Ha! I’ll be there the Sunday before Memorial Day too and staying through part of the week.
I’m trying to make my way to Portland Head Light on Memorial Day, and do a little strolling around Fort Williams Park (taxi/uber from old port). Has anyone been in that area recently and have recommendations for lunch and/or dinner within walking distance of that park area? Dinner is hedging whether I get there early or later in the day. Also would need to be open on the holiday of course…
Bite Into Maine is right in the park.
I second Fish and Whistle! I ate there last summer and continue to follow them on social media and lament that I don’t live closer.
Reservations are made and the calendar is blocked off! I’m trying to keep it flexible so that if the weather is nice, we can drive farther north for the day if we’re feeling it, but I think I’m going to make a reservation at Central Provisions. I definitely want to check out Crispy Gai and Poboys and Pickles … as weird as it seems to be planning on a poboy in Maine, they say they use Leidenheimer bread, so I have to see how they do.
My primary association with Maine is my Uncle Spike (I don’t remember our exact relationship, I think he’s the brother-in-law of one of my great-aunts or -uncles), who never took his John Deere hat off, left Maine exactly once, and said he wouldn’t do so again “even for two dollars an hour” (I think the one time had been for a job interview). Spike is the only reason that my mother’s husband, who said he didn’t mind spaghetti but he didn’t want to have it too often because it was too ethnic, is not the most New England person I’ve met.
So I’m still absorbing the fact that Portland has a cat-themed weed store. I’ll probably go, but I’ll be surprised by it.
This is why I wish you would post more often.
There aren’t any restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the park but there are food trucks in the park itself, depending on the time. If you do want to walk further, Willard Square is a couple of miles up Shore Rd (it’s a nice walk!). There are a couple new-ish places (Makoto Sushi Bar & Grill, Rattle Shake Grill) that I haven’t tried. David’s 388 is dinner only and fine but not great. If you’re there early, there’s Scratch Bakery, and if you’re an ice cream as a meal person, Willard Scoops is great.
Bite into Maine is on my list of interesting-sounding lobster rolls – we were thinking about going to the park if the weather’s nice, I hadn’t put together that that’s where they are.
I am still kind of agog at the Portland restaurant scene, when it’s what, two thirds the size of Nashua, which is … considerably behind in that regard. I guess tourism dollars make a big difference. (And that New Hampshire has a dampening effect on interesting dining. It’s not like the Lakes Region is chock a block with the kinds of joints I’m seeing in Portland, and there are plenty of tourist dollars there.)
My wife makes fun of me for this, but a) I cannot keep this much in my head and b) so many trips, on the last couple days we’ll say “oh yeah, we were meaning to go to such and such,” only to find out that they’re not open on our remaining days.
It’s not scheduled fun, it’s just a stretched canvas prepped for us to splash around on.
I do this, too! It really helps with planning. I also note what there is that our picky teen son would be likely to eat.
DH does something similar, we highlight the “must do” and have some options for “would like to do” .
Ah - I thought CÔNG TỬ BỘT l had closed (I follow them on social media and I thought I read this in the past year or so). Cool to know that they are still around.
Great list! If it was up to my husband, we’d be at Crispy Gai at least once a week.
If you’re looking for any additional lunch spots downtown, check out Luncheonette. Everything we’ve tried is so good!
Exactly, that’s what the green highlight is for! New York was what got me in the habit of that, because of the number of museums, the impossibility of doing everything in a single trip, etc.
I had a very good lobster roll at Bite into Maine when we were there a few years back. My favorite roll of that trip was at Libby’s Market, but they are now permanently closed.
Yep Libby’s Market sold excellent lob rolls. Nothing lasts forever 
Masterful list. I see no downside to being prepared and organized.
I do love the Honey Paw, and have eaten many delightful and unique dishes there over the past decade or so. They change their menu frequently so I won’t comment on specific dishes, but a constant over the years is their excellent soft serve with chocolate shell and honeycomb confection. If a full meal isn’ t in the cards but you wander by with room for dessert at any point, consider giving it a try. I think it flies beneath the radar and noise made by the feuding gelato shops.
If you drink, an addition I’d suggest is Room for Improvement, a cocktail bar in the Old Port area. Fun place with really great drinks.
I normally don’t if I have to drive (at some point in the last few years, some combination of medications remembered that they’re supposed to interact with alcohol—even a couple sips would be enough to make me an unsafe driver), but it turns out our hotel has a complimentary town car service, sooooooo. Room for Improvement goes on the list. Looks like Central Provisions might have good cocktails too?
(Complementary? Supplementary, in any case.)
ETA: Okay, the gimlet and the negroni both sound amazing, for starters.
The Honey Paw was the first restaurant that put Portland on my radar! I don’t even remember now where I heard about it—Eater, the Globe? Had to be a few years ago. It turned up in my bookmarks when I started putting this trip together.
I recall a blueberry cocktail at Central Pro that was excellent.
