Can confirm 
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Folks who know: how crowded should I expect Portland to be over Memorial Day weekend? Less so than later in the summer, I know, but should I be thinking about reservations at the places weāre most interested in, expecting the beaches and other touristy spots to be crowded, etc?
I donāt think thereās any time when the answer wouldnāt be yes.
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I went up a few days before Memorial Day last year, thinking it would be less crowded. Not reallyā¦it was close enough! Which is why this year I just booked my time right over that week of Memorial Day. I just hope warmer and dry weather holds up. Last year I had fun taking the train up during a Norāeaster.
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Thatās kind of what I was suspecting/fearing. Well, so it goes, I donāt think Iāll have to drive around in the city itself much, and maybe weāll aim day trips north or inland, where we might be headed away from crowds.
Either way, maybe itāll be less crowded than if we were going in late June, which was the original plan. (This trip originated when I realized that the World Cup might make hotels etc prohibitively expensive in Boston or New York around my birthday, so I suggested Portland, but somewhere along the way the plans got moved to Memorial Day weekend.)
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Old Port and central downtown Portland is completely walkable, so I wouldnāt even think of bringing a car to the city if I had one. I would leave it parked in the hotel, if you are staying there for any length of time. But the car is great for visiting all the smaller cool towns up and down the coast, and a little bit further off the beaten path.
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We had a last minute amazing Motherās Day dinner at Mr. Tuna - I love it there so much - avocado salad! Toasties!
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Turns out I probably have an ulcer, but the hotel is nonrefundable, so ā¦ anyway, I may wind up with a little less to report than usual just because I get full quickly and need to avoid anything thatās too spicy.
We have reservations for Central Provisions tomorrow night, and everything else is pretty open at the moment. There was an Indonesian place in Somersworth we were going to check out on the way, but that location is temporarily closed while they open an Allston location, so next time.
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Bummer on the ulcer and resulting restrictions on eating!!! Hope you have a good time anyway.
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UGH on the ulcer. But I hope the trip is still an enjoyable one, both foodwise and visit-wise!
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That sucks but I hope you can still have a nice trip. Iāll be in Maine next month.
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Bummer indeed. I hope you have good fast-acting medicine, and not too many restrictions on the foods. There is a lot of good for ulcer foods, so that is hopefully plentiful for you.
Iām relieved that the weather that was forecasting showers the entire week I would be there has now moderated. But the bummer is that the Monday (Memorial Day) that I had planned to go to Portland Head Light still is a rainy day. Iāll have to decide if I truck out in the rain or not.
Hope you still enjoy the rest of your trip.
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Yeah, weāve been keeping an eye on the forecast. Iām guessing things like the museum are going to get very crowded on a rainy day on a holiday weekend. But right now the plan is to schedule our spa appointments in the hotel (mainly Caitlinās, but sure, Iāll get a facial) for that day, so at least weāll be chill and relaxed.
And on the bright side, going to Maine while not being able to eat spicy foods is a much less restrictive situation than if we were going to New Mexico or New Orleans or something. Lobster rolls and red snappers ought to be fine.
Not to get into the whole medical saga, but at this point Iām just relieved that it seems to only be an ulcer; there were a lot of tests right through last night, because I not only had a reaction to the Protonix, it wasnāt having any real effect. Pepcid, of all things, seems to be working best (in enormous doses).
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We spent 2 months in Portland, mainly ate at home, did not venture out too much, but here are some of our favorites:
- Lilā Chippy - Definitely the must-visit place in Portland. Solid happy hour, great frying technique. Love love love their hot fish. The owners are so so so nice. We will miss this place the most
- Tandem Bakery - Online order here if u dont want to wait in line. The breakfast sandwich is well worth the hype. Everything weāve gotten here has been excellent
- Two Fat Cats - Our second (maybe third) favorite bakery. Their fruit pies are great, so are their frozen chicken pot pies. Breakfast sandwich is solid, nice change from tandem
- Portland Food Coop - If you are staying here for an extended time and need to cook at home, go here. Such a nice co-op. And if you can afford it, please do pay it forward with soup/sandwivh cards
- Shop at Island Creek. $2 oyster and you can taste 6 of them and decide which one you want to go all out on. Enough said
- Twelve - Our favorite splurge restaurant (not that we went to many of these). But the food and service is as good as what we have in SF. Found it a lot more innovative and a level above Fore Street
- Coffee By Design - Our favorite coffee hangout, did not really find our groove with coffee shops in portland
- Harbor Fish Market - OMG, Iām really sad, we found this place only in the last few weeks
- ISF Trading Company - Great great raw fish at amazing prices. If you love uni, get the broken uni. so much uni, for so little money. The salmon and inure are great also. Just bought their tuna, will report back after eating
- Norimoto Bakery - Everything here is delicious
- Zu Bakery - worth a visit also. Loved their bread, also their ham and cheese croissant
- Portland Farmers market - well worth visiting, great cheese, yoghurt and more
Will add more as I remember some of them. Leaving in a day, so am really sad 
also realized that April and May while not-so-great weather and maybe a bit too cold, was so so nice with no lines for anything. Today (sunday, Memorial Day weekend), was a different scene compared to past two months, not sure I like it as much.
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So good to hear that they survived the fire from a few months ago.
Nice work. Norimoto is superb. A modest little bakery on a quiet neighborhood that just happens to boast a James Beard Award.
