Portland207

The Porthole (20 Custom House Wharf):  Where Portland spends its Sundays.  This sister establishment to the Comedy Connection has a huge deck right on the harbor.  It is rumored that a few people have fallen through the rickety boards that separate patrons from the water below, but things seemed pretty stable upon last visit.  The outside bar is fully operational for Reggae Sundays, which runs from 3 to 7pm.  Wide open and very dog friendly.

Joes Boat House (One Spring Point Drive – South Portland):  As if Marina Bay in Quincy, MA was cloned and plopped down in SoPo.  The food is reasonably good, though the beer selection is lacking.  No signs of any summer ales on the brief list.  The deck is sun splashed until about 3 and you can look out on the outer harbor.  Off the beaten path and hard enough to find that most tourists won’t make the journey. 

Silly's (40 Washington Ave):  Tucked behind this Washington Street institution is what may be the most unique patio in town.  The tables are crafted from large rope spools and each is equipped with its own survival kit.  The contents of which are menus, napkins, other dining accessories and a deck of cards.  Not that they are needed.  A pitcher of sangria helps pass the time while waiting for your food.  The sweet wine is served in half and whole sizes.  The half pitcher is enough for 2 or 3 people to get a bit loopy before/during dinner.  The food is as eclectic as the décor.  The chicken in a boat, which is essentially a Pad Thai chimichanga, is a must order, as are the fired pickles.  There is a little garden abutting the patio that is open for pre or post meal wondering.  This is the type of place that you hope stays around for a long long time.  It has already persevered for 19.9 years. 

Eve’s at the Garden - Portland Harbor Hotel (468 Fore Street):  The patio is sizable, though fairly sterile.  Surrounded by the Portland Harbor Hotel on 3 sides and an office building on 1, the patio is sunless by 6pm or so.  Still, a nice place to spend a post work happy hour.  Appetizers are half price from 5 to 7pm each day.  They are clearly making up for the loss of gross margin on the food through a boost in cocktail prices.  Specialty drinks are up between $10 and $14 and a standard cocktail is pushing $9.  

Amigo's (9 Dana Street):  Part of the all star line up of dives on Wharf Street.  They may have the worst bathroom in all of Portland, but beers are cheap and they have a decent little patio.  It has picnic tables, an outside bar and there is generally the haze of cigarette smoke in the air.  When you need relief, head inside, play a trek on Safari Edition Big Buck Hunter and feast off of candy and nuts from the vending machines bolted the posts throughout the bar.  

Sure, Chellie has raised way more $$ than any other democratic candidate, but she also has one of the sweetest bands around playing at her rally tonight.  Reason enough to swing by Space and plunk down the suggested $10.  In addition to The Toughcats, there will be a cash bar and whoopee pies.  6:30 to 9:00PM.

Just strolled out of the office for the afternoon pick-me-up at Arabica and ran into the Rustic Overtones (they should really get a proper website) playing on a rooftop overlooking Monument Square.  As of 4pm, they are above the B of A, presumably on the deck outside of the WBLM offices.  Heard some Rooms by the Hour songs, but did not hear any of the new stuff before I had to retreat from the sun and return to my office.  Just a reminder that MENSK is hosting an event just up the street in Congress Square today.  Earth Day whatnot.  It runs until 6pm or so this evening.

80s time.  Again.  If you didn’t make it to Bubba’s last eve, head to The Big Easy tonight to rock it with The Awesome.  Portland’s coveted cover band takes the stage 10pm.  Prepare to Wang Chung.

St. Paddy’s is nearly here and the anticipation s palpable.  This town holds its Irish haunts in high regards.  Each is rolling out the green carpet in its own way.  Bull Feeny’s takes the award for the first pint slung of the day.  Kegs and Eggs kick off at 6:00am at Feeny’s.  Corn beef and cabbage will replace the eggs starting at noon.  Ri Ra and Brian Boru open their doors shortly after at 8:00am.  All will be serving traditional Irish fare and will have live music throughout the day and night to celebrate the great snake herder, Saint Patrick.  Even the non-Irish establishments are getting involved.  $3 Deweys is pouring Harp and Smithwicks for $2.75 and the mysterious White Heart is holding some sort of shrouded Irish celebration.  If you wish to escape the fiddles and Irish crooning, The Big Easy is holding its standard Monday night open mic hip-hop night.  Good luck out there.

Oxford Collapse will be in Portland, Maine this Tuesday (3/11).  They are playing Space.  These guys are the Vampire Weekend of 2 years ago.  From the mean streets of Brooklyn instead of the ivy clad walls of Columbia.  The trio’s sound is straightforward but unique, even in the crowded indie landscape.  Their last album, Remember the Night Parties was well received.  Even Pitchfork liked it.  Their pace is sometimes hard to settle into, but their songs are catchy and addictive.  Somewhere between punk and pop.  The show starts at 9:00pm and is only 8 bucks.  Go.

An evening with Ryanhood at the North Star Café (225 Congress Street in the East End).  Friday the 29th at 8:00PM.  This duo currently hails from AZ, but cut their musical teeth in the Boston underground.  Former subway buskers on their way to indie greatness.  Since forming in 2003, Ryan Green and Cameron Hood have been staples of the college touring circuit but their fan base is much broader.  Their quick fingered acoustic sound and witty crowd banter lends itself nicely to the musical tastes of New Englanders.  Their songs are nimble, harmonic and buoyant.  You can’t help by smile after crowd favorites like Back Into Blue and Welcome You Into My Head.  The intimate North Star Café is a perfect venue for Ryan and Hood, who relish interaction with their audiences.  Part coffee shop, part restaurant, part bar, part venue; it is one of the best places for live music in Portland.  Enjoy.

Good music makes a guest appearance in Portland.  Black Mountain is playing tonight at Space.  These long-haired hippies from the country to our North are out promoting their latest album In the Future.  They are one of the better groups to come through Portland in a while and are playing one of the best venues in town.  The always over-zealous folks at Rolling Stone gave their latest offering 3.5 stars out of 5.  For a more rounded review, go to Pitchfork Media.  Their sound can best be described as what would happen if you dropped 3 Zeppelin albums, a Sabbath tape and a few spoonfuls of MMJ into a blender and hit puree for 30 seconds.  What the critics have dubbed, “psychedelic stoner rock.”  Right.  Go to their website to watch a video of their appearance on Conan O’Brien last week to draw your own conclusions.  More info on start time etc. in the To Do section.

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.