To some folks, winter in Portland is all about crackling fires and parking bans. To me, it means lastly with the ability to rating a desk at a few of my favourite eating places with out being compelled to eat dinner at 4:30 or 10 p.m. It means sauntering into my favourite bakery after midday, understanding I’m in all probability nonetheless going to go away with greater than a bag of day-old cookies.

Restaurant Week appears like a celebration of this in-between time when the crowds of vacationers have thinned. It’s a time to get out and reconnect with our food-mad metropolis (and its neighbors). Unsure the place to begin? Listed here are a couple of recommendations to get you out and about. Simply don’t neglect your mittens.

5 locations to take a design fanatic

1. By way of Vecchia
The meals at this hip, ivy-covered Outdated Port hotspot is likely to be Italian, however the inside is all Nineteenth-century, Palais-Royal maximalism. Order a non-alcoholic N/A-groni ($8) and say a silent prayer for the folks accountable for dusting this place!

2. Speckled Ax (waterfront)
When it opened mid-pandemic, I assumed this third-wave espresso store’s new waterfront location appeared a bit spartan. However within the intervening 12 months, Speckled Ax has grown into its Thames Road digs, mirroring the house’s angles and stark geometries in exactly brewed drinks, like effervescent, refreshing espresso-and-tonic ($5).

3. Batson River Brewing & Distilling
Maybe nonetheless a spot the place drinks and design outpace the success of an iffy menu, the Portland outpost of this Kennebunk-based brewery is price a go to for its décor: one-third searching lodge, one-third gentleman’s membership library and one-third curler rink. The Batson G&T ($13), a gin-and-tonic made with the distillery’s personal American-style Riparian gin gained’t disappoint.

4. The Garrison
A uncommon restaurant the place the meals — like attractive, warming braised rabbit fettucine ($29) — is as interesting as the inside, this Yarmouth gem may have earned a spot on a couple of of those lists. But it surely’s right here due to the simpatico relationship between its fashionable inside and the frothy river frontage simply outdoors the home windows.

5. Evo Kitchen + Bar
From the surface, this Fore Road fishbowl appears to be like its measurement: little. However inside, asymmetrical floor-to-ceiling home windows and illumination that radiates from lots of of sources make the house really feel huge. Folks-watching from the perimeter is enjoyable, however a nightcap and a slice of strong-coffee-infused chocolate-orange cake (desserts, $13-$14) devoured within the loft-like mezzanine is a superb solution to finish a night out.

Indy’s in South Portland serves nice sandwiches for lunch, but it surely additionally makes a imply breakfast. Michele McDonald/workers photographer

5 spots to take a customer for breakfast

1. Indy’s
You’d be forgiven for pondering of South Portland’s Indy’s Sandwich as extra of a lunch vacation spot. It’s, however present up just a little earlier if you happen to’re within the temper for a Southeast Asian-style kickstart to your day, like my favourite: the Spam-and-egg sandwich with spicy mayo ($8).

2. Different Aspect Diner
By no means depart the peninsula? Your loss. East Deering is the place to be on a cold morning. Different Aspect Diner’s Levantine-inspired Falafel Benedict ($15) and stylish cheese-and-spinach omelettes ($15) are purpose sufficient to haul your self off the bed.

3. Lenora
The most recent resident of the previous Walter’s house in Outdated Port, Lenora might need simply opened, but it surely has already begun to impress with its creamy horchata ($7) and an outstanding Bodega Sandwich ($8) with eggs and house-made maple-habanero sausage.

4. Ohno! Café
A neighbor as soon as advised me that she enrolled her baby at Reiche Elementary Faculty simply so she’d be capable to stroll previous Ohno! on daily basis. I can see why. Style the No. 1 with maple-glazed prosciutto on a bagel ($7), and also you may think about transferring your youngsters, too.

5. Navis Café
I get it. No one desires a breakfast sandwich each single day, particularly when the climate is chilly. Instances like these name for a bowl of steaming Navis oatmeal (along with your selection of candy or savory toppings, $5.99) and a cup of freshly brewed La Colombe espresso ($2.55) at this Thames Road cafe.

In search of quiet dialog over a very good meal? Attempt Asmara in Portland. Within the kitchen, proprietor Asmeret Teklu makes injera, a big unleavened, fermented flatbread constructed from teff flour. Derek Davis/Employees Photographer

5 quiet eating places for a chat or a canoodle

1. Miyake
Miyake has at all times been a peaceable spot for date nights or particular events. However because it reopened its eating room on Fore Road after practically three years, it’s one way or the other even quieter. For optimum silence, sit on the brand-new ten-seat sushi bar and order the omakase nigiri ($68). All you’ll hear is the clicking of knives.

2. Asmara
The homey, family-style Eritrean dishes you’ll discover at Asmara on Oak Road in Portland appear purpose-built for chatting conspiratorially along with your companions as you tear off a sheaf of bubbly injera and make a bid for that final mouthful of berbere-prickly lentil stew (Birsen: $19.95).

3. Helm
Sound-dampening panels are a part of the explanation why this Thames Road uncooked bar is among the many coziest locations for a hushed dialog. One other huge purpose is the meals, particularly dishes that characteristic the restaurant’s home made bread, which can also be offered a la carte with cultured butter ($5).

4. Dok Mali
This tiny India Road newcomer gained’t keep quiet for lengthy, as soon as vacationers descend on Portland once more. So head there now, the place ultra-funky, Cambodian-style papaya salad ($15) awaits.

5. Elda
It’s true that cash should buy luxurious, and right here, luxurious is spelled “s-h-h-h-h.” Elda’s charming eating room is crammed with loads of sound-absorbing upholstery and tough surfaces. Typically, it’s simple to neglect that you just’re eating in a leviathan of a repurposed mill in Biddeford, not a cottage within the Swedish countryside.

Mami is a superb selection if you happen to’re consuming out with kids. Ben McCanna/Employees Photographer

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5 eating places which are nice for teenagers

1. Lazzari
Nice pizza alone ought to be the explanation why Portland’s Lazzari makes the reduce right here, but it surely’s not simply in regards to the wood-fired pies. The fireplace-breathing, metal-domed Le Panyol oven can also be a significant draw for little ones in search of a dragon-adjacent expertise together with their pepperoni.

2. The Pleasant Toast
Portlanders of a sure age will perceive instantly after I say that The Pleasant Toast’s bustling Maine outpost appears to be like like a cross between Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and the previous Foolish’s eating room. In different phrases, visible catnip to a squirmy child.

3. Elsmere BBQ
Bringing kids to South Portland’s Elsmere, the unique location of this easygoing barbecue restaurant, is like dropping them off at a playground or an IKEA ball pit. There’s no scarcity of children, which lends vibrancy to the house. Bonus for folks: They serve beer.

4. Cheese Louise
Youngsters aren’t the one individuals who love grilled cheese sandwiches, however they’re definitely essentially the most vocal proponents of the dish. At this nook entrance Outdated Port restaurant, kids will discover it arduous to complain in regards to the menu, and with meatier, spicy twists on the basic sandwich, adults will, too.

5. Mami
Any restaurant whose identify is pronounced “mommy” is certain to be a enjoyable vacation spot for teenagers. This Japanese comfort-food spot is not any exception. It earns additional factors for its fantastic, squid ink brioche-topped Massive Mami burger ($11) — a BBQ-flavored sandwich in a stark black bun which will additionally result in… attention-grabbing rest room conversations later.

5 spots for a takeaway snack

1. Norimoto Bakery
Strolling by means of Baxter Woods or exploring Evergreen Cemetery? You’re in luck: One of many state’s greatest bakeries is inside simple strolling distance. Seize a vegan ANZAC cookie ($3.50) or gooey cinnamon roll ($5) from this James Beard Award-nominated store and get these steps!

2. Cheese Store of Portland
Certain, this Washington Avenue enterprise is a superb place to go to once you’re internet hosting a get-together and require nibbles, but it surely has additionally quietly change into the house of a few of Portland’s greatest sandwiches. Most of them, you’ll be unsurprised to be taught, characteristic stellar cheeses and meats which are additionally offered individually.

A nine-piece chocolate field from Chocolats Ardour in Portland. In case you crave only a single deal with, restaurant reviewer Andrew Ross suggests a bergamot-infused truffle. Photograph by Meredith Goad

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3. Chocolats Ardour’s Bergamot bonbon made with Earl Gray
When a full meal isn’t within the playing cards, typically a bit of sweet is all you want. Once you’re within the West Finish, there’s no higher place to fulfill that want than on the award-winning Chocolats Ardour, the place a decadent bergamot-infused bonbon ($2.75 for hearts, $3 for squares) will tide you over properly.

4. Bake Maine Pottery Café
Sugary glazed scones, tender banana bread and croissant sandwiches have taken up residence on this newly renovated pottery workshop and retail retailer on Washington Avenue. Unsure what to strive earlier than you’re taking a flip on the (pottery) wheel? Go for a macaron, particularly something crammed with the store’s transcendent ganache.

5. Ben Reuben’s Knishery
Name it the unique hand pie, name it the great-great-granddaddy of the Sizzling Pocket — it doesn’t matter. So long as you order considered one of this Knightville store’s signature knishes, you possibly can’t go fallacious. The harissa-spiced roasted cauliflower ($6.25) and sticky-sweet Schtick-y Bun ($5.75) are each excellent for noshing as you discover South Portland’s quaintest neighborhood.

Andrew Ross has written about meals and eating in New York and the UK. He and his work have been featured on Martha Stewart Dwelling Radio and in The New York Instances. He’s the recipient of 5 latest Critic’s Awards from the Maine Press Affiliation.

Contact him at: [email protected]
Twitter: @AndrewRossME

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