Dining & Entertainment in Portland (Scarborough, Kennebunk: hotels, compensation, live)

[silvermist37]

What are the best places to take my daughter and her husband when they visit from out of state? Are there any particular festivals going on the third week in June?

[lrfox]

I would say to go to Hugo's for dinner. My second dinner suggestion would be Fore Street. Prices at both are reasonable for fine dining (with wine and appetizer plus entrees you're looking at around $70-100 per person) and the food is good. Casual atmosphere for both- no dress code. Grab lunch at Duckfat (try the fries) on Middle St. which is very casual (order at the counter and bring the food to your table or get it to go) but quite good. If she and her husband want a "romantic" night out and a reasonably priced dinner, have them check out Bresca which is very small, but nice and the food is well done.

I would consider spending a few hours just walking the Old Port one afternoon. Maybe bring a picnic to the Eastern Promenade. If they enjoy architecture, check out the West End historic district. There's always the Art Museum too. I'm not aware of any festivals going on, but there is probably something.

A trip over to Peak's Island might be nice. You can never go wrong by heading down to Fort William State Park in Cape Elizabeth either. There you can walk around, relax at the beach or check out the Portland Head Lighthouse.

[johnnybc]

This looks like a good thread to ask this question, Entertainment!! Irfox, in another thread you mention the bars are confined to the 6 or 7 on warf st, and there are no city type nightclubs. I was hoping to move to town and play jazz and blues in supper clubs and nightclubs (bars), I always thought there was a good scene in Portland, is that truue, much live music? restauurants where a guitar and string bass could play for $100 plus dinner, and bluesy dance clubs for an R&B band??

[fxtrader]

I haven't been there in a few years but the big easy was always a good jazz, r&b club.

[lrfox]

fx, the big easy is still going strong. It plays host to ALL sorts of live music (and DJ's every now and then).

Johnnybc, while I'm not thrilled with Portland's nightlife as a whole, I don't think it's a bad place to play with a band (or solo). Portland actually has a pretty good live, local music scene but it's mostly rock. I think you'd have to be willing to think outside the box to make it work though. The 7 or 8 bars on Wharf St. (an area called the "Old Port") are really pubs. Some have DJ's and others have cover type bands, but none that I know of in that area regularly host Jazz Bands. The Big Easy (link above) hosts jazz bands every now and then, but it's not your prototypical jazz club. I would inquire with them directly about scheduling and compensation.

The restaurant route would be your best bet, particularly some just outside the city (the nice old Inns and hotels in the area often have Jazz bands). I know my parents have listened to Jazz at the Top of the East (http://www.eastlandparkhotel.com/lounge.htm - broken link) in the Eastland Park Hotel. You could look into playing there. I know someone who works at the Blackpoint Inn in Scarborough which just started hosting a well attended Jazz night (Tuesdays I think?) so calling them could be a good idea as she mentioned they're still looking for acts to play the event. You'd likely add more potential places to your list if you were willing to drive down towards Kennebunk, Ogunquit, and York on any given day too (though I still don't know about compensation).

I don't think Portland would be a bad idea at all. Can I ask where in New England you're considering moving from? Also, what else are you looking to Portland for besides a good place to play? Locating between Portland and Portsmouth (say, Wells or Kennebunk) may be a good idea because that way you can take advantage of both Portland and Southern Maine as well as Portsmouth and the Seacoast and likely double your potential venues (Portsmouth is only 45 minutes from Portland anyway).

[55plus in DC]

Hi - any veggie places in Portland ? or at least veggie friendly ? considering a move from DC area in a few years I'm mostly vegetarian.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by 55plus in DC

Hi - any veggie places in Portland ? or at least veggie friendly ? considering a move from DC area in a few years I'm mostly vegetarian.

Despite the sheer amount of restaurants and eateries in Portland, there are not many that are exclusively vegetarian, although most will have vegetarian options to some extent.

Off the top of my head there is the Green Elephant on Congress St., which is one of the few restaurants that is totally vegetarian/vegan. There is O'Natural's, which is a chain and can be described as 'gross' or 'good' depending on who you talk to. Little Lads Bakery, also on Congress, is vegetarian/vegan. Passage To India will have many vegetarian options Artimisia Cafe, while not strictly vegetarian, will have many options. Katahdin, also not strictly vegetarian, has many vegetarian dishes, some that are even vegan. The Pepperclub has a lot of vegetarian dishes.

Happy Teriyaki, Chang Mai Thai, and Thai Chef have many vegetarian options and Thai Chef is probably the only place in Maine that has multiple tofu dishes in their buffet line.

Aside from that, you can hit up any of the Japanese restaurants around town as they have many vegetarian options and tend to not use chicken, pork, or fish broth to flavor their vegetarian dishes like many Chinese and Mexican restaurants do.

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

what about the ferry rides????

[Maineah]

Hey it's July 6th and these folks have already gone home.