Maine Moments: First Days

MAINE IN 2021

On Saturday, we traded hot Florida sun and humidity for cool gray Maine.  Due to airline schedules and a cancelled flight to Portland on Friday, we flew into Boston’s Logan Airport.  Waiting for our bags and then dealing with the scrum of people all pressed together waiting for the bus to the rental car center was one task. Getting ourselves and all our many bags onto the crowded bus was another!  Thanks to a mother with a young child on her hip, we and our bags made it on board.

Masks were required in the airport and on the airport buses.  Once in the rental car garage, few masks were in evidence; those that were, were mostly on young kids.  Social distancing is still encouraged and urged, and you are advised to wear a mask entering any business or store if you have not been vaccinated.  This means we’ll be able to freely socialize with our friends, inside each other’s homes and without masks.  

The bigger issue is the hit that restaurants and other businesses have taken due to the Covid epidemic.  Many restaurants are unable to find and hire enough staff to cover all the hours they wish to be open.  Add to this missing, delayed, or shortchanged food deliveries given staffing shortages at the large distribution warehouses, and you have another reason for their shorter hours.  Several local restaurants are closed a weekday or two, and some didn’t open at all this season.  But there are more tourists here than last year and so the demand for tables makes reservations essential!  Even the general store on this island is now closed all day Sunday and only open until 4 pm the rest of the week.  

Our first full day here, it teemed rain on and off all day, and the high only reached 64.  Despite that, it’s good to be back!

MONDAY FORAY TO PORTLAND

It’s a complicated story, but we had to drive down to Portland to deal with paperwork related to our rental car.  That errand was blessedly quick and gave us the excuse to go to downtown Portland and spend a bit of time in the Old Port area.  I was able to replenish my supply of note and greeting cards at Sherman’s.  We then made our annual visit to Le Roux Kitchen, a longtime favorite, where we picked up several thematic Maine mugs (simple white with blue and gray whales), paring knives and a grater, and several styles of cocktail napkins.  

Alfresco dining at Duckfat

The high point of this expedition, however, was an indulgent lunch at Duckfat, a casual eatery on Middle Street specializing in Belgian fries and local charcuterie.  We ate a wonderful lunch here two years ago and the return visit was also special.  All seating this year is outdoors under a robust wooden structure outfitted with picnic tables.  We ordered the fries, of course, a glass each of Albarino, the blistered shishito peppers, and the charcuterie board of ham, duck, and smoked salmon with appropriate garnishes.  

Very tasty!  When asked if we’d like doughnut holes for dessert, we couldn’t resist!  A small metal cone of six holes arrived along with a caramel dipping sauce with overtones of maple.  The holes had been rolled in cinnamon sugar and the interior was accented with citrus.  Yum!  Even better than churros and chocolate!

Doughnut holes!

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).

Portland: Food & More

PORTLAND—FOOD AND MORE

Like Julius Caesar’s army, the Chief Penguin and I travel on our stomachs.  Despite what it may seem, we did do more in Portland than eat. But, knowing the restaurants mid-coast are not as varied or inventive, we took advantage of Portland’s wonderful foodie scene.

DINING

Hugo’s

Hugo’s Cucumber

The food at Hugo’s is sophisticated and creative.   We’ve now eaten here several years in a row on our first night in Portland and this visit was no exception.  We began with tuna crudo and then proceeded to a charcuterie board; cucumber with falafel nibs; roasted cauliflower bathed in a smear of hot sauce; and spaghetti chittara; ending with two desserts—chocolate several ways and mini cubes of rhubarb accompanied by mousse and locust leaf sorbet, etc.  All dishes were on the small side and we shared everything.  We hadn’t ordered the cucumber, but when they brought it instead of the cauliflower we did order, they comped us the cucumber.  

Duckfat

We were inspired to try some place different for lunch, figuring if there were a line out the door we’d go elsewhere.  But Lady Luck was with us as we were seated at the bar immediately upon arriving, just ahead of the noon rush!  Duckfat is most casual with seating on high stools at the bar and low stools at counters around the perimeter.  

It is known for its Belgian fries so of course we had to sample them.  Probably the best fries I’ve ever tasted and even better with the Thai chili dipping sauce! From there we moved on to the duck and charred cabbage salad; a board of charcuterie and salmon, Tasso ham, pimento cheese, homemade pickles, loma, and buttered brown bread; and also a wedge salad (actually two large wedges) decorated with slivers of tomato and radish slices in a rich blue cheese dressing.  The last was to offset those fries. Paired with a glass of summery rose, it all made for the perfect lunch!  

Chaval

Chaval is the sister restaurant to Piccolo which we’ve also enjoyed.  This was our second meal at Chaval and with a slight chance of rain, they had closed their garden in favor of inside seating. The menu is a mix of small plates and entrees such as steak frites.  Having enjoyed our Duckfat lunch, we ordered more lightly—warm olives, broccolini with bacon and bits of orange, a young beet salad, Iberia ham croquettes, and the Alsace chicken breast entree with morels and spinach in a light cream sauce, which we shared.  Everything was delicious!

Broccolini with bacon and citrus triangles

While out and about, we also checked out a natural foods store, stopped in to Le Roux Kitchenware for mugs and paring knives, and bought pancetta and good canned tuna at Micucci Grocery, a new find on India Street.  All sorts of Italian dry goods from jars of peppers and pickles to panettone, and many pasta shapes, plus cheeses and sliced meats.  

ART

We like the Portland Museum of Art.  They do an excellent job presenting their collection and engaging visitors with exhibits that focus on lesser-known aspects of arts and crafts.   The currently featured exhibit is called In the Vanguard:  Haystack Mountain School of Crafts 1950-1969.  It brings together works by sculptors, painters, and fabric artists that were groundbreaking and signaled new directions in artistic creation for that time.

Celibacy, 1968, wool macrame by Walter Nottingham

Also on display is Open-Ended, an exhibit of new museum acquisitions that I particularly enjoyed. What makes it special is the commentary about why a piece was purchased and its significance or connection to the rest of the collection.

BOOKSTORES

And for me, time spent in Portland would not be complete without time in their independent bookstores. We didn’t get to Print this year (our time here was shorter than usual), but we browsed in Sherman’s (one of their several locations, this one on Exchange Street) and in Longfellow Books at Monument Square.   I made several purchases in each store, adding to my growing stack of summer reading!

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is of the board at Duckfat.