By: Sam Margolin, Staff Writer
Since the early 2000s, Maine has rapidly become one of the country’s best cities for eating. The laid back New England vibe combined with low population and close food sources makes the perfect atmosphere for developing food culture. The restaurant scene in Southern Maine especially has had people buzzing about Maine’s potential for culinary greatness. According to resteraunt.org, Maine has about 62,700 food-service jobs, roughly ten percent of the employment in the state. So the more than 3,000 places to eat in Maine not only stimulate our “Vacationland” economy but also supports an internal employment rate that depends on this growing industry. Young job hopefuls will always have a place in the kitchen as long as there are enough kitchens to be staffed.
Traveling through the Southern Maine area, food lovers will discover a wide variety of food choices. Maine has French and English roots with great seafood as a foundation for our eateries, but we now have booming West African, Middle Eastern and American fusion cuisines that are present all over Portland. This diversity, combined with some creative American culinary talent, has pushed the Portland area into global recognition. The inspirational chefs, owners and cooks of this area are developing a style that translates into a landscape of delicious potential and endless possibility.
The areas of Gorham, Westbrook, Portland and South Portland boast one of the largest populations of restaurants per capita in the country. Wading through the seemingly endless list of possible eateries might require a little guidance.
For breakfast and brunch, several diners and restaurants get the job done with a touch of the south. For example, The Blue Pig Diner, located at 29 School St. in Gorham, is a casual breakfast and lunch spot serving BBQ and breakfast fare such as Smoked Sausage Scrambles and giant stacks of blueberry pancakes. With USM’s campus close by, it’s a favorite of students and faculty with takeout and outdoor seating.
OhNo’s Café, located in Portland West End, has the hands down best breakfast sandwiches in the State. With items like the Spam, cheddar & egg with Dijon mustard on bialy sandwich and the town favorite of Maple glazed prosciutto, Tabasco, Vermont cheddar & egg, OhNo’s contrast between high-end and low-end ingredients makes for a one-of-a-kind breakfast experience.
Hot Suppa!, located on 703 Congress St. offers an eclectic Dixie-land menu including amazing southern classics like scratch-made biscuits and gravy and fried green tomato eggs benedict.
Dale Thompson, a resident of New Gloucester and an avid foodie and cook applauds Hot Suppa! for bringing a southern food tradition to Portland.
“Beyond breakfast they have a very fun southern inspired menu. Shrimp and grits, cornmeal crusted catfish and chicken & waffles. All around amazing restaurant with the best spicy bloody mary in town! Hands down,” Thompson said.
Opened in 2004 by two brothers from Portland, this quirky soul-food spot resides in a beautiful restored Victorian built in 1860. For happy hour, Hot Suppa! hosts an amazing $1 oyster deal that puts the good life within anyone’s reach.
One of the most exciting parts of Maine’s food scene is the emergence of dining variety. “Chefs and restaurant owners know that Maine has so much more potential than just good fresh seafood,” Thompson said. With variety comes education, and with education comes potential.
For lunch and dinner, Southern Maine boasts some of the freshest seafood and local meats around—and you don’t have to purchase $50 plates at Fore Street Grill in order to have a five-star culinary experience. One of the most acclaimed and esteemed new restaurants, Central Provisions, located 414 Fore St. in Portland allows for “ballin on a budget” with their tapas style menu and hyper-local atmosphere. Yes, they do have pricey items like whole suckling pig or seared foie gras with roasted grapes for $26, but they also have amazing menu options for under ten bucks! Bone marrow toast with fontina cheese and horseradish cream sauce or their daring spicy raw-beef salad with sriracha and cilantro are both inexpensive options that pack a gourmet punch. Central Provisions owner and chef, Chris Gould includes with his bold menu a decor of handmade wooden tables, chairs, doors and stools from local Maine woodworkers and blacksmiths.
Sometimes the Old Port or Congress Street can be crowded with out-of-staters looking for bragging rights. While Sonny’s, The Rooms, and Vignola have their place in Southern Maine’s culinary landscape, some restaurateurs are trying to appeal to the hometown eater.
For example, South Portland’s newest bbq/beer collaboration, Elsmere BBQ and Wood Grill, located at 448 Cottage Rd., provides a spot for families and communities to get together over some truly great food. Two friends, Adam Powers and Jeremy Rush, own Elsmere. They have created a menu of authentic central Texas-style BBQ combined with unique beer pairings by Banded Horn Brewing. Elsmere’s claim to fame is really their meat. Powers and Rush use only the best meat they can find with pork from a farmers’ collaborative in Canada that adheres to strict antibiotic and food standards. Their chicken comes from Bell and Evans, a producer that prides itself on humane practices and clean butchering standards. Elsmere also uses grains from Mainly Grains located in South Portland and even local corn tortillas from Tortilleria Pachanga in Portland. Powers said he wanted to create a place that was different from Portland’s waterfront eateries. He wanted his place to be a cornerstone of the community with a simple, consistent and relaxed food atmosphere.
“I grew up on street food so I think peasant food is the best in the world. I have a minimalistic approach that allows the ingredients to speak for themselves,” Powers said.
Powers, who grew up in Maine but spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, brought his love of street food to Portland with menu items such as out-of-this-world ribs and brisket along with sausage produced locally by Fresh Approach.
Elsmere hosts Non-Profit Nights where they allow groups such as the Center for Grieving Children or Ride For a Cure to use the space to spread information and to raise money for good causes. Every Tuesday and Wednesday Elsmere becomes something more than a restaurant; it becomes part of the community. To not only serve patrons but also create a better place for them to live is an amazing accomplishment for a business. Powers doesn’t just want to make money; his motivations are much more human-centered. He wants a place that “reminds you of home” when you enter.
Other eating options like food trucks and pop-up kitchens might become the way of the future. With event venues such as Thompson’s Point hosting food trucks at almost every concert and gathering, the mobile food movement might be the next culinary powerhouse on the horizon. Young chefs such as Matthew Fogg, a graduate of SMCC’s culinary program, are looking to Portland as the next creative ground zero for food truck culture.
“Food has the ability to bring people of all different walks of life together. Maine has so much untapped potential for food carts and trucks as well as many different restaurants. Maine is a great place to start a food businesses. If you can bring something unique to your area, you are bound to succeed,” Fogg said.
With so much to choose from and so much to take in, Southern Maine will only grow into a larger and more interesting culinary geography. Maine’s unique ability to adapt and evolve lends itself to a culinary revolution that will define our state as a most attractive destination.