If you couldn’t tell from the more frequent than normal posting last month, October was an incredibly busy (and tasty!) month for me. New restaurants were tried, Westbrook was explored, and Harvest on the Harbor was attended. Read on to find out more about my October Bites!
Brunch at The Frog & Turtle: 3 Bridge Street, Westbrook
My first weekend as a homeowner, my boyfriend and I were beyond exhausted. Everything we owned was stuck in boxes, and we couldn’t figure out where the pots and pans were to make breakfast. That Sunday after moving in, we decided it was time to go to the Frog and Turtle. Conveniently located just a mile from my new house, it’s also a hell of a brunch. Highlights include made to order donuts, Grand Marnier mimosas, and some seriously delicious eggs benedict options! This brunch is honestly right up there with the best of the best in Portland, and I’m looking forward to making it a go to brunch spot.
Must try: The pretzel donut. This was on special, so you may not be able to order it, but it’s a donut that’s shaped like a pretzel, and topped with chocolate and just a little bit of sea salt for the perfect finish. You can’t say no to it!
Eve’s On The Harbor: Rebranded as Blue Fin, 468 Fore Street, Portland
If you haven’t already heard the news, Eve’s On The Harbor of the Portland Harbor Hotel has been rebranded. The new restaurant is called Blue Fin, and serves mainly seafood and steak, fitting in like a glove with other fine dining options in our fair city. The menu is impeccable for food lovers of all kinds, and is a must try by itself! I got to sample some of it, and loved the Faroe Island salmon, a bowl with soba noodles, bok choy, and perfectly prepared salmon resting on top. Other standouts include the tuna loin, and a special cocktail that tasted just like Maine in a glass. The new Blue Fin is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Must try: the aforementioned Faroe Island salmon bowl. Perfectly prepared salmon matched with flavorful soba noodles and sauce is a pairing that you’re not soon to forget, I promise!
Diner Eats at Guidi’s Diner: 916 Main Street, Westbrook
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love diners. Hole in the walls and greasy spoon diners often serve the best food, and that’s a fact. So I’ve already been to Guidi’s Diner in Westbrook for breakfast twice, and I’ve only lived here a month. But I’m honestly obsessed with this place, because the food is fantastic! Yes, it’s tiny, and you may need to wait in line to get in the door, but it’s worth it. My first foray into breakfast at Guidi’s was their biscuits and gravy dish, which I had sunny side up eggs with, under my gravy. The biscuits were ginormous and the sausage gravy was some of the best that I’ve ever had. I had leftovers for days, and wasn’t even mad about it. If you’re a homefry lover, this is the place for you. There’s a whole separate menu for just homefries, and you can make that your meal. They aren’t just a side here. So when I ordered my biscuits and gravy plate, you know that I also ordered a side of the Irish homefries, topped with melted cheese, corned beef, and sauteed onions.
Must try: the homefries centric menu as a meal, of course! Various options are available like Cajun homefries, Irish homefries, and more.
New Restaurant Alert: Bolster, Snow, & Co. in The Francis Hotel, 747 Congress Street, Portland
The delicious eats continued during a dinner at the new Bolster, Snow, & Co. Fresh, seasonal food is the aim here, along with stunning plating and fantastic flavors. I had the opportunity to be part of a dinner showcasing this beautiful menu, which is a welcome addition to Portland’s already flourishing food scene. I started with the house cocktail, aptly named the BSC. Yes, it was beautiful, but it tasted even better than it looked, and that’s saying something. The egg white gave the BSC a nice light foaminess that kept it from being overpowering.
The amount of food that was consumed felt obscene after, but in the moment, I had no problem tasting the best of Chef Nicholas Verdisco’s menu. Pasta, duck, boar, lobster, scallops…all of this and more was tasted!
Must try: My favorite dish was the wild boar pappardelle, in a light and creamy sauce with corn, boar, black garlic, and chives. Boar when done right is one of my favorite flavors, and in this dish, it truly shines!
Harvest On The Harbor events: Harvest Happy Hour at Aura, Market on the Harbor, Harvest Crawl
One of my favorite events in Portland is Harvest on the Harbor, and this was my favorite year yet. I got to experience three events this year, two of which I had never been to, and were new. First up was Harvest Happy Hour at Aura, which paired food and drink with appetizer sized bites. How appropriate for a post about October Bites! This was the first time that I had seen Aura since it had been redone-it looks amazing! Pairing food and drink doesn’t sound like much on paper, but these pairings were extremely thought out, and planned down to each individual flavor. My favorite bite was the scallop rangoon, which is exactly what it sounds like: a play on the crab rangoon, but with fresh scallop inside of it instead. Pure heaven!
The next day, it was all about Market on the Harbor, which has become my favorite event over the years. The sheer amount of food (and drink!) that you get while attending makes this the best value, hands down. Every kind of food that Portland has to offer makes an appearance: wild bear buns, clam chowder, mini apple pies, Shipyard beer, pizza from Leonardo’s, triple creme cheese from Springdale Farm, sausage and gravy…the list goes on and on. After three hours of just eating and drinking, I literally rolled myself out the door. I kept going back for seconds on the clam chowder prepared by Linda Kate Lobster & Seafood Co. along with the triple creme from Springdale Farms. Can’t pick a favorite between them, so it’s a tie!
The last and final day of Harvest on the Harbor was the first annual Harvest Crawl. I was extremely excited for this, and it may be my new favorite Harvest on the Harbor event, so I hope it’s brought back again next year! Granted, when it started it felt more like waddling, but it was an incredibly fun way to crawl my way around Portland and stop at all the participating places. There were salads from B. Good with juice samples, mini bloody mary’s at Flatbread, mac n cheese and a beer from Tomaso’s (which turned out to be the best breakfast choice ever), bourbon donut holes and the Bee’s Sneeze at Glass and so, so, so many more.
October was an incredibly tasty month, and I’m sure November will be too. My favorite holiday of the entire year is coming up-Thanksgiving! Like this post? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more tasty eats!
