Includes five tastings paired with three drinks. New: A Toast to Maine tour focused on locally sourced food paired with land-to-bottle beverages, offered July to October.Scales and East Ender are out, replaced by Street & Co., and Luke’s Lobster (opening early June).I joined a media preview tour to get a taste of the program highlighting Maine farmers, fishermen, foragers, and chefs. ![]() It’s an enlightening way to visit six noted Portland restaurants. The three-hour luncheon taste and tell, created by Sarah and Bryce Hach, visits six in-town restaurants that go beyond the bottom line to responsibly source local and sustainable fare. New England seafood chowder kicks off Portland’s new Maine Food for Thought walking tour. They also sell some prepared seafood items like the locally smoked Maine shrimp and smoked mussels.The cold smoked seafood had a sweet smokey flavor and delicate texture that would be perfect for a cocktail party.Pair a grazing lunch with discussions covering responsibly sourced, local and sustainable fare on the Maine Food for Thought tour, which visits six noted Portland restaurants. Stepping inside you’ll find two huge lobster tanks, a variety of oysters and shellfish and a few friendly fishmongers ready to help you pick out the day’s best catch. Judging from the steady flow of customers (some of who appear to have stepped from the pages of a Herman Melville novel) and the line of boats at the back dock, this place is the real deal. Family owned and operated for over 40 years this is the local’s choice for Maine’s best seafood. We made our way back toward the waterfront to a Portland institution, the Harbor Fish Market. Yep, pine syrup and it was quite refreshing. My favorite libation here was the lumberjack, an intriguing drink made with pine syrup. You’ll find classic flavor combos like cherry-lime and orange-cream but Johanna thinks outside the box too. Owner Johanna Corman takes the high art of the cocktail and applies it to beverages everyone can enjoy. A quick jaunt across the street lies Vena’s Fizz House, a craft soda bar. Teetotalers, there’s something on this tour for you as well. It wasn’t too sweet but offered up a classic maple flavor with a smooth caramel finish. The showstopper here was their maple smash, a blend of maple syrup and brandy. Known for their award winning Back River Gin, they also offer a vareity of liquors featuring classic Maine flavors like blueberry and cranberry. As nice as it was outside we had some tasting to do, and it wasn’t long before we came upon Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery. ![]() The sunny weather made for a pleasant stroll through the Old Port section of the city and Chris regaled us with tales of the history of Portland. The espresso balsamic was sweet and complex, I loved it so much I brought a bottle to take home. We then moved on to the sweeter side of thing sampling fruit drizzled with their award winning balsamic glazes(chocolate and espresso). ![]() ![]() The mac and cheese was a foil to sample some of their delicious finishing salts which ranged from spicy curry to savory cinnamon but the standout for me was their fiery sichuan salt. No butter or cream, this lobster mac was made with Parmesan cheese water created by sous vide which resulted in a luscious sauce with much less guilt. First up was a decadent mac and cheese featuring Maine’s finest crustacean. We met our guide Chris, a former Culinary Institute of America administrator, and quickly got down to the tasty business of eating. The tour began at Vervacious, a specialty foods shop offering up hand-blended spice mixes,salts and vinegars.
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