Dinner at Fore Street in Portland, ME

I had made a reservation for Fore Street in advance of arriving in Portland because the reviews are so glowing and it's a popular spot.  The owners also have a few other restaurants, but this seemed to be slightly higher in terms of praise and the menu looked most interesting.  The service was great and we could see the chefs cooking in an open area nearby.  The food was all well executed with great flavors.  We ate too much though so was definitely coma-ing hard after.

Food menu 1

Food menu 2

Drink menu

Bread w/butter and salt and pepper

Wood oven roasted pork belly with potatoes, kale, and smoky tomato vinaigrette 

Summer tomato tart with butter pastry, goat cheese mousse, and balsamico.  My fav thing we ate and no meat!

Awesome scallop dish with green beans

Marinated natural half chicken -  witth duck fat fried sourdough, shallots, and wilted greens

Light-ish dessert cake w/ice cream

Happy Hour at Portland Hunt and Alpine Club in Portland, ME

We took a little break then hit up Portland Hunt and Alpine Club for happy hour.  We were obviously full but had to try the speck as Dan wanted some meat and we were in this meat-named establishment.  It was delicious and felt light after the slab of cheese.  The drinks were wonderful and cheap since it was HH.  No one was really there because it was early but it was nice not having to fight people for the bartender's attention like in NY.  Great spot.  Had we more time, would've been nice to come back at night and try some of the many cocktails.

Classy drink menu

fun bathroom decor

Speck with pistachio gremolata.  Yummm

my happy hour punch drink

Lunch at Slab Pizza in Portland, ME

After our lobster roll, we hit up Slab Pizza for happy hour.  Besides drink deals, the cheese slices were only $3.25.  I thought we were clear in telling the waiter that we only wanted one slice for both of us, but he thought we meant one slice per person.  Which I guess for a normal pizza place that's what I would think too, but each slice is literally one pound in weight and bigger than my face.  It looked like we barely made a dent in them even though we gave it a real try.  We took the leftovers back but since we didn't have an oven, didn't really get to fully enjoy another time.  Definitely a must-try in Portland.  The value is insane but the pizza also was delicious sicilian style.

Cider and beer.  In retrospect, probably made us more full but we it was happy hour

I'm not sure if you can truly appreciate how massive these were

One slice that easily could've been shared by us both

After.  It looks like we didn't eat anything!

Super special patent flour for these gigantic slices

Lunch at Portland Lobster Company in Portland, ME

Our first food stop in Portland was for a lobster roll!  Since we had so many food places we wanted to hit, we decided to just get one lobster roll and eat it as an appetizer before hitting up some other places.  We sat outside on the dock and got to see a wonderful live band.  It was beautiful out - warm but not too warm, and while it took awhile for the food to come out, it was delicious and in the most perfect setting possible.  Great start to our trip!

Beer and cute lobster-shaped buzzer

View of the band

Delicious lobster roll and fries

another shot

Dinner at Buddy Who's in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to Buddy Who's for happy hour and got a crazily cheap dinner.  Their beer was super cheap as well, but it's hard to find great food deals for HH in JC.  I loved everything we had, though the menu was limited.  Still, a great deal for food and drinks so can't be mad at the limited options.

shot of most of what we ordered

Fried pickles $5

Buffalo chicken wings $5

Short rib pancake sliders with pico de gallo and guacamole $5

Dinner at Wurstbar in Jersey City, NJ

Dan and I went to Wurstbar, which is definitely one of our go-to spots in JC.  They had a new menu with lots of delicious enticing, yet unhealthy options.  We got a new poutine, which had fried chicken and alabama white sauce.  Insane. 

new menu

Dan's huge beer next to my teeny tiny cider

Sally Mae fries - haus cut fried, buttermilk fried chicken, haus mac and cheese, alabama white bbq sauce

The Birdman - buttermilk fried chicken, alabama purple slaw, dill pickles. Great flavor but missed the schnitzel 

Da Blu Burger - bacon jam, blue cheese, caramelized onion, truffle aioli.  Great flavors and love that their sammies always comes on hawaiian sweet rolls

Lunch from Honeygrow in Brooklyn, NY

I tried Honeygrow for lunch and got a delicious, ginormous salad that lasted for two meals.  They have ipads to order, which was nice in terms of being quick and avoiding any messed up orders.  The portion was huge and filling and since I ate it over two days, was actually not bad price-wise.  I loved that cashews were an option.  They added great crunch and made the meal feel even more filling.

Salad with green kale, spinach, wheat berries, chicken, mushrooms, white beans, corn, cranberries, sweet and spicy cashews and walnut lemon dressing