@kobuta how was your trip? I"m just seeing your post but coincidentally I was also in Portland on Thursday, and had an outdoor lunch at Duckfat which was delicious - tomato soup, fries, creme anglaise milkshake (shared with my daughter who loved her chicken sandwich).
I had my first meal at Mr. Tuna in March, and LOVED it - especially the avocado salad, which was to to die for - avocado with pickled red onions, granola, and a sesame vinaigrette.
Iâm at Eventide right now in line for lunch. 
And then on my way to the train station for the trip home. Will post a more detailed good run down later.
Pictures from Portland! Certainly didnât let the gray and rainy skies dampen the appetite. Had a great trip and a lot of good to great food squeezed in to about 3 days.
First up was Fore St. What kept calling me back were an unforgettable mussels dish Iâve never forgotten, so naturally that had to be the first meal. It was close to the hotel, and perfect for that stormy, windy Thursday night.
It was a good mussels dish, but not unforgettable. This is different from the dish I had a decade ago. Decidedly less garlicky, and something was missing, but still a nice start. Next to it is a cornbread app with a blueberry sauce. I was intrigued by the blueberry sauce. It was waaaay too sweet for an app, and not something I wanted with my savory dishes. It really should be on their dessert menu.
I already had a âsnackâ at Mr Tuna (right behind my hotel) so I wasnât starving (but I regret nothing!) I went with a bunch of apps rather than ordering an entree
Soft shell crab salad on mizuna greens.
I love the space in the restaurant - open, warm, and you can watch the team cook in the middle. The dark stormy skies created a nice mood
Asparagus season was on a lot of menus, and this was delicious!
Lunch the next day at Pai Men Miyake. Duck ramen, and a giant salad. The ramen was good, but a tad salty. The salad was served in a ramen bowl, so certain elements all fell to the bottom. 
Please stop serving salads in deep bowls!
Unplanned dinner night ended up at Scales. Snagged a walk-in table right at 4:30pm. Was really in the mood for more seafood, but what won me over was their menu with anadama AND Indian pudding.
Started off with raw oysters. The Basket Islands were the favorite of the trio. Donât remember the other two kinds.
The fresh baked anadama bread drizzled with molasses. Itâs my favorite bread, and increasingly difficult to find. Iâm surprised they donât sell loaves at Standard Baking Co (who makes their bread, and for Fore St - owned by same restaurant group).
This was fantastic!
Fried whole belly clams⌠the best way to have them.
I wanted the scallops as a lighter entree, but alas! I still couldnât fit in dessert, so sorry Indian Pudding. Maybe another time. 
Lunch was actually a slice of blueberry rhubarb pie from the Two Fat Cats bakery. They didnât have mini pies for me to take home.
Afternoon snack at Mami. Chicken karaage and shishito peppers. Wisely didnât order as much this time, but the grilled onigiri sounded great.
And on to Twelve! 4 course prix fixe menu.
Celeriac. Something I probably would have never ordered, but this was such a great start. Everyone had the same starter. Really nice play on taste and textures⌠Well balanced dish.
Tuna Crudo. Lovely presentation, as a big, thin slice of tuna. Was delicious, with just the right amount of acidity.
Would have normally went for the cod, but I didnât want another creamy bisque/sauce. The salmon had a nice bright, fresh taste to it - even with the creme fraiche - with the spring peas.
Ended with the ice cream sandwich. I didnât expect it to be a sandwich popsicle, but you really needed that to eat it. The blueberry bayberry filling was sooo good. The corn âsandwichâ was like a thin layer of cornbread again, and it paired very well with the filling and the frozen sauce on top.
Overall a great meal, and I will definitely go back just to eat here. I lucked out and my bar seat, got converted to a chefâs counter seat. Loved watching the team cook! The only downside to that was sitting closer to the stove and literally feeling like it was 85 degree the entire meal. 
Thankful for the colder temperatures that night.
Wrapping up at Eventide. Oysters, clams, their green salad and a lobster roll. Everything was delicious and that line was no joke. Thankfully again, the place was right behind my hotel so it was great to go over after checking out for a great meal before heading home.
Also picked up some local seaweed at the heritage seaweed store, and some nice spices at Skordo. Really looking forward to heading back again. It really makes me wonder why Top Chef has not tried to film a season here. Dude, if you can hit Wisconsin, how can you not hit Portland, or even do a broader New England episode and feature some great chefs from Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, etc?
Sounds like a fun and delicious weekend!
Forgot to note that I did also squeeze in a little blueberry gelato at Gorgeous Gelato. Thanks for the rec! Very refreshing and not overly sweet.
A lovely report, thank you for sharing. Have put Portland back in the rotation, its been too long!
You crushed it! Kudos.
This season of top chef had a chef from Maine and she was eliminated after the first episode. Her hospital food, as Tom called it, was a poor representation of what Maine has to offer and i agree that Maine/new england could have a season here but weâd only have a couple locals from here actually be involved. The rest of the contestants would be from away. Itâs probably telling that this season was filmed in Canada.
Yeah, I watched that too. Many of their seasons though only feature 1-3 local contestants. I donât think they want the show and challenges to be so focused on one type or region of food. For the Boston season, I think there was only 1 chef who was really local. If you look at post cheftestants, meant have Boston roots or did a stint in Boston, but far more have fine in to achieve greater success in more established food cities.
I love Maineâs culinary scene because there is so much pride in local ingredients, and not just lobster that everyone defaults too. I think thatâs true of much of New England and it would be a great chance to highlight the local cooking beyond lobster and Puritan/old school New England cuisine.
But I would love any show highlighting anadama bread and Indian pudding (if there were ever a dish more in need of a modern rebrandingâŚ) 
I love both anadama bread and âIndianâ pudding, too, and have been collecting recipes. For me, using high-quality versions of the traditional ingredients is very compelling, not âquick and easyâ necessarily. Iâd love to see more recipes for the great New England ingredients. Matt Jenningsâs cookbook âHomegrown: Cooking from My New England Rootsâ is really interesting to me, but I havenât had time to delve into it much. I also want to revisit jasper Whiteâs older cookbooks. And Craig Fearâs âNew England Soups from the Sea.â
Portland is ahead of Boston in this regard, I think.
What a great report! Soft shell crab, fried whole belly clams, the tuna, salmon ⌠words and pictures to boot. Thank you !
