Portland, Maine: Part One

I was fortunate to spend an extra week in December visiting friends and family in my hometown of Portland, ME. And while there are countless reasons why I adore Portland—-the architecture, the cobblestone streets, the Eastern Prom—-aside from my glorious circle of friends, nothing tops my list like the food. Oh, the food. The exquisite food.

Named “Foodiest Small Town” by Bon Appetit last year with good reason, Portland’s chef’s are among the country’s most talented, and celebrated. Hugo’s Rob Evans was honored with the James Beard Chef Award last year, the Oscars of the cooking set. I could literally go on and on for hours about the fresh local produce, and innovative dishes Portland restaurants offer up (newcomer Grace’s truffle & fried egg topped pumpkin waffle has positively ruined me for all other appetizers. Now, I’m simply despondent when confronted with the suggestion of an onion tartlet).

Instead, I did my best to obsessively capture some of my favorite meals with my camera, thanks to the patience of my darling dining mates.

I’ll start with my favorite; a leisurely, foodgasm inducing dinner enjoyed with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Diane, at tiny Old Port/East End adjacent gem Ribollita. Under the tutelage of our server who will henceforth be referred to as Fabulous Bob, we shared the mussels, the olive oil drenched bread topped Tuscan soup, and the braised spinach with golden raisins. Our paths diverged for the entree; Diane had the Beef Braciole and I a squash and goat cheese risotto. We were back to sharing when it came time for dessert. Despite my low level moaning due to overstuffed-ness, we knew from chatting with fellow diners that we simply Had To Have The Flan.

And so we did. The flan was the only thing all night that Fabulous Bob was even remotely off base about: contrary to his assumption based on our “I’m so full!” wails, one order of flan was not nearly enough.

The meal was so amazing that not only did I beg to thank the chef in person, like some giddy food groupie, but I could only manage two photos for the night:

Related posts:

1. Pancakes & Eggs With a Twist

Tagged as: Grace Restaurant Portland, James Beard Award, Miranda Valentine, Portland Maine Foodie, Portland ME Food, Restaurant Review, Ribollita Restaurant, Rob Evans Chef, Rob Evans Hugo's