, we sold a lot of stuff on Craig's List. A LOT. So we had this giant wad of cash and as it grew, we decided to make it our vacation fund. We knew we'd only end up with enough for a weekend away, someplace close that we could drive to. We decided to go to Portland since I'd never been there, they had great restaurants with amazing food, and we would be able to walk the whole city or ride our bikes all around. We'd initially scheduled the trip for this coming weekend, but Dave has to travel for work on Sunday and as I tried to find another weekend to go, it seemed the best price on the hotel we wanted during the summer would be to go right away. So we did.
We left work on Friday and drove up to Maine, checking into the Residence Inn Marriott on Fore Street. We booked a Brew with a View package, which included a bucket of beers and other swag from Shipyard Brewing Company just next door to the hotel. And when we checked in, we were given a complimentary upgrade to a suite on the top floor with a view of the harbor. Not bad.
We settled in, cleaned up and then headed off to dinner at David's Restaurant, which had some pretty good reviews on OpenTable and a nice menu. The night was cool, but summery and there were people walking about, but very little vehicle traffic, typical of the city--or at least the Old Port and Theatre District areas. The restaurant was at Monument Square and there were street performers entertaining quite a large crowd when we got to the square. The restaurant was very busy but we got seated at a table at the bar right away thanks to my making a reservation as Dave pulled off the highway.
We ordered drinks (a lovely Manhattan for me and a gin drink for Dave) and settled into the menu. The dishes all sounded great and there was a good variety from pizza to entrees. Dave opted for the clam chowder with bacon (because it had bacon) and the open-faced lobster ravioli, which ended up coming with shrimp and scallops in a bisque-like sauce. I ordered the garden salad and the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. Everything was delicious. The presentation was lovely, our waitress was very sweet and it was definitely the perfect way to start our weekend. We finished by splitting a piece of snickers cheesecake and headed back to the hotel.
We thought about stopping into a bar on the way back, but instead decided to head to the hotel lounge which was featuring happy hour. Dave ordered a beer and I got a cocktail and we sat in the lovely plush chairs making our plan for the next day.
Not that it mattered what we planned since we woke up to rain. No biking for us. After breakfast from the hotel buffet, we took a walk to the Eastern Promenade, just to take a look out at the ocean. The rain was pretty steady and the wind was pretty awful. But it was a decent walk. And along the way, we made a friend.
After our walk, we went to Maine Mead Works where they make Honeymaker Mead. I'd never had mead before, but Dave had (much to his chagrin). But we like these kinds of tours, and neither of us really knew anything about mead, and they were offering a tasting so why not. We walked in and were greeted by Ron, who I think is the owner. He gave us a tour (just the two of us, which was kind of cool) and told us all about how they make mead, how they are growing, and how they get the different flavors. It was all very cool and unique. Very "microbrew" is concept, but totally scalable, it was very interesting to talk to the business owner on one of these tours. We ended with a tasting, and two other couples ended up coming in to join as well.
Let me talk about the tasting: this was cool. Like I said, I'd never had it before, but I really liked the honey flavor that defines this mead. It's crisp and slightly sweet, but not like a sweet wine. And there's still a slight element of it being a cousin to beer. Dave and I both really liked the Blueberry, so we bought a bottle and are looking forward to having it at home.
After the mead tasting (and being a bit tipsy), we went to lunch at Duckfat, which may be the actual reason we chose to go to Portland at all. Several years ago we saw this restaurant featured on Phantom Gourmet and they positively raved about the fries, which are cooked in--can you guess?--duck fat. Those fries totally lived up to the hype. They were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, perfectly seasoned and just pure joy. We ordered the Truffle Ketchup and the Sweet and Spicy Mustard Mayo. The ketchup was good but completely took away from the flavor of the fries, while the mustard mayo was a really nice compliment. Dave ordered their Spicy Italian panini and I went with the special BBQ Beef Brisket panani. We were both utterly satisfied at having braved the rainy weather to venture to this restaurant. It was busy and we sat at the bar, but the staff were friendly and very much on top of things. We'll absolutely be headed back there.
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| The completely nondescript front door of Duckfat, which has no sign, just a little lettering on the door. |
After lunch, we visited Shipyard Brewing Company for a video tour (a little history of the brewery), a peek at their bottling line (the largest in Maine) and a bit of a tasting, both of the beers and Captain Eli's soda, which they also make and sell. It was a big crowd for the tour, including a bachelor party and a bachelorette party (not related). The best part was noticing that the guys with the bachelor party insisted the groom wear a hot pink sash with the title "It's all about me." I can only imagine the ruckus caused by that conversation in the morning. Although I also enjoyed that the tour started in a room filled with church pews and awards the brewing company has won.
The beer was very good; I'd never had it before (Dave had one of the bottles left in our room the night before), but I liked it. And apparently their pumpkin beer (Pumpkinhead) is supposed to be amazing. Given my love of the Harpoon Pumpkin UFO, I think a taste test is in order this fall.
We headed back to our room to digest (or sober up, we'd had a bit of alcohol from the tastings and it wasn't even happy hour yet) and watched movies. We scoured menus, maps and brochures trying to pick a place for dinner. Dave settled on Gilbert's Chowder House based on their award winning chowders and the fact that he was pretty sure it was a complete dive (not quite complete, but close).
We braved the rain one more time, but I must admit, we lost this battle. Gilbert's is on the last street perpendicular to the wharfs, so between the driving rain (it was pouring at this point) and the wind, we never stood a chance. Rain coats and umbrellas were only good for keeping our heads dry Walking to the restaurant, the rain drove right into our left sides, drenching us completely from the waste down. We settled into our dinners (fried shrimp for Dave and a grilled chicken salad for me), enjoyed our beers, and drip-dried (somewhat) at our table that was luckily placed near the heater. Besides being wet and rainy, the weather was also quite chilly, never getting out of the mid-fifties and probably dipping into the forties with the wind chill. Luckily we emerged to a slightly lighter rain so that our right side didn't bear the wet brutality that we endured getting to our dinner.
Back in our room, cozy and dry, we called it a night, despite desperately wanting to go get dessert or even just get a drink somewhere. But we'd pretty much had our fill of walking in the rain (and didn't have any dry pants other than pajamas).
Sunday was still rainy, but less intense. After breakfast, we packed up and checked out. Instead of leaving right away, we drove down to the other end of Fore Street and hoped to find some shops open. We found Cool as a Moose which is a fun and funky gift shop with moose and Maine related paraphernalia among other amusing goods. We poked around for a while and then bought a couple fun T-shirts for Dave, a pair of moose pajama pants for me and a baby gift for a friend. By the time we were done browsing and shopping, East End Cupcakes was open. So we stopped in for the dessert we didn't get the night before: a Funfetti Cupcake for Dave and a Salted Carmel Dark Chocolate Cupcake for me. We didn't eat them until we go home, but I think we were both a little disappointed. The frosting was pretty good (although I tasted mostly caramel until my last bite which was full of salt) but the cake was a little dry. Pretty little desserts, but we'll likely try another bakery next time we visit.
We headed out of Portland but decided to stop in Kittery, Maine, for some outlet shopping. We found a few things (well, found a few things that I wasn't looking for; Dave did not find anything that he was looking for) and then searched for a place for a late lunch. We found Warren's Lobster House which sits right on the water. We were surprised for how busy, but luckily were seated right away and had a booth overlooking the water. Warren's has a pretty extensive salad bar with lots of goodies, so I enjoyed that with my chicken, while Dave added crab cakes and fried clams .
We had a lovely lunch, watched the weird little birds trying to catch fish (some sort of gull or cousin of a seagull, but way smaller than you'd expect) and tried to transition from vacation mode. For a last minute trip, and in spite of the terrible weather, we had a really great weekend. The only thing we didn't get to do was ride our bikes, which just means we have to go back again. Luckily it's only a 2 hour drive, so I think I convince Dave to go back. Especially if I promise to stuff him full of seafood again.
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