Excited to finally get our travel legs back under us after 2+ years of COVID restrictions, Scott and I planned our annual (pre-COVID) trip to see our good friends Lyndsey and Nick in Boston, and meet their 2-year-old daughter Nora for the first time for this summer. In our excitement, however, we didn’t think about the implications of planning the trip less than 2 weeks after our return from France.

A mere day into the Paris leg of the trip, with my entire body aching from what we thought would be a chiller time in Paris than we had each had in the past, I told Scott we were going to have to postpone Boston. I knew my body would need some rest and routine, not to mention some healthier food.

Although we had traditionally done our trips with Lyndsey and Nick in the summer, autumn worked out so well! Maybe you’ve heard — New England is lovely in the fall.

A few weeks before our trip, Lyndsey texted to ask if we’d ever been to Portland, Maine. Neither of us had, and since we’d been to Boston, she suggested we take the two-hour drive and spend some time in Portland. So we did!

Portland is fantastic, no doubt made even more magical by the fact that we had incredibly perfect weather. It wasn’t even cold enough for jackets, even though we went at the end of October. Lyndsey and Nick have excellent taste in food, so we happily adopted their Portland-visiting method of “poking and popping” — poking into shops and popping drinks at bars. But in addition to drinks, we snacked all day on some of the best Portland has to offer.

Urban Farm Fermentory

We started our trip just outside the main part of the city at Urban Farm Fermentory, a kombucha dreamland. We sampled multiple flights of their offerings, featuring booch, jun (a green tea and honey version of kombucha), gruit beer, cider, and mead. Their flavors on tap ranged from ghost chili pepper to wild blueberry to sweetfern. My favorite was peach cobbler — a combination of the peach and chai flavored kombuchas.

On a Roll Food Truck

Across the street from the Fermentory was a delightful little Halloween event happening for kids along with local makers selling their wares and a brewery. We got some beers and split the most decadent, satisfying lobster grilled cheese from On a Roll Food Truck.

Portland Lobster Company

After our snack-lunch (snunch?) sandwich, we headed to the Portland waterfront and poked around in some of the shops. Lyndsey had been telling us about one restaurant’s lobster bao, which she said she preferred to proper lobster rolls. Unfortunately, that restaurant took them off their menu, so we left and headed over to Portland Lobster Co. for a classic lobster roll and one not-as-classic roll featuring truffles. My lobster roll was light and buttery, making a perfect snunch overlooking the water.

Luna

As the sun set, we headed to the rooftop bar, Luna, in Portland’s Canopy hotel. The view of nondescript buildings wasn’t great, but the sunset was lovely, the artisanal cocktails were delicious, and we snacked on some awesome kung pao cauliflower.

Paper Tiger

On a local’s recommendation, we stopped by Paper Tiger for some small plates. This is a very vibey place (I mean this in a good way), so I don’t have great photos of the food that don’t look like everything is bathed in the glow of an infrared sauna, but the Asian fusion dishes here are full of flavor and perfectly shareable. Try the tuna crudo, Szechuan cold noodles, coconut wings, and brussel sprouts.

Duck Fat

We ended our day of gluttony at Portland must-eat, Duck Fat. There was a long wait to get into this popular spot, known for its Belgian fries, so we killed time next door at the East Ender, the karaoke bar next door. We watched some excellent performances (including by Scott and Nick), and then sampled the best of what Duck Fat had to offer. Scott and I split a banh mi while we all split frites with a flight of sauces. I couldn’t decide between the sea salt duck fat caramel milkshake or the cookies and cream, so the server suggested I get the caramel with the cookies on top. Perfection. We topped off our evening with duck fat donut holes.

holy donut

Before heading back to Boston the next morning, we grabbed coffee at Coffee By Design and then went to another Portland must-eat, The Holy Donut for one of their famous potato donuts. I went seasonal with an apple cider donut, which, in addition to its cinnamon and sugar coating, did have what appeared to be apple pie filling baked in. It was great, but the real star of the show was Scott’s pomegranate donut, which was absolutely phenomenal. Despite the fact that these donuts are made with actual potatoes, they somehow manage to be light and just-this-side-of cakey. And I am not usually a donut person.

So, for those of you who have been to Portland, what did we miss? Where should we eat next time?

-Staci

The Menu: Portland