Portland207

Gyro and kabob lovers delight, this former food cart has wheeled itself into the Public Market House in Monument Square.  The latest edition to the ever expanding Public Market.  No word on whether the old food cart operation will remain parked down the street by 1 City Center.  Amidst the confusion of the ongoing renovation and second floor expansion, the Spartan Grill opened quite unceremoniously earlier this week.  Located between Big Sky Bread (recently promoted to the front of the store) and Maine Beer and Beverage (recently doubling in size at the back of the building), it should provide some relief for the brutal lunchtime lines at Big Sky.  The new location has allowed for a massive expansion of offerings.  The much beloved and hastily prepared gyros still grace the menu, but there are now souvlaki and salad options as well.  Bring cash, as the credit card machine is not yet up and running.  Just pretend you are back at the food cart.

The Portland Harbor Hotel opens up their annual Ice Bar this weekend.  What used to be a month-long installation in the courtyard of this downtown hotel has been condensed into one cold January weekend.  A rare chance to drink like the Swedes.  I can’t claim to have ever bundled up in deerskin gloves and ski gear to attend this rite of Winter, but I have heard from reliable sources that after the first few nights, the Ice Bar was scarcely attended in the past.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is poorly advertised and dragged out for a month.  I have the feeling that attaching your face to the vodka ice luge and pounding Shipyards to fight the cold looses its icy luster after a night or two.  It seems the operators of the Harbor Hotel have gotten wise to that fact and given the Ice Bar a life span of 48 hours.  The doors to the courtyard open at 4pm on Friday (1/25).  Free food (from Browne Trading and others), a bit of country music and a few fire pits, which serve at the yang to the Ice Bars yin, will add to the atmosphere.  An Ice carving competition is being held from 9am to noon on Saturday and then the bar opens back up at 4pm.  More info in the To Do section. 

Another Tuesday at the lanes has come and gone.  The normal queue at the bar was eased by the presence of 2 cheerful waitresses and a reprieve from the FunTown-style wristbands that distinguish the imbibers from those remaining in sobriety.  Happy Hands faced the Saucy Posse in one of the evening’s most fiercely battled matches.  Neither good luck handshakes nor congratulatory high fives were exchanged between teams (except for Saucy Posse member “Frank,” who actually seemed pleased when a Happy Hands bowler did well).   The Hands left nothing on the lanes, except for a few broken nails by captain Sasha Northfield and guest bowler Virg.  Team MVP was once again TJ with a near 200 game.  Possibly the most compelling story of the night was Bitty Meadow’s rise to glory after a struggle in week 1.  The final game brought 4 100 plus scores and slammed home a 9 – 6 win over the Posse.  Equally as impressive as the turn-out on the lanes, was the turn-out at $3 Dewey’s for the post-game celebration.  An unexpected rally on a Tuesday night.  The team disbursed with promises of bowling shoe purchases, nightly bowling meditations and even an Augusta practice session.  Well done.

Night one of the latest, and possibly youngest, bowling league in Portland.  Success can't begin to sum it up.  Shirts were distributed, shoes were velcroed, pitchers were poured and teams hit the lanes.  There were some legendary match ups: The Saucy Posse vs. 3 Livers, $3 Gutterballs vs. B.E.E.R, Spare Us vs. Dirty Half Dozen, The Pinups vs. Derelicte My Balls, Binga’s Wingas vs. Purple Haze, and of course, Happy Hands vs. Off Constantly.  In the end, Happy Hands did not beat Off Constantly, but they came as close as a bunch dreamy-eyed novice bowlers could.  Off Constantly brought their A game with a slew of spares and strikes and plenty of over-zealous fist pumping.  The White Russians they were pounding would turnout to be their demise, with Happy Hands winning 4 out of 5 points in the final game.  Fueled on Bud Light alone, Happy Hands brought a spirit and team-centric attitude that is seldom seen on those fine Yankee Lanes.  The shirts, avec Bowl Portland logo, marked all who dawned them as league members and therefore worthy of the respect of lane staff and casual bowler alike.  The team colors turned out to be some classic combos.  The white on black team (Happy Hands) and the black on white team (Off Constantly), the blue and yellow gas station attendant shirts of the Saucy Posse and 2 teams on the far end of the lanes that were both clad in maroon and yellow, making them look like McDonalds employees on a group outing.  With 7 more weeks remaining in the regular season, a couple of weeks of play-offs and the culminating Bowling Ball Gala, there is plenty of sweet bowling action to come.  Bowl on.  (pictures)

I am not sure why Portland loves the 80's so much (80's night at Bubba's, the Awesome, etc.) but you can't fight it.  I was fortunate enough to spend the last hours of the 2k7 and the first few hours of this cold new year clad in the finest pink tux jacket and piano key tie that I own.  It felt good to ring in the New Year in such style and to be surrounded by similarly dressed individuals.  Thanks to Binga's Winagas and the hosts.  Happy 2008.