Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine is one of my favorite places to visit. My very first customer at my old job was located there and I got to spend 3 glorious months traveling there for work and food. Yes, for food. Of all the places I have traveled in this country Portland had some of the most consistently delicious food I have eaten. I still dream about the food sometimes.

So, rather than regale you with my adventure in the state of Maine and how picturesque it is at this time of year, I will share with you my absolute favorite places to eat in Portland. They are all walking distance from one another and beyond incredible. I should also add, that it's hard to go wrong when you're picking a place to eat there.

Duckfat

This place is as amazing as its name is off-putting. Their food is cooked in duckfat, so if you're a vegan or vegetarian, you'll want to steer clear. For everyone else, this place is a must. The fries (and sauces, i prefer garlic mayo) are the best you can get on this side of the Atlantic. Their milkshakes are also famous and i'm a fan of sandwiches and soups. I'd recommend getting your food to-go and eating near the water because it's small and packed most of the time.

Street & Co.

I have so many fond memories of this place. The menu changes regularly, so it's hard to recommend a specific meal, but the mussels are great and the panna cotta is, as the bartender described, "a jiggly bit of heaven."

Eventide Oyster Co.

2 words: lobster. roll. Actually, i'd recommend the oyster roll, but any roll is worth is because I wanted to order 10 just for the bread. You need to try a brown butter lobster roll if you're in Maine. I think this may be a law.

J's Oyster Bar

Small, hole-in-the-wall, tasty. 3 words? Close enough. This is for people who are interested in attacking and dissecting a full lobster in a way that I find entirely unappealing. For everyone else, there's amazing lobster pastas and appetizers.

Holy Donut

This place has a line out the door until the donuts are all gone, then they close up shop for the day. Entirely worth it, even though I'm not really a donut person (more of a bagel person, if that's a thing). The Chai donut was great and the Ginger Sweet Potato was the best because it wasn't overly sweet. I hear their coffee selection is great and I personally appreciate the varied options of milk that were provided.

Fore Street

For 12 years of my iife I did not eat fish. I see now what an oversight this was, but at the time I had only ever encountered the entirely horrific whole-fish-with-eyeball. I wanted to become a vegetarian, but anyone from the Mediterranean countries will tell you how absurd this idea is. So, I settled for refusing to eat fish. Long story short-ish, this restaurant is what changed that for me. I've eaten there several times, ordering various fish dishes and I am proud to say I am an unashamed fish-eater (mostly).

*I should mention that all of these places have great ambience and service, but really, who cares, the food is amazing!

#travel #newengland #fall #maine