V-day at the Empire proved to be a prime choice.  MENSK, an enigmatic non-profit with a stated mission to “inspire and support personal, local, and regional action for the development of creative and sustainable communities” hosted their Something Like Love fundraiser last eve.  A mini music festival with a line-up of local performers, local art and a raffle/auction of local products (I ended up with a tea set.  Seriously).  Craving the full Empire experience, our group chose to dine on site prior to attending the Valentines Day music love-fest.  As you might decipher from the name, The Empire Dine and Dance is one part restaurant (downstairs) and one part venue (upstairs).  The two halves are separated only by well worn floor boards from an era past.  The exposed beams and floor above adds to the dining ambiance, but proved to be a sieve for loud music.  While waiting for cocktails at our table, we were treated to a few muffled Weezer covers and some unrecognizable original ballads.  Being diners with ulterior motives, the music from above only helped to add to the atmosphere.  Speaking of which, that is something that the restaurant could use a bit more of.  With the exception of the nooks for couches and over-stuffed leather chairs, the space is rather lacking.  Bad art adorned the walls, leaving us to turn to our table top for visual stimulus.  It turns out the tables are pretty sweet.  Perhaps as this relatively young restaurant/venue grows into itself the décor will improve.  The food needs few improvements.  The brie and mango quesadilla was simple, but tasty.  The slider-style mini-burger received rave reviews and the veggie lasagna was over-sized but damn delicious.  The wine list is weak, especially when they are out of 2 of your top choices.  The bar manager was quick to swing by the table and apologize, offering us an upgrade for the same price as our original selection.  Before moving thing upstairs, I must interject a rant about the WC.  Portland, in general, is lacking in good bathroom facilities at bars and restaurants.  My favorite so far is the metal-plated restroom at Gritty’s.  The Empire was seriously lacking, especially for a place that has only been open for a few months.  The shattered urinal looks like someone’s head was put through it.  The hands-free paper towel dispenser is broken and the overly secure fire door is so heavy that it slams closed with alarming force every time someone enters or leaves.  Brief frustration gave way to blissful happiness upon heading upstairs.  The venue is perfect for such an event.  Just the right size to seem comfortably crowded.  A short wait at the bar left us with enormous cocktails in hand to help facilitate the music appreciation process.  Portland has an obsession with pint-sized cocktails.  There must be an area-wide shortage of rocks glasses.  All the bands were great, and I say that will all honesty.  One had a Carrot Top look-alike for their front man, which proved to be slightly distracting from the music.  As Fast As proved to be one of the crowd favorites with 2 sets.  A melodramatic twosome with a guitar and standup bass proved their musical prowess, but had the wrong level of energy for the crowd.  A diminished Rustic Overtones followed suit.  The best of the night came from a group that was not originally listed on the billing of performers.  Soul Movement.  Two female lead singers worked seamlessly together as they were true to their name and provided several soulful songs.  Both the dining experience and the event were a smashing success.  Nice work Frank. 

 
 

As we close the curtain on the Maine political scene for a bit (nice win by Obama) I choose not to dwell on the recent democratic match-up and instead delve into another hotly contested race.  The battle between 2 hip Congress Street eateries.  In full disclosure, this was not the initial intent of the yesterday’s dining excursions and both meals were at different times of the day.  Furthermore, I am not really sure if these two locations even draw same patrons.  That said, in a day of stumping and choosing sides, it seems fitting to pit them head to head.  First up: Local 188.  The meal was brunch; something that not many realize they serve.  At the prime brunch hour (11AM), there was no line at all, but the place was sill comfortably full.  2 of our party of 4 arrived 20 minutes early, but the waitress was still quick to seat us at a table fit for 6.  Good for us, bad for the family of 6 that arrived shortly after.  Our waiter in the fine man-apron kept us filled with coffee and one of the finest mimosas on the peninsula.  The lexi-bun (a warm cinnamon bun served in a bowl) was as a fantastic starter.  A few orders of well adorned scrambled eggs (mushrooms, onions, cheddar, etc.) were received with applause, but not a standing o.  Ditto for the huevos rancheros.  Net net; a solid brunch choice, but not somewhere you would want to go week after week.  Skipping over the middle meal and heading right into dinner at Downtown Lounge.  The atmosphere is quite different from the previous candidate.  Cramped and dingy.  Still, this is part of the allure.  The dining group was cut in half, as was the range of ordering.  The spinach, onion and goat cheese turnover with mushrooms and garlic cream sauce turned out to be the only thing necessary for a prompt judgment.  Downtown Lounge takes the food vote, even with their small and understaffed kitchen.  Wise Sunday diners were seated comfortably in one of the 5 or 6 booths.  Those of us left to spots at the bar were lucky enough to enjoy the company of sullen regulars sipping one too many cocktails for a Sunday night. Local 188 redux takes the atmosphere card hands down.  That leaves a tie.  Can you call a draw in a caucus?