Exploring Biddeford to Portland, Maine (Part 2)

As I mentioned yesterday in Part 1 of this article, this past weekend, I traveled to the Biddeford/Portland region for a short vacation, and had lots of fun exploring this area. Yesterday, I discussed the places I visited in Biddeford, and on route to Portland. Today, I'll mention some of the interesting places I visited in Portland. Some of these stops were preplanned, while others I stumbled upon while wandering through the streets of Portland. Please also note that there were plenty of interesting places I didn't visit, but hope to check out on a future trip. 

Our first stop was at the Browne Trading Company, located at 262 Commercial Street, Portland, on Merrill's Wharf. They sell fresh seafood, caviar, gourmet foods, and also have a large wine selection. I've been here before and always stop when I return to Portland. The gourmet food section has lots of intriguing options, and I could have bought plenty but I had some restraint, knowing I'd be visiting lots of other shops during my trip. However, I did purchase three more unique Japanese soy sauces, including a Mizunara Whisky Barrel Aged Shoyu (pictured above), a White Shoyu and a Smoked Shoyu. Looking forward to tasting these intriguing new sauces.

I also bought a Spicy Cajun Fish Jerky, made from Wild Pacific Rockfish. I've had fish jerky before and enjoyed it so I expect I will like this one as well.

Browne has an excellent wine selection, including plenty of high-end wines, as well as some more unique wines. Although I could have easily bought a case or more of wine, I finally decided to just buy a couple Sherries, including a Palo Cortado and Manzanilla. 

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We then continued to walk down Commercial Street, stopping at whatever shops caught our eye. Portland Dry Goods, at 235 Commercial Street, is a high-end clothing store for men and women. Beautiful clothes, but high-priced as well. Portland has a number of high-end clothing shops, and many of us are more likely just to browse rather than actually buy anything, unless you really want to splurge.

Old Port Wine Merchants, at 223 Commercial Street, is another wine shop which also sells cigars. They have a good selection of wines and I ended up buying a 10 Year Old White Port, which is a difficult wine to find. 

Local Color Design, at 221 Commercial Street, is a design store, selling a wide variety of items, from tableware to pillows, purses to artwork. At this shop, I was most impressed by their Gyotaku prints, which you can check out at Joe's Fresh Fish Prints. The fish prints, made by a local fisherman, were so compelling, and the process of creation is fascinating. 

There is location of Holy Donut at 177 Commercial Street, a great place to grab a snack while you are wandering the shops.

LeRoux Kitchen, at 161 Commercial Street, is a two-story, kitchen supply store, with a variety of kitchen implements and machines, as well as some foods, from olive oil to coffee and tea. 

We then headed to check into our hotel room, at the Westin Portland Harborview, at 157 High Street. The hotel was very nice, and in a good central location for walking around Portland. The hotel has a restaurant for breakfast and dinner, as well as a lounge on the top floor. 

Our first dinner in Portland was at Street & Co., a seafood restaurant located at 33 Wharf Street. The restaurant was established in 1989, and has a simple elegance to it. The menu is nearly all seafood, without a steak or burger in sight. Salads/Appetizer prices range from $10-$18 and Entree prices generally range from $36-$40. 

We began our dinner ordering the two appetizer specials, including the above Scallop Crudo ($18). Silky pieces of delicious scallop, tasty flavors of citrus, and the crunch of pine nuts. Fresh, clean and excellent. 

The Salt Cod Brandade ($20) was creamy and rich, with a fine, salty element, and the touch of crispness from the browned topping. I love salt cod so this was a very good choice. 

The Grilled Lobster on Linguine ($56/MP), in butter and garlic, was a 1 1/4 pound lobster, where the tail was easy to slide out and you just needed to crack the claws. Sweet lobster meat, enhanced by the butter and lots of garlic in the sauce, with nicely firm linguine. If you're in Maine, you probably should have lobster at least once during your trip. 

The Grilled Albacore Tuna ($38) is accompanied by Roast Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts, in a Romesco and Sherry Reduction. The thick pieces of tuna were tender and flavorful, enhanced by the intriguing flavors of the reduction. The veggies were fresh as well. 

For our dinner, we ordered a bottle of the 2020 Vale D. Maria Vinhas Do Sabor Branco ($75), a Portuguese white wine which is a blend of Viosinho, Rabigato and Arinto. Fresh and elegant, with excellent fruit flavors, crisp acidity, and a long finish. It went very well with the seafood. 

Overall, this was an excellent dining experience, with very tasty seafood. Service was excellent as well. If you're seeking a higher-end seafood restaurant, then I would highly recommend Street & Co.

After dinner, rather than ordering dessert, we left and stopped at Gelato Fiasco, for a creamy and delicious Coconut Gelato in a waffle cone. 

To Be Continued...