Upon my reentry to Portland, I had a whirlwind evening of fun and breakfast at my favorite lighthouse the next morning (see previous post). Later that afternoon, after a few hours of work, I met my new adventure partner, MDK, at Pai Men for some body-warming ramen. Their Paiten dish is thick and filling, flavorful and delicious. After listening to their incredible playlist full of Led Zepplin and the Ramones, we headed to Central Provisions and Local 188. We struck out at both places as they were being renovated. Bramhall Pub was a great next choice. In the winter, this place gets pretty chilly so wear layers but its many redeeming qualities outweigh the extra clothes you end up putting back on as you sit and enjoy the candle-lit atmosphere. Bramhall's selection of beer and cocktails can please anyone and if you get the chance, get the Cubano! It was not eaten this time but it is quite memorable.
Another late night created the urge for yet another bagel the next morning. MDK and I walked to Union Bagel, only to learn that they too were closed for renovations. Where are Portlandiers to eat this week!? Coffee By Design on India was our next destination as they have both bagels and my favorite vanilla latte. And other quality coffee brews. After lounging longer and happier than I ever have at a coffee shop, we moved on to visit the Maine Jewish Museum inside the Etz Chaim Synagogue. This is an unassuming building at the corner of Congress and India streets that houses art exhibits in the main hallway. We were absolutely blown away by what we saw; heads of wild animals constructed from cello, guitar, piano and violin pieces as well as cardboard, paint, textured wallpaper and more. It was an incredible exhibit and I'm kicking myself for not writing down the artists name (no, I can't find it through countless internet searches either.) See the photo above for one of my favorites: a bison eating "grass." The grass was piano string. It was epic. Besides the bison, there were also heads of a giraffe, boar, elephant and others, plus and a whole owl.
Tuesday brought drink and food specials at a couple favorite spots. Timber has a great happy hour with two $6 cocktails and $5 appetizers, this much has been previously noted. This time I had a new cocktail and an old favorite. The new one was margarita-esque with a healthy dash of spice. The other was the Pooh Bear, a honey/bourbon/mint concoction I've mentioned previously in the 9/18/2015 post. It was highly drinkable but the spicy mixture was the winner of the night. We then moved on to The North Point (the sister restaurant to Timber) for their Tuesday night mojito special: $5 after 6pm! For $5, you get a regular, blueberry, raspberry, mango or pear mojito. Their regular happy hour from 4-6 is also a spectacular deal with $4 wine, $5 beer and $6 cocktail deals, plus $5 snacks. We ordered one blueberry and one mango mojito. Both were excellent but I might be a regular mojito kind of girl. Drinking mojitos with snow on the ground made me thing back to drinking a strawberry and basil mojito at David's on Monument Square before I started this blog. Very fresh and favorable. To finish off our evening, B.Good was next. On Tuesday evenings, you can get a sandwich, fries and beer for $10. It's an incredible bargain as it includes items I want to order all the time any way but you save about $6. I like to get either a turkey burger or regular burger (both all natural) with the West Side option. Your burger is then topped with avocado, cilantro, house made salsa, chipotle puree and lime. Perfect.
The next day brought cookies from Aurora Provisions, Bissel Brothers and Allagash Brewery visits and happy hour at Vena's Fizz House. Two shared cocktails and two mocktails later, we left to go ice skating. But a word about the drinks: one mocktail was the Bangladesh Express (coconut cream, blood orange, lime and ghost pepper) and the other was a Prickly Pear-tini (prickly pear puree, pineapple and fresh lime). The Bangladesh Express was creamy but spicy and colored a light orang-y pink. This was an startlingly good drink while the prickly pear drink was beautiful and tasty. Our cocktails were the Baby Bourbon Manhattan (Wiggly Bridge Baby Bourbon, Carpano Antica, Coastal Root Aromatic Bitters, and Owl & Whale Persimmon Bitters) and a drink that tasted like apple pie. One was strong and the other sweet but both were very good.
After an great skating session, we all headed to Empire to gain back some previously burned off calories. A table full of food later, which included spring rolls, garlic green beans, lamb dumplings, Chinatown roast pork, soup dumplings and Kung Pao, all were satiated and smiling. Another great night for the books.
To top off the last five days of more fun than you can shake a stick at and sampling food/drinks all around town, I made a top-quality breakfast sandwich to remember. This included a handmade English muffin from Limerick, Maine, hot Italian sausage from Rosemont Market, cage-free eggs and Cabot extra sharp cheddar. Sorry, but it was better than Cafe OHNO.
Another late night created the urge for yet another bagel the next morning. MDK and I walked to Union Bagel, only to learn that they too were closed for renovations. Where are Portlandiers to eat this week!? Coffee By Design on India was our next destination as they have both bagels and my favorite vanilla latte. And other quality coffee brews. After lounging longer and happier than I ever have at a coffee shop, we moved on to visit the Maine Jewish Museum inside the Etz Chaim Synagogue. This is an unassuming building at the corner of Congress and India streets that houses art exhibits in the main hallway. We were absolutely blown away by what we saw; heads of wild animals constructed from cello, guitar, piano and violin pieces as well as cardboard, paint, textured wallpaper and more. It was an incredible exhibit and I'm kicking myself for not writing down the artists name (no, I can't find it through countless internet searches either.) See the photo above for one of my favorites: a bison eating "grass." The grass was piano string. It was epic. Besides the bison, there were also heads of a giraffe, boar, elephant and others, plus and a whole owl.
Tuesday brought drink and food specials at a couple favorite spots. Timber has a great happy hour with two $6 cocktails and $5 appetizers, this much has been previously noted. This time I had a new cocktail and an old favorite. The new one was margarita-esque with a healthy dash of spice. The other was the Pooh Bear, a honey/bourbon/mint concoction I've mentioned previously in the 9/18/2015 post. It was highly drinkable but the spicy mixture was the winner of the night. We then moved on to The North Point (the sister restaurant to Timber) for their Tuesday night mojito special: $5 after 6pm! For $5, you get a regular, blueberry, raspberry, mango or pear mojito. Their regular happy hour from 4-6 is also a spectacular deal with $4 wine, $5 beer and $6 cocktail deals, plus $5 snacks. We ordered one blueberry and one mango mojito. Both were excellent but I might be a regular mojito kind of girl. Drinking mojitos with snow on the ground made me thing back to drinking a strawberry and basil mojito at David's on Monument Square before I started this blog. Very fresh and favorable. To finish off our evening, B.Good was next. On Tuesday evenings, you can get a sandwich, fries and beer for $10. It's an incredible bargain as it includes items I want to order all the time any way but you save about $6. I like to get either a turkey burger or regular burger (both all natural) with the West Side option. Your burger is then topped with avocado, cilantro, house made salsa, chipotle puree and lime. Perfect.
The next day brought cookies from Aurora Provisions, Bissel Brothers and Allagash Brewery visits and happy hour at Vena's Fizz House. Two shared cocktails and two mocktails later, we left to go ice skating. But a word about the drinks: one mocktail was the Bangladesh Express (coconut cream, blood orange, lime and ghost pepper) and the other was a Prickly Pear-tini (prickly pear puree, pineapple and fresh lime). The Bangladesh Express was creamy but spicy and colored a light orang-y pink. This was an startlingly good drink while the prickly pear drink was beautiful and tasty. Our cocktails were the Baby Bourbon Manhattan (Wiggly Bridge Baby Bourbon, Carpano Antica, Coastal Root Aromatic Bitters, and Owl & Whale Persimmon Bitters) and a drink that tasted like apple pie. One was strong and the other sweet but both were very good.
After an great skating session, we all headed to Empire to gain back some previously burned off calories. A table full of food later, which included spring rolls, garlic green beans, lamb dumplings, Chinatown roast pork, soup dumplings and Kung Pao, all were satiated and smiling. Another great night for the books.
To top off the last five days of more fun than you can shake a stick at and sampling food/drinks all around town, I made a top-quality breakfast sandwich to remember. This included a handmade English muffin from Limerick, Maine, hot Italian sausage from Rosemont Market, cage-free eggs and Cabot extra sharp cheddar. Sorry, but it was better than Cafe OHNO.