“You had a couple of pinball machines and a jukebox, and you came in and got your bottle of soda and a toasted cheese sandwich or a hot dog and got your butt out of here. “Back then, people could come down here and wait for the ferries, and it was more like the old (Miss Portland) diner, just a long, skinny room with a counter,” Macgowan said. (Family rumor has it the Porthole first opened in 1929.)Īt that time, the Casco Bay Lines ferries were docking at Custom House Wharf. First of all, Custom House Wharf has been in his family for decades, and his stepfather, John Macgowan, was one of the original owners of the Porthole, running the place after the Korean War, through the 1950s and early 1960s. Macgowan had a couple of reasons for wanting to buy the Porthole. Why would a businessman like Macgowan want to tackle reopening the Porthole when he’s never owned a restaurant before, which is something like going to bat for the Sea Dogs when you’ve seen plenty of baseball but have never actually played the game? And what are the challenges he’s facing? “I’m very excited to be a part of this,” he said, “and kind of help rebuild what we lost over the last year.” Poirier said he thinks the re-opening of the Porthole, along with the efforts of his former boss, Harding Lee Smith, to open a seafood restaurant at the old Boone’s on Custom House Wharf, will “bring some new life” into the area. After stints as executive sous chef and executive chef at some restaurants in Florida, Poirier returned to Maine in 2010 and helped re-open and redesign the menus at Diamond’s Edge and the Falmouth Sea Grill. The chef at the new Porthole Restaurant & Pub will be Jesse Poirier, a Portland native who has worked at some of the city’s best-known restaurants, including Miyake, Cinque Terre, Vignola and the Front Room Restaurant and Bar. If anybody wants to go out and meet the chef, he’s going to be fully available.” We’re going to have a nice kitchen, and it’s going to be open. We’ll welcome you into our kitchen and you can see what we’re doing in there. “If someone comes in and says ‘What about the rats?’ we’re going to tell them what we did to take care of that issue. “We’re not afraid to bring up the rat issue,” he said. His target opening date? April 1, a choice he says is “the greatest April Fool’s joke in the world.” He adds, laughing, that’s he’s considered putting something like ratatouille on the opening day menu.ĭespite the jokes, when it comes to turning the Porthole back into one of the city’s most popular breakfast and brunch spots, Macgowan is completely serious.
I loved the lobsta sandwich, clam chowder, and crab cakes! The sandwich had a nice thin dressing that highlighted the taste of the lobster and did not take away from it. We loved this place so much we returned later for a late lunch. The effort they put into the dishes is clearly seen and it is evident that the food is all made from scratch. My fiance's meal had homemade sausages (PACKED with flavor) and homefries with sweet potato in them.
There hasnt been any place in the US that I have been that even comes close to the flavor packed into this side dish. I order Hash every single place we go because it is my favorite breakfast side. It was by far the best breakfast joint we had ever been. it was completely and utterly 100% worth the wait. I have to admit that I got a little frustrated when we got to 1 hr past ordering and we still hadn't received our food yet.
I ordered huevos rancheros with a side of hash and my fiance ordered the fishermans breakfast. When we entered the "dive" we were hit with this amazing character of the place. We went there this weekend after visiting this site and looking for places close to old orchard beach. This restaurant is amazing!! It is so unassuming on the outside you barely notice it and likely wouldnt even drive down the street it is located on if you weren't a local.
0 kommentar(er)
