Visit Portland, Maine: Go for the Lobster, Stay for the Ice Cream, Clam Chowder, Pizza and Greek Food

In early spring, I traveled to Portland, Maine to attend the Women in Travel Summit conference. I was happy to learn that some of my baby boomer travel blogger peeps would also be attending. Even better, a number of them are “foodie” bloggers and they invited me to tag along as they ate their way through Portland. These women had done their homework! (P.S.: They don’t like the”f” word, so don’t tell them I referred to them as “foodies”. )

The Time I Was a Foodie Travel Blogger Mascot Groupie
in Portland, Maine

Emilitsa for Greek Food in Portland, Maine

For the first dinner of my visit to Portland, Maine, Sue Reddel and Diana Laskaris of the the Food Travelist blog invited me to join them for dinner at Emilitsa, a restaurant featuring “rustic Greek cuisine”.  I was very happy with their choice. Mr. and Mrs. Excitement often seek out Mediterranean food on our travels no matter where we are–i.e., like in London, England, and Dublin, Ireland. We are food wimps enjoy the tasty “clean” flavors, not masked by overwhelming “hot” spices.

Emilitsa is rated the 3rd best out of 391 restaurants in Portland on Tripadvisor. This is no faint praise given that Bon Appetit named Portland, Maine its 2018 Restaurant City of the Year. Our table was not quite ready, but we were happy to spend our short wait getting started with craft cocktails prepared by a friendly, knowledgeable bartender. (Tip: Try Persephone’s Lullaby if you like vodka and lavender).

The restaurant is a handsome space with exposed brick walls and nicely spaced tables. Our baby boomer sensibilities were comfortable in Emilitsa’s relatively quiet, candle lit ambiance. There was no sense of hustle and bustle. Our waiter was just the right amount of attentive and patiently answered all questions.

One of our mezethakia (appetizers) at Emilitsa.

One benefit of eating with food bloggers is that they are all about sharing, so we enjoyed several tasty mezethakia (appetizers), followed by equally good entrees. We ended the meal by sharing some killer (in a good way) baklava. (The bad annoying thing about eating with food bloggers (or actually any travel blogger), is that you’re not allowed to start eating until they have photographed your food from every angle.)

We had no trouble convincing ourselves that you can’t finish any Greek meal without baklava.

If you go to Emilitsa:

The restaurant was full, even before the most popular tourist season, so reservations are recommended.

Emilitsa’s Website 

A Portland Maine Lobster Roll Crawl

The next evening, I was invited to tag along with 5(!) food bloggers on a carefully researched lobster roll crawl through Portland.

(True confession: I don’t really like lobster. I think it has something to do with not wanting to think about creatures being boiled alive. That, and you know how you would think a physician-scientist who spends his days trying to cure lung cancer would be sober and mature? Then explain why Mr. Dr. Excitement feels compelled to chase me around the kitchen brandishing a clawing live lobster at me.)

The Eventide Oyster Company

Our first stop was the Eventide Oyster Company, a place receiving high marks on Tripadvisor for its lobster roll and fresh raw oysters. They were able to accommodate us at a counter along the front window of the restaurant. Apparently, in season, there is usually a line outside this establishment. Reservations are only accepted for parties of 6 or more, but there are certain reservation black out dates during the summer. Check the Eventide website for more information.

Eventide is known for it’s special brown butter lobster roll. We shared two among us and it was a different take on the lobster roll. Instead of chunks of lobster on a plain white bread roll, the lobster was more shredded in texture with an Old Bay-ish tasting seasoning. The foodies among us (i.e. everyone except me) thought this was the best lobster roll of the 3 we they sampled that evening.

Eventide’s brown butter lobster roll was unique among the 3 lobster rolls sampled on our lobster roll crawl.

We were seated next to an impressive looking raw oyster bar replete with different types of oysters. I’ll never make it as a food blogger. When it comes to consuming raw shellfish, I can’t help but hear my mother’s dire warning ringing in my ears, “Eating shellfish is like playing Russian roulette“. My mother is now 94. I can’t be sure her longevity has anything to do with eschewing raw shellfish, but the two facts do coexist. My companions each sampled a raw oyster, waxed poetic about them, and lived to tell the tale.

The Eventide oyster bar had no fewer than 10 choices of their signature bi-valve.

Some of the food bloggers stuck to water — either because lobster rolls and oysters are expensive or because they didn’t want to sully their palates. Given my anti-lobster predisposition, I did not feel so constrained. I enjoyed one of Eventide’s specialty cocktails, a Spanish spritz, that was a mixture of fino sherry, ginger and cava (Spain’s apple based version of champagne).

Gilbert’s Chowder House

Our next stop was Gilbert’s Chowder House at 92 Commercial Street, the main drag along Portland’s waterfront. We had no trouble finding a table. The feel of the place is mostly bar/pub. The food was served on paper and Styrofoam with plastic utensils.

I’m bit of  a clam chowder snob and Gilbert’s clam chowder didn’t impress me. It was somewhat too viscous for my taste and had too much potato and not enough clams. However, most Tripadvisor reviewers disagree with me, so you might just have to try it for yourself.

I can’t comment on the lobster roll because by this time, the foodsters had decided I wasn’t worthy of wasting any lobster on.

J’s Oyster

Our Their last lobster roll tasting stop was at J’s Oyster at the beginning of a Portland Harbor pier. Their motto is: “If it swims, we’ve got it on our menu!” However, they also claim to buy only the best catch of the day, so they might not have everything that swims every day.

J’s had a Cheers vibe with tables surrounding a bar. At our early spring visit, a majority of the customers seemed to be locals — usually a good sign. Maybe I was reminded of Cheers because our Down East waitress reminded me of Carla, Rhea Perlman’s character on the show — tough, but with a heart of gold, and patient enough to show one of our group how to eat the steamers (clams) she ordered — but only after giving her a hard time about not knowing how to eat them.

Again, I missed the point of being on a lobster roll crawl by not having any of the lobster roll. I’m pretty sure I had some clam chowder, but I also had some vodka, so I don’t remember what I thought of it.

Even though I didn’t partake of this lobster roll, I was self respecting enough to at least take a photo of it. This one looks more like a traditional New England lobster roll than Eventide’s version.

Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream

There’s a counter culture, independent, New England vibe at Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream.

Had I been on my own, it would have been bedtime, but when food blogger, Allison Fraser of Tour and Table suggested ending the evening with ice cream, I was eager to continue our Portland food odyssey.

Mount Desert Island Ice Cream is the baby of a burned out web and multi-media developer. In 2005, he decided he no longer wanted to work for The Man, so he left and started to produce small batch, artisanal ice cream. Once he realized the demand was there, he opened 2 ice cream shops in Bar Harbor. Business got a significant boost when the Obama family stopped in and the President proclaimed, “This stuff is terrific. Excellent. I strongly recommend it.”

Presidential endorsement goosed demand sufficiently to open a Mount Desert Island Ice Cream in Portland.  Along with traditional flavors, Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream experiments with cleverly named concoctions such as Bay of Figs and London Fog.

I have to agree with this meme painted on the front window of the Mt. Desert Island Ice Cream store in Portland, Maine: Without Ice Cream There Would Be Only Darkness and Chaos.

Portland Pie Company

One night, Sue Reddel (see 2nd paragraph) invited 12 of her closest baby boomer travel blogger lady friends to join her at the Portland Pie Company. I’m not gonna lie. I was hoping the Portland Pie Company was a place to consume actual pie—as in apple, blueberry, coconut cream, pumpkin, etc. so I was a little disappointed to learn it bills itself as a pizzeria and pub.

I didn’t remain a little disappointed for long. The Portland Pie Company menu had an impressive array of pizza toppings options. They even let you choose from four different types of dough: basil, beer, wheat, and garlic. If you need gluten free, they have that too. Most of us opted for “personal” sized pizzas. I washed mine down with a local hard cider. An assortment of local craft beers were also available. One lucky person with a kitchen where she was staying got to take home all the leftovers.

My experiences of going out to eat with groups of 10 or more people had me expecting a long, drawn out experience with mixed up orders, and surly waitstaff. To the contrary, our one Portland Pie Company waitress took all our food and drink orders, and presented everyone with the correct food and individual checks, all while remaining remarkably cheerful.

Andy’s Portland Pub

I did have one fortuitous good meal on my own. I went on a history walking tour with  Maine Foodie Tours on the coldest, windswept day of my visit to Portland. The name of the tour company notwithstanding, this was not a food tour. The tour ended well after lunch time across Commercial Street from Andy’s Old Port Pub, near the Custom House Wharf. All that shivering and walking left me verging on hangry, so I seized on our tour guide’s recommendation and sought warmth and sustenance at Andy’s Old Port Pub. Voilà: nicely seasoned clam chowder of the perfect consistency (IMHO) followed by a serving of an interesting bacon and lobster mac n’cheese that caused me to forget that I’m not particularly fond of lobster.

I wish I could have shared this with Mr. Excitement. Bacon and lobster are his favorite foods.

I feel like a food blogger poser. If only I could use the word “redolent” in my food descriptions with a straight face.

Conclusion

If you attend a travel blogger conference, hang out with the foodie food bloggers!

My second solo meal was at the Portland, Maine International Jetport while waiting for my delayed flight home to Philly.

Lesson learned: Do NOT order clam chowder at the Portland, Maine International Jetport.

Gross does not begin to describe the clam chowder I had at the Portland Maine International Jetport. The waitress told me that usually people rave about it. Maybe I just hit a bad batch. 

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Tagged as: maine, portland maine, women in travel summit