Travelogue: Portland Maine's Oddities and Delicacies

This is a highly abbreviated list of what there is to eat or gawk at in Portland, ME, as compiled from my own experience in the summer of 2013.

Obligatory lighthouse shot. C'mon. . . it's nice!

There will be no photos of the lobsters.  We ate them all too quickly.



Some peculiar finds at the grocery store:

Bright Red Hot Dogs.  A big deal here.

1.5% milk, for those who cannot commit to a whole number? 

Something I did not expect to be amazed by: the Maine Potato Doughnut.  Specifically, the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Maine Potato Doughnut.

Yep.  Incredibly moist and tender, crunchy on the outside, salty and very chocolaty.  I don't use this word lightly: Amazing.

Thank You Holy Donut

From whence came this pastry? The Holy Donut. http://www.theholydonut.com/

The website is fun, and explains that if you will put a sticker on your helmet advertising the shop, and you show up to the Holy Donut on your bike, you get a free doughnut.  Are you listening, Minneapolis? Are you listening Other Portland? You may vie for #1 in the nation for bike commuters per capita, but Portland Maine has taken it to the next level of community support.

A seaside "lobstah roll" emporium, the pre-lunch line just starting to lengthen at 11 am.  Lobsters this summer were at their cheapest in a long time, yet a lobster roll still cost about 17 American dollars. That's a soft white "bun" with some cold lobster meat, mayo, and maybe a pickle or two served in a paper basket. That being said, there is no equal to the sweetness and vitality in the flesh of a freshly-caught lobster.  The ones we get in the Midwest have a vague poopy sort of funk to them, perhaps the flavor of boredom. I always thank a lobster before I kill it.  For an arthropod they have a certain dignity that deserves to be respected.

The "back alley" behind a row of fish markets, where boats pull up to offload in the morning.  The sea had a deep green-blue tint you can see here in the foreground.

Words like "quaint" and "picturesque" will not be used here. Portland impressed me as a town that remains what it was without pretense.  Yes, they have a fancy new hospital. But streets downtown are still cobble-stone, sidewalks near the marina are wooden planks raised up off the street level. People look active and healthy and are often seen biking across town or between towns on two-lane roads. People at work in the bakeries, restaurants and markets I visited all seemed to be staying busy.  No leaning.

The citizens were having a little trouble with the heat wave: 90 degrees. But Portland is the kind of town where you can walk down to the terra-formed creek in the city park, take off your shoes, and beat the heat for free.  One might also meet some nice people, or buy an heirloom vegetable at the farmers' market.

The Holy Donut is a short walk from the spot pictured.  If you find yourself in Portland, my advice would be to put on your walking shoes and go have a doughnut.