We were only in Portland 24 hours, but in that time we managed to eat at a lot of places. If you missed our first post on Potland, Maine, you can read our travel diary here.
The number one spot on our must eat list was The Holy Donut. In planning our trip, we had heard such great things about this delicious donut shop. These donuts are unique because they are made with a very special ingredient- potatoes. The potatoes, as well as all other ingredients, are all sourced locally.
There are two locations in Portland, and each open open only until the sell out, which they do almost every day. For the best selection make sure you head there before noon. They have about 20 different flavors daily. My favorite was the dark chocolate cinnamon sugar but every single one we tried was excellent! In fact, we liked them so much, we went twice in the span of 24 hours. Writing this right now is making me want one SO BAD.
We arrived in Portland in the late afternoon, and wanted a quick snack in between sightseeing, so we popped into Duckfat. As evidenced here, here and here, we will try any and all french fry places offered. The french fries here did not disappoint.
They also have a great beer and wine list. I wish I remembered what this was called, but I tried the locally made hard cider they had on tap. It was very light and unlike any other hard cider I’ve tried.
The fries were fantastic. That perfect combo of crispy outside but fluffy soft inside. We tried the truffle ketchup and thai chili mayo dipping sauces.
Along with french fries, we also have started a semi accidental trend of eating in churches? It started on a trip to England many years ago, and now every time we see that eating in a church is an option, we do it, ha ha. This restaurant in Portland, Grace, was probably the coolest one so far.
This restaurant is literally inside the sanctuary of a former church. The design of it itself is really cool, with a large circular bar in the center of the room and an open kitchen where the alter would have sat. But on top of a really unique atmosphere was some great food.
Their menu is seasonal and changes often. I loved this pesto spaghetti squash.
For dessert I ordered this magnificent pumpkin brownie with pumpkin ice cream that was to die for delicious.
The following morning, after returning to The Holy Donut for round two, we ducked into Bard Coffee to avoid a passing rain shower.
Extremely random side note- see the red stand with an umbrella on the right side of the above photo? This was a hot dog stand, but there was a sign by it showing that they sold gift cards? To a hot dog stand. Anyone know the story here?
We ended up taking our coffee to go because we wanted to keep shopping, but it would be such a cute place to sit and hang out with friends, or even do some work.
My almond milk latte was great, and Shelby ordered an apple cider which she said was delicious.
Just before heading out of town, we stopped for lunch at Otto. This was some of the best pizza we’ve ever had.
We ordered a classic margarita pizza, three cheese tortellini, and mushroom with roasted cauliflower. They were all good, but the three cheese tortellini was my favorite. I’m already trying to figure out how I can recreate that one at home.
Portland is such a good foodie destination. There were so many other places we wanted to try. Guess we’ll just have to go back. Darn. 🙂
Have you been to Portland, Maine? Where are your favorite places to eat?
-Ash xx