Monthly Archives: April 2012

Sebago Brewing Company, Portland

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Sebago Brewing Company has four locations in Maine and serves craft and seasonal beers. Their restaurant/bars serves pub fare including Maine lobster quesadillas, potato nachos, cajun dusted haddock bites, shrimp tacos, burgers and salads.

The brewery has been offering ipa, stouts, ales and an assortment of seasonal beers since 1998.

We sampled the IPA and Hefeweizen, which were both very tasty and refreshing with our meals.

We split a Chicken Caesar the caesar dressing was run of the mill and topped with grilled, tender chicken and parmesan cheese. The Haddock New England Fresh baked haddock fillet was topped with sliced mushrooms, garlic butter, and a white wine sauce. The fish was very fresh, but the sauce was heavy. My favoirte aspect of the meal was the sides, the vegetables and creamy mac & cheese.

Sebago Brewing Company on Urbanspoon

Hotels: Hampton Inn, Portland

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The Hampton Inn is the newest hotel in the Old Port area and opened last summer. You know the hotel is the best choice in the area and a popular choice if Snoop Dogg and his crew stay here for a concert (Drop It Like It’s Hot). Notice the Louis Vuitton luggage?

The lobby had a warm fireplace and clean decor and the hotel offers a shuttle throughout Portland. We used this to get to and from the Amtrak station.

The bathroom was very clean and I enjoyed the organizer for towels.

The white bed was super comfortable, spacious and lovely.

I enjoyed looking at the black and white framed photographs.

A complimentary breakfast was served in the mornings included in our hotel rate and the sitting area was spacious and comfortable.

The usual continental fare of cereal, yogurt, bagels and assorted pastries was served.

We made our own waffles, enjoyed home fries, omelets and fresh fruit.

The best aspect of our stay was the staff. They were friendly, accommodating and really aimed to please.

Memories and Food: Portland

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I love Portland, Maine and going during off-season when the cruise ships are not in and out of the port. What is even better is Portland’s close proximity to Boston and that the Downeaster train ride is only about 2.5 hours.

Portland is a lovely seaside community and haven for localvores and folks who appreciate locally sourced food, vegetarian fare and seafood. Although I have yet to try Miyake, opened in 2007 by a a chef from northern Japan who trained in New York, has received the incredible buzz of serving some of the most creative hyrbrid sushi.

Old Port

Bill’s Pizza’s sign reminded me of Pizza Cut in Split, Croatia. Uncanny.

We attempted to have a fresh, Italian lunch at Cinque Terre, however it was closed for renovations.

Anchor outside of J’s Oyster

State Theater

Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale, Downtown Crossing, Boston

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Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale is a speakeasy which serves pub fare and is located at Temple Place (the Newbury Street in the 1800′s). I have heard through the grapevine it’s a great after work place in Downtown Crossing and has great craft beer and beer on tap selection. My friend mentioned about Stoddard’s when we were dining at Rafiki Bistro and instructed I try their mussels.

The bar area is spacious, has outdoor street lighting and a cozy atmosphere. The tin lined ceiling was quite intricate and I found it interesting that Stoddard’s used to sell fine cutlery and was a retail operation selling and assortment of items from sewing machines to bait.

The front dining area features vintage undergarments and corsets once sold at Stoddard’s.

We enjoyed some Rapscallion Honey and other uniquely named beers. Indeed, Stoddard’s has a vast selection of beers.

I am a huge fan of fondues, especially beer based fondues (love Cleary’s). Stoddard’s Aged Gouda and Cask Ale Fondue made with local cask-conditioned ale was served with house made pretzels & crudité ($10). The fondue was perfect with the soft and chewy pretzels, as well with the apple, however with the zucchini and broccoli, the flavor of the fondue was too hoppy and distinctly bitter.

The Iceberg wedge was lightly grilled and slathered with bleu cheese and roasted sweet tomatoes ($8). The salad was nothing spectacular, but my friend thought it was good.

The P.E.I. mussels were amazing. The light and creamy curry sauce was nicely spiced and really enhanced the ocean flavor of the fresh mussels. I would definitely order these again and was glad my friend suggested them to me, especially paired with the house made french fries. The bread should have been a nicely toasted and buttered crostini versus the soft bread, which seemed like an after thought versus contributing ingredient. The thick slices of bread lacked texture and flavor which made me want to set them aside.

The house cut fries with aioli ($6) were nicely crisp on the exterior, tender on the interior and seasoned well. We definitely finished these off and even ate the little potato bits.

We would definitely return to Stoddard’s and try the burger, steak frites and lobster hush puppies. The tub style sink was fun to use and a unique design touch.

Stoddard's Fine Food And Ale on Urbanspoon

Rafiki Bistro, Porter Square, Cambridge

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Given how much we appreciate French dining, particularlly Mistral and Bistro du Midi, we were looking forward to trying Rafiki Bistro. Rafiki is located in Porter Square and once was a former vegetarian restaurant, but is now a French Provencal bistro. As I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I devoured the most recent Edible Boston, which focuses on local food and featured Rafiki. It was quite fortuitous my friend and I had a voucher and that we both had never been.

Rafiki (which means friend in Swahili, but I always think of Disney’s Lion King character) has a raw bar, as indicated on the neon sign in the window. In fact, we were almost served some oysters ordered for another table, which we would have happily enjoyed, but we would have felt guilty.

Rafiki has a spacious dark wood bar area and has a good selection of wines, but a limited menu of specialty cocktails. Initially the bar was empty, but did get a bit busier as the evening progressed. Our bartender was very friendly and mentioned she has a sister-in-law from Hue, Vietnam (where our grandfather grew up).

The menu is simple and serves duck breast, coq au vin, beef bourginon and croque monsieur. We definitely are still curious to try the pan seared duck and French ham and cheese sandwich.

The refreshing Cucumber Cool ($10) has Absolut, Elderflower liquer, mint, lime and cucumber and it was light and very clean. My friend enjoyed a White Sangria with pinot grigio and ginger apple liquer for $8.

The ambiance of Rafiki is cozy from the warm lighting and dark wood.

We started off with some complimentary white bean dip and slices of bread. The white bean dip and bread could be elevated further. It would have been great if the bread was crustier and the dip had another layer of flavor.

The owner brought out our PEI Mussels Provencal ($12) and they were perfectly cooked and flavorful.  I loved the aromatics from the capers, wine, lemon and the best part was the roasted garlic pieces. I wish there were just a handful more of the roasted garlic, toasted bread and more mussels. My friend mentioned that I should check out Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale in Downtown for a generous bucket of bountiful and tasty mussels.

Our Steak Frites ($22), an all natural grass-fed sirloin, was juicy, the perfect temperature and we loved the grill marks. The bearnaise was rich, lemony and perfect for the fries. The braised greens under the sirloin absorbed some of the beef juice and had a good bitterness. The fries were a nice thicker cut than the shoestring type and had a nice crispness.

Patrons tended to be ore established and seasoned professionals. By the time we left the bistro, the restaurant was buzzing and all the tables were filled. We would return for some bistro fare, if we were in the neighborhood.

Rafiki Bistro on Urbanspoon