{"id":4745,"date":"2019-10-03T13:28:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T18:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=4745"},"modified":"2019-10-03T13:48:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T18:48:20","slug":"48-hours-portland-the-one-in-maine-offers-visitors-fresh-seafood-and-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/travelwriting\/?page_id=4745","title":{"rendered":"48 Hours: Portland, the one in Maine, offers visitors fresh seafood and history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted\nOctober 3, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By NAOMI\nFEINSTEIN<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PORTLAND, Maine \u2014 <\/strong>With its charm, cobblestone streets and unique architecture, Portland is becoming a popular destination for people to take a quick weekend getaway. In the heart of New England, Portland offers locally sourced, fresh seafood and ingredients from all over the state. For majority of its history, Portland was a quiet city home to generations of locals along the coast. It has blossomed into a bustling city filled with young and creative individuals from all over the country. The city of 67,000 people is home to a sea-side community and a vibrant culture with its arts, local music and historical landmarks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 p.m.\n– Portland Lobster Company<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nPortland, a must-have is a fresh lobster roll and none is better than Portland\nLobster Company. The restaurant sits in the heart of downtown right, along the\nwater, with the smell of salt in the air and the seagulls flying high in the\nsky. It may be a bit overwhelming when first walking in with the line of people\nout the door, yet the ordering is easy. Start out with an order of steamers before\ndigging into the meaty lobster between a buttered hot dog bun. Of course, each\nlobster roll is accompanied with delicious fries and coleslaw. Weather\npermitting, sit outside on the deck because that is the true Maine experience. During\nthe summer time, there also will be some live music on deck to accompany the\ngreat, fresh seafood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1:45 p.m.\n– Quick treat at The Holy Donut <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Holy Donut\u2019s main location in downtown Portland (Photos by Naomi Feinstein).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Donut, established in 2012, is famous for its homemade, potato-based doughnuts. The moist and unique treats range from classic flavors of pure vanilla glaze and sea salt dark chocolate to toasted coconut. The doughnuts sell out so fast that the store is forced to cease operations for the day. In that case, make sure to check both locations in Portland. For those with a gluten allergy, do not worry because gluten-free options are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2:30 p.m.\n– Shopping around town<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portland\nis home to its collection of shops filled with unique and vintage items.  One of the local favorites is Stonewell\nKitchen, a charming houseware and gourmet food store with free food samples and\nchef-led cooking classes. Venture into Portland Trading Co., a general store\nthat sells women and men\u2019s clothing from local, independent designers, books,\nand vintage items like Huberd\u2019s shoe grease for $8 or a Maine flag patch from\n1901 for $10. Also, all over town there are stores dedicated to selling Maine\nsouvenirs, such as Lisa-Marie\u2019s Made in Maine gift shop. It offers a variety of\ndifferent souvenirs like funny T-shirts that read, \u201cGot Lobstah?\u201d or beautiful\ngift items, such as painted lobster wineglasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 p.m.\n\u2013 Dinner at Fore Street<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fore Street, which opened in 1996, is located just a block from the harbor where Portland Lobster Company is located. With its flavorful meat and seafood, Fore Street is one of the hottest destinations in New England. It was named as a semi-finalist for \u201cOutstanding Restaurant\u201d by the James Beard Foundation out of hundreds of restaurants nation-wide. With its open kitchen concept, restaurateurs feel as though they are with the chefs preparing their meals. Although the menu changes seasonally, the turnpit roasted organic Maine half-chicken and the wood oven roasted whole fish, among others, are the signature items featured on the menu year-round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 p.m. \u2013 Listen to tunes at Blue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\ndinner, head to Blue, an intimate live music venue with local Maine artists\nsampling a great variety of music. It was mostly recently named Portland\u2019s Best\nJazz Venue. For those who would like a nice, after dinner snack, Blue offers a\nvariety of artisan cheeses from The Cheese Iron, located in Portland,\naccompanied with marcona almonds, honey and a baked baguette for $10, $14, and\n$18 depending on the number of cheeses one orders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 a.m.\n\u2013 Tandem Coffee and Bakery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opened\nin 2014, Tandem Coffee and Bakery offers delicious baked goods and fresh coffee\nroasted in house. The shop is located in a building from the 1960s that was\nonce home to a gas-station and a laundromat. Although you may be wowed by\nTandem\u2019s aesthetic, you are going to love your coffee of choice with homemade\nalmond milk served in a tandem-bike designed cup. Accompany a drink with a\ndelicious pre-breakfast snack like a straight-out-of-the-oven sticky bun or a\nslice of blueberry crumb pie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 a.m.\n\u2013 Hot Suppa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The French-style omelette is served with hash browns and homemade cornbread at Hot Suppa.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Right across the street from Tandem is Hot Suppa, a New-Orleans style restaurant with an excellent breakfast menu. Named as one of Bon Appetit\u2019s <\/em>favorite neighborhood restaurants, Hot Suppa is one of the most popular restaurants in Portland since it first opened in 2006. It is a cozy restaurant with Maine-inspired art on the walls, brick-exposed walls, wooden-booths and high ceilings. Some of the local favorites include southern classics, like fried chicken and waffles and its homemade gluten free cornbread. Try the fluffy egg scramble with a choice of vegetables and cheeses or the specialty corn beef hash made out of shredded corn beef, potatoes, onions and carrots. The coolest part is that the restaurant buys its ingredients all from local vendors in Maine like We Compost It! in Scarborough and Grandyoats in Brownfield, just to name a couple.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 p.m.\n\u2013 Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hop aboard the train along the historical two ft gauge railroad for a scenic train ride along Casco Bay. After the ride, head to the museum to learn more about the historical railroad through the variety of exhibits and activities for kids. The museum includes preserved railway equipment like old-time rail cars and steam-engines. The museum is open from April to late-October, but it holds seasonal, themed events like the Polar Express for children and families to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 p.m.\n\u2013 Duckfat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthe east end of town, you can smell the French fry aroma seeming out of\nDuckfat. The restaurant is famous for its Belgian french fries cooked in\nduckfat, the restaurant\u2019s namesake, tossed with a specialty seasoning and served\nin a cone with a choice of dipping sauces. Chef and owner Rob Evans, a James\nBeard Award winner and three-time \u201cChopped\u201d champion left his critically\nacclaimed Maine restaurant Hugo to open this fry joint. Although the 25-seat\nrestaurant is famous for its fries, try the overnight duck confit panini made\nwith bread from Sorella\u2019s Bakehouse in town topped with grilled cabbage,\npickled daikon and homemade black garlic mayo. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 p.m.\n\u2013 Lighthouse Lovers Cruise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\naddition to the exquisite food, Portland is known for its beautiful lighthouses.\nNo wonder Maine is called \u201cThe Light House State.\u201d Buy tickets in advance for\nthe Lighthouse Lovers Cruise, a 90-minute ride that showcases lighthouses only\naccessible by boat around Casco Bay and its neighboring islands. One of the\nlighthouses featured on the tour includes, the Portland Head Light, the oldest\nand most photographed lighthouse in the state. In addition, to the historical\nfeatures on the bay, people usually see seals, lobster boats and sea birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 p.m.\n\u2013 Eventide Oyster Co.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nsmall Old Port restaurant takes a modern twist on many of Maine\u2019s classic\ndishes. Try the Asian-style Maine lobster stew cooked with coconut and green\ncurry or the brown butter lobster roll on an Asian steamed bun, lauded to be\nthe best lobster roll in Maine. The menu does change daily, but the restaurant\nalways offers a variety of locally sourced oysters. The ambiance cannot be beat\nwith the restaurant\u2019s brightly colored design and picnic-table style seating.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 p.m.\n\u2013 Portland Sea Dogs Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Portland Seadogs are not an average minor league baseball team \u2014most people probably could not name their local minor league team. The Sea Dogs, the Double A-affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, has a real fan following. Hadlock Field, home of the Sea Dogs, is a great place to spend a beautiful Saturday night in Portland with the smell of cracker jacks, fans cheering and the crack sound of wooden bats hitting baseballs. However, the Sea Dogs only play from April to September. The field even has its own take on Fenway Park\u2019s Green Monster: a 37-foot replica in left field called \u201cThe Maine Monster.\u201d People also sit in the picnic pavilion in right field to try and catch a home run ball. In terms of the ball-park food, the fan-favorite is the \u201cSea Dog Biscuit,\u201d the Sea Dogs take on the classic chipwich \u2014 two frozen chocolate chip cookies filled with Shain\u2019s of Maine homemade vanilla ice cream and the magic is brought together all in one bite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11 a.m.\n\u2013 Becky\u2019s Diner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becky\u2019s\nDiner first opened for breakfast and lunch on the Portland harbor in 1991. As\nsoon as you walk in, you will see the counter jam-packed with dockworkers and\nlocals sitting in the green upholstered booths. It is a classic diner with\nbuttermilk pancakes, eggs any style and a variety of different home fries\nserved with cheese, onions or peppers. Others also love the \u201cCommercial Street\nSandwich,\u201d which is Becky\u2019s take on the classic bacon, egg and cheese sandwich\non an English muffin. The food is so good that chef and TV personality Guy\nFieri featured Becky\u2019s on an episode of his show \u201cDiners, Drive-ins and Dives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If You Go<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n