Old Port, Maine

A Word from the Author:

I have had the opportunity to visit a few cities these past 2 years that have really surprised me (in a good way) and Portland, Maine is no exception. Portland is a treasure of a city, the Old Port is situated right down by the water and features some of the best restaurants in America. There are charming blocks after charming blocks of fantastic food and beverage begging to be enjoyed. I spent 3 full days in Portland and didn’t even get through my short list of places. Here are a few of the gems I stumbled upon.

Chapter 1: Coffee

There are plenty of great coffee roasters in Portland, all offering a different atmosphere it was hard for me to pick a favorite but for overall best coffee shop I went with Arabica Coffee Co. Between the friendly staff, unique dark coffee and amazing atmosphere, Arabica was already a front-runner, what put them over the top however was their toast. Yes, I said toast, like burnt bread, toast. This is no ordinary toast, this stuff is made fresh and delivered every morning by some guy named Dave. This toast changed my life, don’t quote me on this but I think it could cure cancer. This beautiful 2 inch thick piece of bread is served toasted ever so perfectly with just the right amount of butter, I challenge you to pair it with a nice dark cup of coffee and take a perch by the window and tell me your life isn’t complete. I dare you. There are other good coffee shops besides Arabica in Portland that are no slouch in their own right. Bard Coffee is a great spot with really comfortable couches and a bar that gives it a real European cafe feel. Try the iced pumpkin latte in the autumn months, not overly pumpkin like their Starbucks counterpart, which is basically a pumpkin pie puree. Portland Coffee Roasting Co is pretty good as well, they have a great lunch menu, although I did not get anything, the sandwiches looked great. Coffee By Design has a few locations throughout Old Port, they are a really good option, the two locations I saw (only visited 1) were pretty small, but they have a spectacular array of different roasts. The other place I went to that was highly acclaimed on Yelp! was Others!, Others! was like a small dirty version of The Muse Coffee Co (Lynchburg, VA), great coffee with the roaster right in the front, but they only take cash and there was no place to sit, so only go there if you want a coffee to go. All of these places are charming in their own unique way so if you have a chance to spend a few days, fight your urge to stick with one place and go visit them all.

Chapter 1.5: Ice Cream

Beal’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream is one block from the water on a charming side street/ally that has homemade ice cream and yogurt. The prices are decent and the flavors are varied. Beware they only take cash. The shop owner was very nice and there are tables outside and plenty more inside. My favorite place however was Mount Desert Ice Cream. The shop owner is a tall woman who is one part mean New Englander on part Friendly Hippie. However, Mount Desert is truly an original, serving flavors like White Russian (also known as ‘The Dude’ inspired by the Big Lebowski), Jack Daniels (yes if you get 3 scoops you will get a buzz), Ginger, and Thai Chili. I settled on a scoop of salted carmel which was perfectly concocted. I’ve had salted caramel at several places and more often than not they are just too salty. The only downfall is that there is no place to sit inside, however there is ample room to stand and talk to the shop owner which I highly suggest. She let me sample the White Russian flavor which was also delicious. Mount Desert is by far the best ice cream shop in Portland and, you may want to take a seat, the best in the country, in my opinion.

Chapter 2: Breakfast

I only got breakfast at two places place in Portland, first was a nice little joint called Hot Suppa ironically. They are incredibly friendly and have the attitude you want for a breakfast place. I got the Corned Beef Hash, I know what you’re thinking, that sounds gross. I had never had corned beef hash before but this place has won awards for this plate so I had to give in a whirl. It was great, came with your choice of toast (I got marble rye) and eggs any style. Another cool thing about Hot Suppa is that they serve Coffee By Design coffee as their house blend. I love that they are supporting other local vendors so that gets them much respect in my book. Anyway if you have a chance for breakfast Hot Suppa is where its at. Also go next door to the Portland Bike Shop, such a cool store. The other place I visited was The Farmers Table. I actually went here twice but in this section I will talk about the brunch. I love this restaurant however the brunch may have been built up by a local a little too much. I had an omelet with feta and tomatoes, that was good but not great, the breakfast potatoes however were excellent. The coolest thing about The Farmers Table is that everything they serve in the restaurant is raised locally.

Chapter 3: Lunch

As I just mentioned I visited The Farmers Table twice, I got lunch there one day and it was a truly enjoyable meal. They have a walled in patio overlooking Commercial Street which is right on the water and the weather that afternoon was perfect. I had the basic burger, a half pound organically raised beef patty on a toasted potato bun with blue cheese and hand cut fries. Although it seems plain this was is a great choice because it allowed the flavor of the burger to shine and shine it did. They also had a burger that was intriguing, called the piggy burger, it features bacon and a small portion of sweet and spicy braised pork. I wish I had enough time to go back and try that bad boy. On another afternoon I met up with a friend who took me to a sandwich shop called Fit to Eat. This is a great place to grab something to go or sit outside on the balcony that overlooks the street. The sandwiches are fantastic and features all kinds of creative options.

Chapter 4: Dinner

I have been anxiously waiting to get to this part of the blog. I mentioned in the beginning that Portland is known for having some of the best restaurants in the country and the two places you will soon hear about lived up to those expectations and some. Fore Street was the most recommended restaurant I came across. To start let me legitimize what we’re dealing with here. Fore Street was ranked #16 in the United States by Gormet Magazine in their Top 50 list. If you are planning on eating here you better get there early. Doors open at 5:00 to be able to put your name on the list. The restaurant doesn’t open until 5:30. I arrived at 4:30 and there was already a line out the door to put your name on the list. So I will tell you again, get there early. Once inside you realize what the wait is for. The kitchen is open and located right in the middle of the room, all of the food is grown and raised by local Maine farmers and the menu is seasonal and changes every few weeks, however they do have a few things that are always available. One of those items is the chicken I had. Everything is amazing here, and the atmosphere is very unique. Fore Street is a must if you are in Portland. If you have an opportunity to spend a few nights there, my second recommendation would be Street and Company. They feature local seafare in a rustic atmosphere with outside seating available as well. Street and Company can be difficult to find because it is in an alley way, so you may have to ask a local for directions. Much like Fore Street, Street and Company has an open kitchen and prep area and is very cozy inside. I went with a friend who ordered Clams in White Sauce that was fantastic. I had never had clams before and I have to say that this dish was to die for. I had the Blackened CoHo Salmon which was really good and had a good kick of spice to it. Again you can’t really go wrong with anything on the menu, they also have a Lobster Diavolo dinner for two that looked tremendous for like $40. Street and Company is a great place to get seafood even for those people who don’t really love seafood.

Epilogue:

Lastly, if you have a chance you should check out two bookstores I visited when I was there. Yes Books is a great store for new books, they have a great section of staff favorites that are on point. Longfellow Books is a fantastic used bookstore with books piled on the floor and walkways barely wide enough to walk down. They store owner is a crazy Einstein looking guy who I’m sure knows where every single book in the store is. Ready for the best part? After you read the book, you can sell it back to the store for credit. So cool, I wish we had a store like that here in Lynchburg.

Cheers!

The Queen City

After a long hiatus (9 months) the blog is back. After prodding and encouragement from a friend I have decided to stop procrastinating and start writing again. If this is your first time on my blog, thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy. To those who follow the blog, thank you for the continued support. I have some exciting plans to take the blog to the next level, but in order to get to that point I need to catch up on some notes that I have archived. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, no not Christmas, autumn! Not only does the fall usher in cool air, changing leaves and pumpkin themed treats, it also means peak travel season for me. Some things to look forward to from future posts are cities like, Portland, Atlanta, Toronto, and Seattle(Part 2). But as for today, I am going to start with a little trip I had last week down to one of my favorite cities, Charlotte, North Carolina.

I realize that a lot of you reading this are probably either from or very familiar with Charlotte but before you navigate away to go see who is on Facebook chat, hang around for a few minutes, I have a few places that I hope are new for a few of you.The first place I want to talk about is Cabo Fish Taco, it is located in a really cool part of town called NoDa. (North Davidson St) It was also recently featured on The Food Network’s Diners, Drive-In’s, Dives, and is currently one of the hottest spots on Yelp for the past month. They have a decent selection of draft beer, wine and cocktails, but their obvious specialties are their margaritas.I recommend the guacamole, it was so good, and they served it chilled with warm, crisp chips. I got the Blackened Mahi -Mahi Tacos, which were incredible, all of their tacos are topped with a white cilantro sauce that really keeps the taco from being to dry. I definitely would call Cabo Fish Taco a can’t miss if you are ever in the NoDa area of Charlotte.

Right down the road from Cabo is a great french bakery named Amelie’s (pronounced like Emily’s but with an AH). I don’t know where to start with this place, the latte’s and pastries are to die for, they probably have over 30 different pastries on any given day. However if you are looking for a great cup of coffee, I will warn you Amelie’s only has drip coffee that is good but not anything to write home about. Amelie’s is not only french by name, the decor of the place is unmistakably french. It is set up much like an old house, with multiple rooms separated by velvet curtains, featuring living room furniture arrangements around coffee tables and faux fireplaces, lit by elaborate chandeliers. This place is nothing short of stunning! Are you ready for the best part? Amelie’s is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week! This place is 100% worth the trip no matter where you are in the Charlotte area.

The Common Market is a wonderful deli serving Boar’s Head meat by the pound. They also feature freshly made sandwiches and wraps as well as a cold case with fresh salads(pasta, potato, chickpea, etc.). They offer vegetarian and vegan sandwiches and salads as well. The Common Market is not only a deli, it also has a full convenience store featuring a massive wine and beer selection as well as all kinds of healthy snacks and a sitting area for you to enjoy your lunch. I stopped by for lunch one day and ordered the Turkey Capri Wrap. It comes with a sun dried tomato spread, goat cheese spread, baby spinach, and red onion all on a wrap of your choice, I got the sun dried tomato wrap. To accompany what was probably the most fantastic wrap I have ever eaten, I selected a chickpea salad with feta and green peppers that was to die for. I have to say The Common Market made a strong push for the number one spot in Charlotte for me, falling just short. Nonetheless, it is an amazing place to go whether you are looking for some lunch meat or cheese for your sandwich building endeavors, a place to grab a drink after work, carry out bottle of wine or six pack of beer, or a place to have a delectable and healthy lunch, or even a quick late night snack, The Common Market is for you!

Before I get to my favorite place in Charlotte, I would be remiss if didn’t mention Big Daddy’s Burger Bar in Dilworth. This is a great spot with indoor and outdoor seating, featuring an amazing beer selection and mouth watering, hand crafted burgers and sides. I got the Mama Ricotta’s Burger which comes topped with mozzarella, pesto, vine ripened tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil with a side of seasoned fries. A few things you should know about Big Daddy’s; all of their beef is 100% grass fed and hormone free, they feature vegetarian and gluten free options, and you have the ability to build a burger starting with your choice of 7 meats or meat substitutes. Whatever burger you get make sure you try the Big Daddy’s sauce, as a matter of fact, get a few sides so you can dip your fries in it. I have no idea what it is, but it is oh-so good! This is a great place and it is in a great neighborhood with a really cool Caribou Coffee right across the street, so make it a night out with friends and grab coffee after!

Okay so I've saved the best for last. The Liberty is a gastropub that is only a few blocks away from Big Daddy’s in Dilworth. They feature 20 craft beers on tap and 30 wines by the glass. The Liberty not only has great drinks but their food is seasonal and served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their menu changes every few weeks which is good and bad, especially if you fall in love with something like I did. I started out with a pint of Dogfish Head (my favorite brewery in the world) Punkin’ Ale, which was new that week for the fall season, and an order of BBQ pork cracklin’s which I assumed was some sort of barbecue slider, being that I was in North Carolina, the self proclaimed capital of barbecue. What I got was more of a homemade pork rind that was served right out of the fryer. They actually weren’t bad, but I wouldn’t really recommend them. For my main dish I ordered the Bacon Blue Lamb Burger that came topped with bacon, blue cheese crumbles and roasted onions with a side of their parmesan salted fries. Words cannot explain how flavorful both the burger and fries were. The Liberty serves tons of traditional pub food with a gourmet flair. If there is one place you need to go on your next visit to Charlotte, The Liberty is that place. There were so many other places I wanted to visit that I simply did not have time to try. All of these places get two thumbs up, they are all different so I hope one of them sounded intriguing to you and you have the opportunity to visit one of these great places. Also, if you are on Yelp, I would love to be friends with you on there, look me up!

No need for a cool title...it's Seattle!

So it's been a while since my last post, I took a break for the holidays (Halloween - New Years) so now I'm back on the horse and ready for some blogging. Now if you are not familiar with my blog let me refresh your memory, this blog is meant to serve as a sort of city guide (hence the name) so I will talk about restaurants, and sights to see in each city. I know I will probably miss things that you did when you were in one of these respective cities, however I can only review places that I have actually been to, but if you have suggestions of places to go next time please leave comments. Also I was not an english major nor do I claim to be a "writer" so I will have run on sentences and long paragraphs. One more thing, if I make you hungry reading this, I'm sorry! Imagine what I went through writing it! So with no further ado...

Back in October I got to experience a city I've always wanted to visit, the Emerald City, Seattle. Now I had the beautiful misfortune to have my visit fall on the beginning of the ever dreaded "rainy season", and all the terrible images of monsoon rains for months on end instantly came rushing to my mind. However, it only rained for two days and that rain was light and sporadic. Seattle is absolutely gorgeous (even in the rain), it is surrounded by water and hills giving you excellent views from almost anywhere in the city. There are several different districts in Seattle, there is the Public Market, Downtown, University, Ballard, Capital Hill, Queen Anne, and so many more, but these are the places I spent most of my time walking around and eating. In downtown there is an amazing place that I actually read about in the Delta magazine on my flight out there called Serious Pie, it was ranked the #3 pizza place in the country, behind joints in NYC and Chicago. So i figured I would head there on my first night, lucky for me it was friday and there was a 2 1/2 hour wait, so I put my name in (uh yes reservation for one...yea just me) and walked up the street a block to a great place called The Whiskey Bar, which was recommended by a guy standing in line for takeout at Serious Pie. The Whiskey Bar is an amazing place to grab a drink they have hundreds of whiskies from all over the world and bartenders that may or may not have written some sort of almanac at one point in their lives. I ordered a glass of Black Maple Hill, it was served warm, in a tumbler. This may have been the most delicious glass of alcohol I've ever tasted, hints of vanilla, and maple syrup hit your taste buds while the warm sensation works its way down to your stomach, this may also be why it cost $16 for like 4 oz of the stuff, I also had an Uptown Manhattan that was delicious. I stayed there until I got a call from the pizza place and took my seat at a table with 7 strangers. Serious Pie has seating for about 40 people and they are high tables with 6-8 stools at them, they fill the tables so unless you have a big party you will be sitting right next to random strangers, which would be cool, if you weren't by yourself, like me. Anyway, I ordered a pizza that sounded risky but definitely payed off, it had guanciale, soft egg, and dandelion greens, it was the best pizza I have ever had. I payed my bill and headed up the hill to try and get a good view of the city, after all I had just landed a few hours earlier. As I was climbing up these steep

streets I ran into a really friendly lady who told me a great place to see the city and also just chatted about how much she loved living in Seattle. I went to the place she spoke of and this is what I found. Yeah, I fell in love too. The next night I went to another place in Downtown called Lola, its actually owned by the same guy, Tom Douglas, who owns Serious Pie, as well as several other really good places in the city. I had a lamb burger with chickpea fries that was outstanding, really juicy, and great flavor, not to mention the place was cool as hell. Hotel Andra, a super swanky hotel, is attached to Lola and people were grabbing drinks at the bar and hanging out in the hotel's lounge which opens right up to the bar. If you're looking for a great place to grab a drink downtown I would definitely suggest The Tap House Grill it is really nice inside, a place you could go after a really nice dinner or show, or just a night out with friends. They have 160 beers on tap, a billiards room and a late night happy hour from 10-12. Another great place to go grab some drinks with friends is a place called Peso's Kitchen, this is a really popular spot for nightlife, I went on a saturday night and the place was crawling with 20 somethings hanging out and enjoying some great drinks and a really cool atmosphere. If you need a bite to eat after Peso's just walk across the street to Pagliacci's Pizza, they have locations all over Seattle and it's really good, and cheap! Another good pizza place near downtown, in Queen Ann is called Zeeks, and they have great deals on pizza and beer, a good place to grab lunch. Downtown is full of really cool places to eat and drink these were just the places I had time to visit.

Of course one of the biggest tourist attractions in Seattle is the Public Market. This is where you will see guys throwing fish around, singing songs about produce and artists showing off their jewelry, photographs, paintings, clothing and nicknacks. There are some awesome specialty shops there too selling wines, cheeses, chocolates all kind of things. Of course there is also the original Starbucks store right there down on Pike Place (if you didn't

know thats why the coffee is called that). That is a must see for all you coffee nuts out there, there is also this awesome place called The Confectional that sells mini cheesecakes that will blow your mind, I had pumpkin and raspberry white chocolate. There is another place that will satisfy your sweet tooth called the Daily Dozen Doughnut Company, my favorites were the cinnamon sugar and the powdered brown sugar ones. Its really a cool experience, they hand make their doughnut holes and then put them in a brown paper bag. Then they shake them with whatever toppings you want and throw them high in the air only to catch it with the other hand in another brown paper bag. You have to make sure that no matter what you take an afternoon to check out the market in full swing because it is definitely something to see, and if you can find it, go down the stairs in the market to the back alley, there is a wall completely covered in gum, at least 75 yards long and 8 feet tall, covered with peoples names, cartoon characters, inappropriate words, all kinds of things, all made out of chewed bubble gum. Its definitely a sight to behold.

Not far from downtown lies the beautiful campus of the University of Washington. If you have the time I would take a walk around this campus, it is absolutely gorgeous. The main street right by campus has tons of bars, restaurants and stores to check out, two places I went to were Big Time Brewery and Agua Verde. Big Time Brewery is right on University Way so you can't miss it. They have a great selection of in-house beers as well as a pretty good menu. They also have a pretty amazing deal on Tuesday nights where you buy a pizza and get a pitcher of beer for $1. I tried one of their sampler and got 6 different

brews, all very good. The other place, Agua Verde, is not quite so easy to find, however it is well worth the drive. I went with a friend and sat out back on the patio, which is right on the water. During the day you will see boaters go by, and even the UW Crew team. They have great mexican cuisine, and sometimes even live music. I got a pulled pork burrito and chips and guacamole as well as a margarita. They also have all kinds of homemade salsas so try them all! Everything was fantastic and I highly recommend it. (shout out to my friend Kaite Kaminske for taking me there).

Another cool part of town is Capital Hill, this is the hippie, indie, gay pride, part of town. There are some good shopping and coffee places there, but three places you absolutely have to try are Dick's Drive-In , which is an In-n-Out type burger joint that is really good, and open late. Be careful though because they only take cash, and you have to eat outside, so go on a nice day. Second place to check out is Molly Moons Ice Cream, they have amazing ice cream obviously, I had pumpkin clove...need I say more? And last but most definitely not least, is Trophy Cupcakes. I'm sure you all are aware of the two big dessert fads sweeping the nation, frozen yogurt and cupcakes but I promise you this place is legit and their cupcakes are to die for. I had a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing that will most assuredly give you a cavity.

The last part of town I will discuss may have been one of my favorites, its a little up and coming town north of downtown called Ballard. I spent two days here walking around and checking out all the shops and whatnot. One night I grabbed dinner at a place my co-workers recommended called The Matador, this place is sick! I absolutely loved it, they have great food, amazing atmosphere and it is a tequila bar, so needless to say their margaritas are to die for. High Life is another great place to eat in Ballard. It is an old firehouse that they restored to make a really cool restaurant and bar. They have great food and a really big bar. As far as coffee places go, Cafe Fiore might be one of the coolest coffee shops I've ever been to, I just wanted to pull out a good book, or hop on my laptop and hang out there. They have really good organic coffee and amazing espresso drinks. And last but not least I have yet another cupcake place to suggest. Cupcake Royale has the self proclaimed "best cupcakes in Seattle" and I would say I have to agree. They have a ton of different flavors and you can order online and have them cater your wedding if you'd like. The place is great and if I had to pick between Royale and Trophy I would go with Cupcake Royale.

Ok I can't possible talk about food anymore, I'm going to go crazy, fortunately for me those are basically all the places I went to while I was there. So I hope this was interesting, but more importantly I hope you will use this as a resource for your own travels!