Saturday in Portland

The Saturday of Labor Day Weekend we went to my favorite city in Maine, Portland. Because no stop in Portland is complete without lunch at Duckfat, that was our first stop.

I love Duckfat and have been coming here for years. Lunch is always fantastic and it's a wonderful little restaurant with a great concept - the belgian style fries are fried in duckfat. I love it!


I started with an Allagash white. I love this beer and the last time we were in Portland we went on a tour of the brewery.

And next we had a large order of the friends with truffle ketchup, garlic aioli and duckfat gravy. The same dipping sauces we've been getting for years but it works! For lunch we also split a sandwich - the special of the day which was a bacon and cheddar pannini with dijon apple butter. Crispy and delicious!

My only problem with Duckfat is that I wish it were in Cambridge!






Next we made a quick stop at a bookstore. We ended up with two books, one on canning and the other on charcuterie - should make for a fun winter!


Continuing the kitchen-stocking trip, we headed to LeRoux Kitchen to get some essentials.




LeRoux kitchen has a great selection of vinegars and olive oils so we tasted a a lot, and chose a few to take home. This trip to Portland came just in time, since we were out of our stock form last year. There are creative vinegars like chocolate and raspberry, as well as oils from Spain and Chile.




They also have a few beers in stock, so I picked up a Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin Ale to enjoy this fall.

And then, our final stop and one of the greatest places in all of Portland, The Great Lost Bear.




There were so many great beers on tap to chose from! It has best Belgian beer selection I had ever seen! I had another Allagash, but this time I chose the four.

Allagash Four is brewed with four malts, four hops, four sugars and four Belgian yeast strains. During the mashing process, we add Date Sugar to the mash tun. Later, during the boil, we add Light Candi, Dark Candi, and Light Golden Molasses. After primary fermentation with the first strain of yeast, we add more Candi Sugar, and referment the beer with a secondary strain of yeast... that process is then repeated with a third strain of yeast, and finally a fourth for bottle conditioning in the cellar. The Allagash Four Ale is presented in a strikingly decorated bottle, and is truly a unique beer! (source)



Portland is a beautiful coastal city with so much to see and enjoy. It has fantastic restaurants and great bars, I can't wait to go back and I definitely recommend a trip!