This week has been a whirlwind that started the end of last week. Saturday I got up early like always to harvest, and that all happened, but then I was released from my duties and sent on my way east. It’s a little less than a three hour drive from Keene to the coast of Maine. I arrived in Portland, ME around midday ready to be wowed and awed; it did not disappoint! I wandered and window shopped and as my sense were increasingly overwhelmed by the wonders around me, I also met a slew of wonderful people. Starting with the lovely shop worker from Waterlily (Milk Street), a global artisan boutique, this young lady could just tell I was eager to meet people. She chatted with me, recommended a place for dinner, and invited me to a music show that evening all in one fell swoop. I took her advice and number in case of emergency and headed down through town toward the harbor.
Along the way I found a number of delicious eating stops that I must admit I didn’t really try until Sunday. Once on the main tourist shopping road right along the harbor, I met a delightful woman from the Midwest! Two Minnesotan sisters who have now lived in NE for over 20 years had just opened their Cupcake stand the day before. Really it’s one sister’s business but they were working together to get things started. Aunt Kake’s (Commercial Rd) has a rainbow umbrella over their cart of baked goods and are lovely to chat with!
After some more wandering through the city’s shops, a TeaBerry ice cream from Beal’s, and finding a nice spot to park Beatrice on an afterhours parking meter, I headed to my recommended dinner spot to meet up with Lauren (Kzoo Roommate)’s cousin. Justin met me outside of Flatbread Wood-fired Pizzas (Commercial Rd). Flatbread is known for a variety of things, fresh deserts, a large brick oven you can sit by to watch your pizza, it’s location on the water, etc. My favorite aspect aside from the delicious pizza, good beer and better company was the fact that FlatBread Sources LOCAL INGREDIENTS from local farmers. And they had a list of the farms that they had gotten this week’s goodies from!!! That evening Justin gave me a walking tour of Portland’s EastEnd all the while convincing me that the EastEnd is far superior to the WestEnd as far as eating, living, and other fun and sights to see. Walking the East promenade at dusk was beautiful. Loads of green-space, quiet neighborhoods, a wonderful bike route into town, and blahblahblah it was great. After promptly passing out on his couch, the next morning we stopped to get coffee on the way back into town () and then I took him out to breakfast to thank him for his hospitality at Marcy’s (Free Street). Marcy’s Diner is in MidTown leaning towards the WestEnd (which might win me over only for its lack of tourists) it is a small diner with a big delicious breakfast menu. Finally after breakfast, we parted ways.
I headed into town to walk off my omelet, found a number of new great spots, and finally stopped at some of the food places I wanted to. I went to Mountain Desert Ice Creams and got Nectarine Sorbet with Basil Blueberry Sorbet…om nom nom.. it was delicious! Then I went to the Gourmet Popcorn Co and got some flavored PopCorn!
Alright, I ran out of journalistic energies…. more to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment