Visitor's Guide 2023-2024

PERFECTION to make your way to Maine this year.

are both owned by Krista Cole, a 2023 James Beard Award semi-finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur. Experience Maine’s ground to glass distillery, Cold River Vodka, made with Maine potatoes. And see if you can catch the Portland Board VW bus serving up locally-curated fixings on their delectable charcuterie boards at breweries, kombucharies, distilleries, wineries, and beyond. (You might catch them on a tour with Maine Day Ventures or Maine Brews Cruise!) While high-quality, regional ingredients are a great start, Portland has much more to offer aspiring restaurateurs. High-quality chefs and culinary creators flock to the region to bring their talents and co-mingle in friendly competition with the best of what Greater Portland has to offer in its food scene. CULTURE OF CREATIVITY & COMPETITION Art and culture are major draws for visitors to Greater Portland year-round. Creativity feeds creativity, and the dining scene is no exception. Meals are tastefully and expertly prepared as if the plate were a canvas, and served to diners in intentionally designed spaces. From the regionally evocative color palettes to the chosen elements and materials, interior lighting and ambiance, down to the images, graphic design, and descriptive language that graces the menus—a careful artisan touch infuses the spaces where diners await their next handcrafted meal. This visual vocabulary that expresses Portland throughout the vast and varied eateries infuses each experience with an unmistakably Portland vibe. Blended with the amazing array of pristine ingredients, craftsmen that are extraordinarily passionate about producing top quality dishes, and an atmosphere reflecting sense of place …you’re experiencing Portland’s unique food culture. And in the midst of this culmination of creativity and culture, there is an ambitious rallying cry by the chefs and culinary community to infuse the delightful act of eating with careful intentionality and artistry. This fusion gains momentum as the salty city ‘ups its game’ in a type of culinary competition where ferociously delicious delicacies are the results, and the diners are always the winners.

PHOTOS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ROBERT WITKOWSKI; DAWSON RENAUD / SUR LIE; BYERS AND SONS LONG ISLAND BAKEHOUSE; SERENA FOLDING; DAWSON RENAUD / GATHER

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