30-something hours in Portland, Maine
Please enjoy my first—and probably my last—travel guide
Let me kick this off by saying I’m not a travel guide girl. It’s not my area of expertise and I think it’s best left to the pros (FYI Yolo Journal guides are works of art). However, my sister and I took a quick weekend trip to Portland at the end of June and we ate, shopped, and stayed at some really sweet spots. Putting this post together is just as much for my benefit as it is yours. I don’t want to forget what we did, and hopefully you find my anecdotes entertaining enough to keep reading. Let’s get into it.
SHOP
I swear you could plop me anywhere in the world and I would somehow navigate to the best shopping instinctually on my own. It’s like there’s this intense gravitational pull guiding me to places that make me want to empty out my wallet. Here are the highlights:
I saw the turquoise blue façade from a block away and knew I was going to love whatever was inside of it. Did you ever play dress up when you were younger? The eclectic mix of new and vintage treasures in this shop gave me the same thrill of excitement as putting on one of my mom’s dresses as a kid. We’re talking vintage french silverware, block printed quilts, Il Buco Vita splatterware, Weck jars in every size under the sun, and the most curated edit of bath and beauty essentials. I came thisclose to buying a red and white striped italian toothbrush, but successfully talked myself out of it.
I could have spent hours in Judith. I only took 3 photos because my hands were too busy touching every item in the store. It is such a joy to browse through a space that has been so meticulously merchandised. The shop was really pared back design-wise (white walls and shelving, natural wood floors, thin racks), but it relied on the colors and textures of the clothing to add energy to the space. I still can’t stop thinking about the fuchsia swimsuit below.
Shelves upon shelves of spices, rubs, salts, and sugars. Obviously, seeing all of these uniformed jars all lined up was very ~aesthetically~ pleasing. I couldn’t walk out empty-handed and took a small jar of the Tzatziki spice blend home with me.
A mix of all the good stuff: local pottery, french and italian imported pottery, block printed linens, tapered candles in every color under the sun, and french-milled soaps. I’m attracted to a wall of linens like a moth to a flame and spent a good chunk of time making my picks. I’m pretty pleased with my pattern mixing.
Shopping we missed out on:
Not only is it an adorably curated shop, it has one of Anastasia Inciardi’s mini print vending machines!!! $1 for a cute handmade linocut print!!! I knew about this and completely forgot. Ugh. Here’s a list of all the shops that have one of her vending machines. If you visit one, please send me a pic of what print you get.
EAT
One of my colleagues lives just north of Portland and sent us her top restaurant recommendations (TY, Kate!). We worked our way through her list of recs throughout the weekend and had some incredible meals that I’m still thinking about weeks later. Let’s dig in (lol, I had to):
Let me just say that if we weren’t seated at the bar, I may have literally licked my plate clean. We ate every last crumb of the sourdough focaccia pizza (so light and fluffy), and clearly we tried to scrape up every last bit of the pesto genovese pasta. This was the pinnacle of pesto pasta. Unless I’m in Italy, it won’t get better than this. Also, can I just say: I love a bar seat.
Classic diner breakfast food is always a good idea. Just the kind of fuel you need before a full day of popping in and out of shops.
We stopped by Standard Baking Co. for a sugary treat to tide us over until dinner. Most of their offerings were sold out (we went around 3PM), but we were happy with our lemon tart and rye chocolate chip cookie.
Somehow lucked out with the perfect window seat at the downstairs bar. The people watching was almost as good as the drinks and shared plates (chili spice fries, smoked carrots, and fried cauliflower).
We made a game plan to go to Tandem right when it opened at 8AM to beat the crowds… and we still had a 20 minute wait. Not that I’m complaining! The building is a converted 1960s gas station with the coolest vibe. We each got a box of pastries to take home with us, and I may have fallen in love with their buttermilk biscuit, rhubarb hazelnut scone, and chocolate cornmeal fennel cookie (I just really love sweet treats).
Our last meal before we hit the road. Fried potatoes, seeded sourdough toast + soft scrambled eggs, and panna cotta parfait (with homemade granola and passion fruit curd!).
Food we missed out on:
Scales - It feels so wrong that we went to Maine and didn’t have any seafood. I would also need to sample all of their house-made breads.
Norimoto Bakery - 2024 James Beard Award winner for outstanding Baker/PastryChef!
STAY
I was planning on booking an AirBnB for the weekend, but was happily surprised to find that some of the boutique hotels in the area had lower rates. We stayed at The Francis and really enjoyed it. It’s a beautifully restored historic mansion with high ceilings, exposed brick, and lots of natural light (also loved the hardwood floors). It was a fifteen minute walk to all of the restaurants and shopping. The best part? It’s directly across the street from Tandem Coffee & Bakery.
And there you have it. A pretty packed 30-something hours if you ask me.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!
x C
