Portland, Maine: A City of Art, Design & Culinary Delights

This past weekend I spent two beautiful sunny days visiting my son, Fred, in Portland, Maine, his new home. My time in Portland was such a treat on so many levels.  Today I’m so excited to share some of the highlights of my visit…

How do you know you’re in Maine?  This (very tame) moose at a rest stop on the Turnpike is a good indication! I just had to take this photo:

 Once I arrived in Portland and met Fred, our first stop in downtown Portland was at Nosh for lunch. I am told this restaurant is famous for their inventive selection of tasty burgers.  I opted for a classic Cheeseburger with bleu cheese, tomato, onion, lettuce, & pickle on a brioche bun.

Accompanied by  Nosh French Fries dusted with bacon and parmesan cheese, my meal was ohhhhh so good!

Of course while we were waiting for our food to be served,  I couldn’t help notice the intricate detail of the tin ceiling design above:

Isn’t it beautiful?

 After lunch, it was time to explore.  Portland is filled with galleries, art museums and voila, an art supply store:

The ArtMart Art Supplies

Visiting an actual art supply store was a treat. I usually buy my art supplies online, so being able to touch and feel the paper, brushes etc. was wonderful.  My poor,  patient son!

Our next stop was Encore, a vintage fashion store.  With items dating from circa 1800 to the 1970s,  this store had an amazing variety of items. Not only was the shop filled to the ceiling with one of a kind clothing, jewels, and furs but it was well organized.  The women at the counter were adorable ~ and rather vintage too ;-).

Vintage jewels

Furs & Faces

Fur coats in all colors and sizes

Hatboxes: vintage and collectible

Just waiting to dance!

An Easter hat…or perhaps a fascinator for Derby Week or the next Royal Wedding??

I love the patina of this solid yet soft  hand carved escutcheon on the door…

Ahhh, the design.

Our next stop was Sarajo. When my son and I entered, I thought we were in a museum ~ the items were so unusual.  It turns out that Sarajo “is a source for designers and collectors and features a mix of antique textiles, Asian wearables, embroidered tapestries, Islamic furniture…and tribal artifacts.”  That explains it!  The furniture pieces were works of art and these mosaics were breathtaking.

 This piece was a full Dresser: 

Side View:

This is a detail shot of the mosaic design on a smaller Dresser:

Another piece with amazing detail, this one is hand-carved wood:

Apparently, I am not the only one to think that this was a traveling museum exhibit.  The writers from Timeout New York agree:  “It’s rare to find really good quality India things. This is more like a museum.”  I highly recommend a visit!

As evening fell,  Freddy suggested we dine at The Front Room.  The “New American Comfort Food”  and cozy atmosphere  was both delicious and delightful.

The service was terrific (thank you, Jeremiah!), which is always a treat for me ~ being a Mom who “served” 3 meals a day for 25+ years, I truly appreciate good service. The cocktails were supreme and our food: calamari, fresh crisp salads, and Iron Skillet beef with garlic mashed and asparagus, was wonderful. We found the ambiance was very condusive to deep conversation.  What a great combination!  The Front Room is actually one of four Portland  restaurants owned by chef & restauranteur Harding Lee Smith.  If our visit to The Front Room is any indication of the level of divine culinary experiences to had,  I can’t wait to try Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room, The Corner Room and The Grill Room!

Continuing on with our culinary adventures, Sunday morning we had brunch at an adorable place called Silly’s .   What a fun way to kick off a bright & early morning!

This is the “paint chip” walkway to the front door…I just knew I was going to love the interior!

 Inside was complete with a leg lamp (a la Christmas Story), doesn’t every interior need a leg lamp somewhere?

And of course, a disco light! Even in the morning sunshine it sparkled.

And of course, the food…

Being the adventurous Mom that I am, I agreed to start with fried green pickles… and they were the BEST! I had never had them and my Freddy just couldn’t believe I had lived this l o n g and not had them ~ so this was a must.

Freddy was right, fried pickle chips are the best!

Then the entree arrived…

I ordered the Starburst:  a 2” thick piece of French toast with a hollowed out circle in the middle filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon with real maple syrup on the side.  This may well be nirvana!  Ommmmmm…

The weekend with my Pally was wonderful!  I loved spending time with my son and exploring Portland, Maine with him.

 With Portland just a wee 2 hours north of Boston, this was a treat I will be repeating!

xo,

Pamela

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