Hungry Travels

I was in Portland, ME this week and have to give kudos to the airport employees. The woman checking my ID was friendly. The lady selling me a bagel was friendly. Even the security person at the metal detector chirped, “Thanks Doug, have a good day.” What a nice group of people.

Too bad there was still a flight to take; I ended up sitting next to a sweet girl and her obnoxious younger sister, whose parents were conveniently located on the other side of the aisle so they wouldn’t be tempted to strangle her mid-flight. She made it impossible to sleep with her shrieking running commentary:

“We’re in the air!”
“We’re in the clouds and I can’t see the world anymore!”
“I’m hungry! No, I want food now!”
“I have to go to the bathroom!”
“I can see the water!”

The moment we landed and pulled into the terminal, the twerp decided she wanted off the plane and started yelling in my direction:

“Move! Get your bag! GET YOUR BAG!”

If I were Willy Wonka and I owned a chocolate factory, this spoiled little brat would be attacked by squirrels and hauled into a garbage chute.

Anyway, Portland’s a very pretty place to be this time of year. On Tuesday night my co-workers and I ate at a local favorite, Norm’s Bar and Grill. Nice fish and chips — light batter, not greasy, plenty of malt vinegar to pour on top. I hadn’t eaten fish and chips in ages so it was a treat.

Wednesday night we revisited J’s Oyster Bar, the site of our incredible lobster rolls back in May. Get a load of the mussels marinara.

Fat, tender, melt-in-your-mouth mussels and marinara sauce bursting with tomato flavor. The linguine was cooked a minute past al dente, but I didn’t care because the mussels were so good.

If you’ve never been to Maine, I highly recommend taking a trip. Might be just past peak foliage season at this point, but it’s still worth it for the scenery and fresh seafood. If you fly in, take a moment to appreciate the friendliness of the airport staff — and pray that rude little girls aren’t on the flight.

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• Lobster Rolls and Chowder: The Maine Experience (1)

You know it’s summer when you’ve got a lobster roll in one hand and a cold beer in the other.  I took a quick trip to Portland, Maine over the weekend for work, so I scurried over to Chowhound.com beforehand to look for a good seafood restaurant (a somewhat futile exercise since readers on Chowhound never seem to agree on anything).  But I did come away with some ideas for local restaurants.  Monday night my co-workers and I ate at J’s Oyster Bar, a divey little place on the pier (and when I say “divey” I mean that as a compliment).  We wolfed down excellent and surprisingly simple lobster rolls— just chunks of undressed lobster on a bun with mayo on the side.  I hit mine with a tiny bit of mayo, a drizzle of lemon, and it was good to go.  Peter said his lobster stew was the best he’d ever had.   He’s from Key West, Florida so I’m taking his word for it.

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Yesterday we had lunch at Gilbert’s Chowder House.  Another success.  The name pretty much says it all— this place does some excellent chowder.  Just the right thickness and expertly seasoned with herbs, clams and bacon.  Who cares that it was 75 degrees outside.   Really, is there ever a bad time for chowder?

Yup, I enjoyed Maine.

J’s Oyster Bar
5 Portland Pier
Portland, ME 04101
207-772-4828

Gilbert’s Chowder House
92 Commercial St.
Portland, ME 04101
207-871-5636     

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