Portland Maine 2008 The Good-The Bad and The Ugly!

I need one credit to earn a round trip flight on my Southwest Airlines rapid rewards.I previously spoke with The Travelin Man who had suggested I rent a car for the weekend which would normally earn me 1/2 a point. Hertz had a special this past weekend, if I rent a car for the entire weekend I would earn double points and get 50% off.
I figured why rent a car if I can't go anywhere, so at the spur of the moment I decided to spend the weekend in Portland Maine and Portsmouth NH. Besides I need to buy a new Spring jacket

I left Saturday Morning and arrived at my first stop- Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery ME. Unfortunately many of the Lobster shacks are still closed for winter since Spring in Maine usually doesn't begin until June. Bob's was one of the few places that actually remains open year round
I ordered the Lobster Stew- A buttery broth chock full of Lobster although I'll admit the lobster tasted somewhat Tough



However the extra large Lobster Roll for $18.00 faired better.
I ordered mine hot with melted butter on the side. It fared better than the lobster stew, but I'm still wondering how much better is Red's Eats? I barely touched the fries and completely ignored the roll that came with the meal



After my late breakfast, I drove to Portland and checked into my hotel, La Quinta which was a 1 3/4 mile walk to the old port and $50 on priceline- This hotel would have been great if I made the trip 2 weeks later- it was virtually right across the street from Hadlock Field, home of the Double A Portland Seadogs.
I took my power walk to the Old Port and stopped at the LL Bean Outlet downtown. I found a chocolate colored courderoy jacket, the intial tag price was $79, but it was marked down to $44.95, which is great because I was hoping to spend $50 or less- when I got to the cashier- the price was actually $15.75! Now this is GOOD

After buying my jacket I headed towards the Old Port and strolled around hrowsing around the various touristy souvenir and nautical shops. Around 4pm I made my way to one of my favorite places- Gilbert's Chowder House.



Some may describe the place as nautical, classic or downright grungy, but this joint serves up some of the best chowder I've ever had. Here are some photos of the interior.





And here's the Specials Board



I ordered a Medium Double Seafood Chowder which is double the seafood-its worth the extra buck 50- The Chowder is thick, but not cloyingly so, it's actually inundated with scallops, shrimp, clam, lobster and possibly haddock. I also ordered one clam cake and finished it off with a very uninteresting slice of blueberry pie. Made at a local bakery, at $4.75 a piece the serving size was rather small, it was too sweet and I felt I needed a jack hammer in order to cut into the crust. Stick to the seafood.







After my late lunch, I walked back to my hotel. Unfortunately not only was Saturday a cold day with temp's barely out of the 20's but it was also an extremely windy day with winds gusting up to 45 mph. Although I was expecting a cold day, the high winds were definely unexpected. Thus I came down with a cold which I'm still trying to fight- now that's BAD

After returning to my hotel, I could feel the cold coming on. My initial plans were to walk back to the old port in the evening and try WhereGreggEat's recommendation of J's Oyster. I decided to drive instead and luckily found free street parking a couple blocks away.

Now here comes THE UGLY
I arrived at J's Oyster at around 8pm and the place was packed, ironically I observed very few people that were actually eating, but it's obvious that the place attracts a lot of local drinkers. I was told there was an hour wait, I put my name on the list, but I was also told if I find a seat at the bar- I could order food there too. I was hoping to try their lobster and steamer special. About 15 or 20 minutes after I found a seat at the bar. The bartender then told me that I was next and my table was almost ready. I thought ok, I'll just grab the table. After getting back on line 2 more parties were seated, I approached the bartender and asked about my table, she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about, but then admitted it was her error. She was completely rude, obnoxious and condescending about the whole situation and made no attempt to rectify the situation, I even tried to tell her that the customer comes first and her reply was basically "I don't care". I finally did find a seat at the bar, but by that time they were out of lobster. I was extremely appalled by their horrible service and certainly have no intention of returning.

More later

You come to Maine in winter, stay in Portland, and go to J's Oyster; what did you expect?
Come back in a month or two, catch a 'Dogs game, and try moving up the coast or inland or both.
Top

In today's market there is NO excuse for poor service. If I were you, I would write a letter- yes, a letter, and address it to the owner/manager of the restaurant and tell him exactly what you wrote here on the RF website. One letter, is worth a ton- and since you have mentioned it here- they may be interested to know that it can possibly affect their bottom line, summer,winter, fall, or spring.

WJ-sorry your trip was so unexpectedly disappointing.Top's response was surprising-come to Wisconsin ANYTIME of the year and get a good brat.I understand certain seasons are better around the country, but come on...

Next time go to Susan's Fish and Chips. You might want to run when you see the exterior of the building, but I swear by the place. Also, Marcy's for breakfast.

WJ,
Great deal you got on that jacket at LL Bean! ($15.00).
Similar experience for me, as I got a winter jacket with a hood from Old Navy marked down to 10 bucks!
(actually, it was such a good deal, I ended up buying 3 colors!) And just like with you, I knew it was marked down, but I did'nt realize just how much. It was like a "clearance on a clearance item"..

Hey, I love the size of your pics in your trip report. What photo storage website do you use to get them like that? (I really don't want mine so BIG)
I'm just starting to experiment with Flickr ....do you like and/or use them?

Sorry about your bad expererience at J's Oyster House. I feel your pain, WJ !! BOY, do I , as I just had a bad dinner experience tonight...(I had taken a drive 35 minute south to the Wildwoods resort area, and dined on prime rib at Rio Station in Rio Grande)... I did not like the first piece of prime rib I was given, so I attempted to send it back. It was too much like shoeleather, and very hard to cut.
The waiter came back & told me "The chef is the owner ,and he said he would do it this time, but we can't use that piece of meat again...." I said "I would'nt want anyone to get that piece of meat anyway! It was too tough".

The dinner experience should never feel like it is a negotation session. I said "Does'nt he want to see the customer happy?". Then the waiter , Ron, said "I changed the piece of meat for you, did'nt I??"

And regarding sending a letter to the owner/manager like mland520 suggested, that is a great idea, USUALLY !
(except in this case where the chef IS the owner)

Mind you, all I had asked for was another "small little piece" to make up for the big one I was turning in . Was I asking for too much??

I'll be posting the rest of my bad dinner experience on Prime Cuts. Bad news travels fast !!!

Ellen-absolutely right about the LLBean jacket!!I buy all my pjs there-forgot to mention the fantastic buy...

quote:

Originally posted by annpeeples

Ellen-absolutely right about the LLBean jacket!!I buy all my pjs there-forgot to mention the fantastic buy...

Actually, I got my jacket at Old Navy... (it was a badly worded sentence , on my end)

I always wanted to check out the LL Bean Headquarters up in Freeport, Main, though. (I'll wait for a nice summertime weekend s, though) (NJ weather is about all I can handle; I've gotten spoiled from all my recent Florida trips)

Top,

I know what you mean. I'm being overly optomistic that Spring in Maine should actually....GASP!- Begin in April...

Zenarcade,

I've been to Marcy's for breakfast before, and yes it is good, however my favorite breakfast place in Portland is still Hot Suppa, unfortunately I didn't make it there on this trip.


Everyone else, the entire night at J's Oyster was very volatile, I was upset, the bartender kept telling ME to "chill out" I wasn't ranting and raving, but I even relayed that a proper way to rectify the situation would have been to find me another seat at the bar, or at least offer "a complimentary drink" while I wait. Ultimately I think the true proper thing would have been to move me to the front of the list since it was there error to begin with. I truly expressed my disgust, however it was obvious to me they serve a loyal local crowd and one tourist's gripe isn't going to sway them otherwise.

Ellen,

I started using flickr- you can edit the size of your photos- I edited mine to 640 x 480.

Now on with the story

After a couple of beers I left and drove back to my hotel and called it a night..

Sunday morning I drove to Colucci's Hilltop Market, thankfully the winds died down but it was still a bit chilly at 28 degrees. Colucci's is apparently known for the Maine's take on the Hero/Hoagie/Sub, referred to locally as and Italian Sandwich. Of course it was too early for that. This place is takeout only and I opted for a homemade Maine Muffin- blueberry in this case. It was good, but I was wondering how much better it could have been heated and drenched in melted butter.



After driving back to my hotel, I realized it was "safe enough" to walk down to the old port since the winds have died down and it was actually warming up a bit. I grabbed a cup a joe at Breaking New Grounds, a coffeehouse in the Old Port. On the walk back to my hotel, I called Cecif to confirm if she was able to meet up with me later that day at Nick's Famous Roast Beef in Beverly MA, her dinner plans with friends was confirmed so sadly we were unable to meet up.

After checking out of my hotel, I had a whole afternoon to enjoy before trecking back to Rhode Island.

I stopped at one of my favorites- The Maine Diner for lunch.






There was a 15 or 20 minute wait which is always well worth it. I was given a "beeper" and about 10 minutes later it went off.

What a difference in service compared to the night before. The place was busy, but the staff was courteous and attentive. I ordered the lobster pie- it comes with a corn muffin, potato and vegetable, I opted for 2 veggie's instead of the potato. I chose coleslaw and squash. The Lobster Pie was out of this world. Tender hunks of lobster encased in nothing but butter, breadcrumbs and stuffing



I finished the meal off with a hunk of delicious blueberry pie.



After lunch, I drove to Portsmouth NH and spent the afternoon walking around the quaint downtown area and brousing the various shops.

Here's an Italian Sandwich shop in downtown Portsmouth




Here are a couple of bridges that join Portsmouth with Kittery ME






Back, to downtown, this place caught my attention



The Popover Bakery and Cafe. Apparently there is a Popover Cafe in Manhattan, however these two places are not affiliated. Apparently the popover is an old New England specialty that you don't see around much anymore. I guess the best way to describ it is kind of like a more rugged version of a croissant. I'll admit curiousity got the best of me and I had to order one. It came with maplebutter on the side and it was delicious.



Now feeling a bit "piggish" or "gluttonous" I spent the next hour and half just walking- everywhere- I explored every nook and cranny of downtown Portsmouth and wound up in the Historical Neighborhood of Strawberry Bank- apparently the oldest residential neighborhood of Portsmouth

Here is the oldest house on Porstmouth apparently built in 1702





And the rest of the Strawberry Bank neighborhood including the Museum.





I left Portsmouth just after 3pm and departed for my last stop- Nick's Famous Roast Beef in Beverly MA.



I arrived just before 4pm and ordered the big beef served on an onion roll with horseradish sauce and bbq sauce. I was surpised at how mild the horseradish sauce was, but if anything it complimented the beef as opposed to overpowering it. Sorry Arby's is better! (only kidding!) It was good- and don't let the photo fool you- there's a lot of beef in there!





Well, after my final meal, I was ready to head home to Rhode Island. Unfortunately timing isn't everything, because halfway home, Cecif called, apparently her dinner plans were cancelled and she asked if I had been to Nick's yet. Sadly I was almost 50 miles away from Nick's at that point, but hey there's always next time.

Aw, too bad you didn't (I assume) try Moe's Italian sandwiches! It must be the same as the Moe's one town away in Dover, where I went to high school... Wonder if they're still good. I used to eat a whole Italian sub as an afternoon snack. But that was 25 years ago.

WJ, great report, man! I really dig the pictures of the buildings and the dirt road between them. Reminds me a little bit of Salem, MA. I do miss New England! That Lobster Pie looks mighty tasty. I told my sis she should go there when she went to Maine last year based on what I'd heard here of RF and she loved it! Looking forward to breaking bread with you in CT next month.

Another great report and pictures WJ, thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by dctourist

Aw, too bad you didn't (I assume) try Moe's Italian sandwiches! It must be the same as the Moe's one town away in Dover, where I went to high school... Wonder if they're still good. I used to eat a whole Italian sub as an afternoon snack. But that was 25 years ago.

you saw what I ate, there's no way I could have managed all that and an Italian Sandwich too....

I'm still surprised at myself for getting that popover- that was unplanned!

WJ-
Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience at J's Oyster. I would have been very upset, too, had that happened to me. Hopefully the great meal at Maine Diner and getting such a deal on your coat made up for it.

It has been too long since I have been to Maine Diner. I have been there twice before and loved it. That lobster pie looks fantastic!

Thanks for all the excellent photos and the report!

Those popovers look SO good! I love popovers, but like you said, they are hard to find around.
They tend to have a softer and more eggy/yeasty taste on the inside, compared to biscuits...

I also liked your scenery pics of downtown Portsmouth, including the Moe's storefront...

--ellen--

Love the picture of the seafood chowder. Makes my mouth water. The next time you go up to Maine, instead of Bob's Clam Hut, keep going and stop at Billy's Chowder House in Wells. It's off of Route One. The lobster stew is to die for. You were right to choose Gilberts. A hole in the wall but those places have the best food. J's on the other hand is overrated and your comment about everyone there drinking and not eating is correct. I went there twice when I lived in Portland. The first time was to drink. The second time I ate there but was not impressed. They make their money off of booze not food but because of state laws, they have to make so much money from food to keep their license. Too back the service was terrible. The person working the bar must be from 'away'. Dimillo's which is near J's is a bit touristy but they have a menu with a large variety of seafood dishes. I'll be in Maine next month. This is purely an eating trip since fried clams and anything with lobster are impossbile to find here in Maryland. I tend to stick with the restaurants that have been around a long time, especially the non-fancy ones.

Too bad about the experience at J's Oyster House. We spent most of a week in and around Portland last September and we ate at J's two or three times. I would describe the service as "brisk" no question about it. The food was very good and we did like the hustle/bustle atmosphere.

We also had lunch and then breakfast the follwing day at Becky's Diner. I thought that, for all of the reviews I have read, the place was a bit overrated.

The Old Port and the rest of downtown Portland have scads of eating places. We can't wait to get back there and try some more of them.

Wally

You know how to make the best of a weekend. Thanks for the photos and trip description.

WJ,
I'm bummed that I missed you, though since you are a bargain shopper I will say that instead of heading to Beverly to meet you I went to REI to pick up something I ordered just before closing and figured out it was the last day I could use my 20% off coupon. So that was a bonus!

Great pics etc etc. As you know I totally sympathize about the bad service. I'll post a mini-Maine trip report shortly with my bad service experience. (Happily it was followed up by a great experience!)

I wonder if anyone knows whather the time of year you eat lobster affects its quality?? Like your Bob's experience my lobster roll at the Maine Diner was good but less than stellar. I wondered if it was the season?!

Good stuff all 'round, thanks for the report! Hopefully catch ya next time! (And apologies for my silly flaky friends, we have done this last Sunday of the month dinner for a long time and this was the first cancellation!)

p.s. I have a great photo of my most recent Nick's beef sandwich that shows lots of beef, would you like me to post it here in your thread??
[no actual edit, but this appears to be the only way I can 'subscribe' to this topic right now, the feature to click up top won't work!]

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

WJ,
p.s. I have a great photo of my most recent Nick's beef sandwich that shows lots of beef, would you like me to post it here in your thread??

Cecif,

definetely next time. As we discussed, I hope you can make the Connecticut meet and greet next month.

Sure, go ahead- post that photo
Unfortunately I did a quick photo and the angle wasn't the best (I felt like I had all eyes on me)

I totally forgot in my last post, as far as I know (at least in my mom's cooking world) a popover is the same as a mini Yorkshire pudding. In fact, in the UK they can be called either, it's a regional thing.

Roast beef from Nick's:






BTW WJ since you are using flickr also - do you know if it has to be uploaded as "public" or can we upload as "private" and still link the photos?

WJ-really enjoyed the pics of that quaint old town, and the food!

quote:

Originally posted by cecif


BTW WJ since you are using flickr also - do you know if it has to be uploaded as "public" or can we upload as "private" and still link the photos?

Cecif,

I'm actually not sure about that- all of my photos are marked as public

quote:

Originally posted by annpeeples


WJ-really enjoyed the pics of that quaint old town, and the food!

Ann,
Speaking of quaint old towns, I really enjoyed visiting Cedarburg in your neck of the woods back in 2000. I recall I had an excellent brat with a side of cheese curds at this bar called Maxwells

I love hot homemade roast beef sandwiches! Great pics!
I just ate one this morning for breakfast before work.
I had taken one out from a place that was nearby my bad experience place, Rio Station.
Cause as soon as you have a bad experience, you've got to quickly try and make it up with a good one!
And the counter girl at B&B Roasters, Rio Grande, was very friendly. And my sandwich was GREAT...
mission accomplished.

--ellen

p.s. I shortened up my other prime rib "fuming" post, so as not to hijack your thread too much!

Great report WJ. It is making me want to hit the road and some day I really have to get back to Maine.

Cecif, If you can access a single uploaded photo web page that is standalone and not part of a page with other information you can link it here whether private or public. If private only you would know the url to link it obviously. Keep in mind if you link a photo it is no longer private as the url becomes public. Any photo referenced here in Roadfood.com messages can also simply be copied by right click on a PC or holding down the control key and clicking on the photo with a Mac. It is best to link from a publicly accessible web page in my opinion. I've found some of my breaded pork tenderloin sandwich pictures all over the internet with some people claiming them as their own. I don't mind since they are in the public domain but it does bug me when others claim them. That's one reason why I only post low resolution medium quality JPEGs.

Hello all ,

Great report WJ .
Pictures make you feel like we were there with you .

Benzee

WJ, I loved your report, warts and all. Not every RF place can possibly be as wonderful as we think, and you tell it like it is, which is very welcomed here. Since we moved to CT from Maine, Amy & I have not had time to get back up there and do some RF justice. That ends in June when we're heading north for 2 weeks and reviewing all of our Maine favorites, undiscovered gems and old standbys. Thanks as always -- and also for your plug for the CT trip in May! Chris

As always, I LOVE trip reports!! But I especially liked seeing the popovers. I haven't thought about them in years. My grandma always used to make them with Sunday pot roast. I haven't had them since I was a child. Good memories. Thanks!!

I've got such a craving for a popover right now!!

(I'm S.O.L for popovers here in the AC area; Now I've got to find out where I can get them in NYC or Philly!)

quote:

Originally posted by ellen4641

I've got such a craving for a popover right now!!

(I'm S.O.L for popovers here in the AC area; Now I've got to find out where I can get them in NYC or Philly!)

Actually you can find them here
[url]www.popovercafe.com[/url]