Portland Monthly Magazine December 2017

m e n u w i n d fa l l s | d e c o n s t r u c t i n g b u b b ly

Do g

Old Port Of The

Cast l e DECember 2017 Vol. 32 NO. 9 $5.95

w w w. p o rt l a n d m ag a z i n e . co m Maine’s city magazine

by The

Sea

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C i t y

M a g a z i n e

TM

December

M a i n e ’ s

57 Personalities

Food&Drink

On the street and off the leash.

Meet the four-legged residents who are the denizens, habitués, and defining furry personalities of our city.

From Staff & Wire Reports Photos by Meaghan Maurice

Local chefs discuss the impulsive entrees they add to chalkboards at the very last minute–where creativity and their diners win.

By Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya

39 Old Port Pups

53 Everyday Sommelier

12 From the Editor 14 Letters

“Tasting the Stars” Add sparkle to your holiday celebrations.

By Ralph Hersom

55 L’Esprit de l’Escalier

56 Dining Guide

Perspectives from left: meaghan maurice ; town and shore realty; casey jacques

49 Hungry Eye

“Tiny Gifts” A coin purse carries memories into adulthood.

By Rhea Côté Robbins

112 Flash

57 Restaurant Review

The Portland Harbor Hotel’s restaurant, reimagined.

By Claire Z. Cramer

93 19 Maine Life

16 Maine Classics 19 Concierge 20 Experience 25 Chowder 27 Portland After Dark

“Around the World in Eight Drinks” Cheaper than round-the-world flights, Portland’s array of international bars transports you to distant destinations with just one sip.

By Madison Andrews

Art&Style 109 Fiction

“The Great White Whale”

By Dylan Robinson

Shelter&Design 93 House of the Month

Find romance in your own shorefront castle in Cape Elizabeth.

By Colin W. Sargent

104 New England Homes & Living

33 This is the Year Your Ship Comes In

What are Maine’s banks and credit unions doing for you this year?

By Christopher Murray

60 The Holiday Gift List

Celebrate in style, no matter whether you’re on the naughty or nice list.

Cover: Geo on Exchange Street. Photo by Meaghan Maurice.

December 2017 11

Editorial Colin W. Sargent, Editor & Publisher

Snow Global

Simply Scandinavian 19 TEMPLE ST PORTLAND 207 874 6768 SIMPLYSCANDINAVIAN.COM 1 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

data sources: wikipedia, national climactic data center

S

now and I have always had a stormy relationship. As a Portland native, I’m familiar with the dark goat-paths we all slip and slide over when the snowplows pile the vile stuff too high. Walking home one January, legendary Portland millionaire J.B. Brown died after slipping on an icy patch of sidewalk, no doubt trimmed with lovely snow.

By April, snow and I are so over. I find myself looking at snow/weight calculators on the internet just so I can brag about how much snow I’ve shoveled. Because by then I’m tired of saying, “Cold enough for you?” Besides, I grew up shoveling driveways.

But once again, absence has made the heart grow fonder. I just caught myself oddly humming “White Christmas.” Surprise: Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is still the best-selling single of all time, according to Wikipedia and Guinness (both the beer and the book)–in spite of the preciousness. In spite of how the two words in the two-word title invite reflection.

Words do matter. Over 100 million copies of Crosby’s cover have sold.

To qualify for such a Christmas, I say snow must be falling or sticking by the end of the 25th. Melbourne, Australia, tried to sneak on the list in 2011 because of a wicked, bright, and lustrous hailstorm. Sorry, mates. Who else is in the running? According to the National Climatic Data Center, Albuquerque has a three-percent likelihood of a white Christmas this year. Portland, Oregon, has a two-percent chance on December 25, Miami one-percent. Ditto for Los Angeles. Vancouver, with its palm trees on the Pacific, checks in at 10 percent, Toronto 46 percent.

If you think I take this too personally, I do. Decades ago, my wife Nancy made me promise that her first holiday in Maine would be a snowy Christmas Eve. I reluctantly agreed. What was the big deal? I already knew snow wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

But for all my cynicism, I couldn’t change the sparkle in her eyes. I never have. “Just that first snow,” she said. “I don’t know why I love it. It puts us all in a movie, just for a second.” I grew wary of her appreciation for it. Nancy’s sense of snow was simply superior to mine. For her, it was somehow…musical.

I should have known. Snow is what you bring to it. A roaring fire. Families snuggling by the window to catch sight of the first flakes. Sharing the season’s first cup of cocoa with someone you love. And here we go again. My snow memories aren’t all bad. Actually, my profit from a winter’s shoveling of my neighbor’s driveway allowed me to go to Pine Tree Shopping Center and plunk down the cold cash for a Realistic, professional-grade, battery-operated tape-recorder for taping The Monkees and my older sister’s phone conversations. The scene I wish I had in a snow globe–my son proudly building his first snowman on the sugary side yard of a fisherman’s shack, our first home on Underwood Road in Falmouth, our collie dancing around him. And just like that, I’m dreaming.

Portland’s chance this year? Eighty-three percent.

Maine’s City Magazine 165 State Street, Portland, Maine 04101 Phone: (207) 775-4339 Fax: (207) 775-2334 www.portlandmagazine.com

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Colin W. Sargent Founding Editor & Publisher editor@portlandmonthly.com Art & Production Nancy Sargent Art Director Jesse Stenbak Associate Publisher staff@portlandmonthly.com Meaghan Maurice Design Director meaghan@portlandmonthly.com Advertising Nicole Barna Advertising Director nicole@portlandmonthly.com Per Lofving Advertising Executive per@portlandmonthly.com Eric Andreasen Advertising Executive ericandreasen@portlandmonthly.com

editorial Sarah Moore Assistant Editor & Publisher sarahm@portlandmonthly.com Olivia Gunn Kotsishevskaya Communications Director olivia@portlandmonthly.com

Diane Hudson Flash Jason Hjort Webmaster Colin S. Sargent Special Features & Archives Experience Events Portal: portlandmonthly.com/portmag/submit-an-event/ Madison Andrews Intern accounting Eric S. Taylor Controller eric@portlandmonthly.com subscriptions To subscribe please send your address and a check for $39* (1 yr.), $58* (2 yrs.), or $68* (3 yrs.) to Portland Magazine,165 State Street

Portland, ME 04101 *Add 5.5% if mailed to a Maine address. or subscribe online at www.portlandmagazine.com

Readers & Advertisers

The opinions given in this magazine are those of Portland Magazine writers. No establishment is ever covered in this magazine because it has advertised, and no payment ever influences our stories and reviews.

Portland Magazine is published by Sargent Publishing, Inc. All cor­re­spondence should be addressed to 165 State Street, Portland, ME 04101. Advertising Office: 165 State Street, Portland, ME 04101. (207) 775-4339. Repeat Internet rights are understood to be purchased with all stories and artwork. For questions regarding advertising invoicing and payments, call Eric Taylor.

Newsstand Cover Date: December 2017, published in November 2017, Vol. 32, No. 9, copyright 2017. Portland Magazine is mailed at third-class mail rates in Portland, ME 04101 (ISSN: 1073-1857). Opinions expressed in articles are those of authors and do not represent editorial positions of Portland Magazine. Letters to the editor are welcome and will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to Portland Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially. Responsible only for that portion of any advertisement which is printed incorrectly. Advertisers are responsible for copyrights of materials they submit. Nothing in this issue may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publishers. Submissions welcome, but we take no responsibility for unsolicited materials. All photography has been enhanced for your enjoyment.

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Portland Magazine is published 10 times annually by Sargent Publishing, Inc., 165 State Street, Portland, Maine, 04101, with news­stand cover dates of Winterguide, February/March, April, May, Summerguide, July/August, September, October, November, and December. We are proudly printed in the USA by Cummings Printing.

Portland Magazine is the winner of 65 American Graphic Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA for excellence in publication design.

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S T H G I R G N I G G A R EARN B

B I ST R O B L I S S F LY I N G S O LO |

17 N OV EM B E R 2 0

BRING A TEAM! WEAR A COSTUME!

GAZINE PORTLAND MA

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letters mail@portlandmonthly.com

• PLE RIGUING PEO 10 MOST I N T .8 VO L U M E 3 2 , N O

Join hundreds of brave Mainers for the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s 10th annual

POLAR BEAR DIP & DASH! SUNDAY, December 31, 2017 East End Beach, Portland

Help raise awareness AND funds in support of our work to address climate change here in Maine!

5K “warm up” run around Portland’s Back Cove trail: 11:00 a.m. (registration starts at 9:00 a.m., Back Cove parking lot, across from Hannaford).

Polar Bear Dip into Casco Bay, East End Beach: Noon (registration at 11:00 a.m., not necessary for race participants).

Shuttle will return participants to Back Cove parking lot after dip.

Cool prizes from local businesses for 5k winners by age class, top fundraisers, and for best costume!

Learn more and sign up at nrcm.org.

Be BOLD in the COLD to help protect Maine’s environment.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR LEAD SPONSORS!

1 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

OU R 18 -H OU R CIT Y

IX EVAN GEL INE REM

1O0S T

M

INTRIGUING

MAINERS

32 NO. 8 $5.95 NOV. 2017 VOL.

NE.COM ANDMAGAZI W W W. P O RT L Y MAGAZINE MAINE’S CIT

Media social [See “End Games,” October 2017.]

I love the retro social history of Maine. Kudos to the magazine for looking at the past. I had no idea Bath shipbuilding was a big deal and a major player–and I guess it still is. It’s fun looking at the people behind this massive display of wealth. I certainly would’ve rather been cruising with Billy Leeds than being “bored to death” with J. P. Morgan!

Dana M. to mail@portlandmonthly.com breathing lessons [See “Surf Lung One,” July/August 2017.]

This was a great story! I felt like I was reading about a man’s childhood that had come to life. I would definitely read more. Great job, Fred Sargent!

Kerry Angell to mail@portlandmonthly.com Eden revisited Thank you for your article “East of Eden,” published in your October issue. As two of its former owners, my wife, Catherine Mahan, and I read your update on the history of this beautiful place with fond memories.

In 1975, a small group of friends bought the property from the Ecole Arcadie and turned it back into a summer house. In 1977, Catherine and I were invited to share in the ownership of the property. With the goal of preserving the property, I took on the task of writing up an application to include it in The National Register of Historic Places.

We were gratified to see your magazine showcase this beautiful example of an historic Bar Harbor cottage. We loved the summers we spent there and are hopeful that the property, now restored to mint condition, will continue its life as an icon

Wher e Recyclin g has Always bee n in Style of a bygone era and continue to be a source of pleasure for new owners and their guests for years to come.

John W. Hill, Baltimore, MD Portland Monthly Wins Seven National Prizes at the 2017 American Graphic Design Awards Congratulations! Portland Monthly has been selected for seven individual prizes at the 2017 American Graphic Design Awards for design excellence by Graphic Design USA. Awards have been granted for Winterguide 2017 Cover; April 2017 Cover Design; Summerguide 2017 Cover; September 2017 Cover; “Surf Lung One” and “Mid East Feast” editorial features in July/August 2017; and “New Oyster Cult” editorial feature in Summerguide 2017.

“Graphic design is among the fastestgrowing professions in this country, with its importance increasingly recognized in commerce, communications, culture. The winners of the 2017 American Graphic Design Awards are among the best and brightest the creative community has to offer. And Portland Monthly’s performance is exceptional: winning even one award is very rare and winning seven is downright remarkable, placing your art and design team among the biggest winners nationally.”

Gordon Kaye, Editor/Publisher, Graphic Design USA, New York, NY

Forget Me Nots

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you respond...

This is a truly exciting achievement. You’ve brought attention and pride to Maine.

Linda Godfrey, Eastport Congratulations! The best among the Portland-area publications.

Mark DeMichele, Maine Coast Construction Corp.

Great news.

Michael C. White, Madison, CT Huge congratulations!

The Team at South Street Linen, Portland Congratulations! Well deserved.

Randy Miller, Newcastle Fantastic job! Congratulations!

Theresa McLoughlin Rosmus, Portland December 2017 15

After a decade at Portland Symphony Orchestra, music director Robert Moody will retire from the position at the close of the 2017/2018 season.

Now it’s your turn to choose from the three finalists for his replacement from “over 240 applications from across the globe.” Ken-David Masur, Daniel Meyer, and Eckart Preu will perform two concerts each in Merrill Auditorium. Audience feedback will help select the winner. “I like the process of finding something that the local audience will respond to,” says Masur. “Something that will trigger their soul. And I’m looking forward to systematically exploring the city’s many good restaurants.”

L e t t e r s f o r Jac o b Jacob Thompson of Saco has requested an early holiday gift: Christmas cards and letters from across the country. The nineyear-old is fighting Stage 4 neuroblastoma in the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center. A GoFundMe page written by Jacob’s parents says this will be “the last time” he is admitted. So far, Jacob has received over 14,000 letters of support and goodwill, including messages from Portland native Anna Kendrick, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, most recently, two penguins. The Portland Press Herald reports that two African penguins were transported from the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut to Jacob’s bedside. Jacob’s mantra is “live like a penguin,” according to his mother, Michelle Thompson Simard.

You can donate to Jacob at gofundme.com/xkcjc8 or send a letter to Jacob at the Maine Medical Center on 22 Bramhall Street, Portland.

Smile! Portland just ranked No. 24 in National Geographic Explorer’s list of “The 25 Happiest Cities in the United States.” A team of social scientists determined an index to measure metropolitan merriment that “draws on nearly 250,000 interviews conducted with adults from 2014 to 2015 in 190 metropolitan areas across the U.S,” reports George Stone of National Geographic. Portland made the shortlist “based on metrics like walkability, access to nature, and civic engagement.” Of course, to us, Portland will always be number one.

Big Little Lottery

For just $5 you could be the proud owner of a new home–a tiny one. The Maine State Lottery recently introduced the “Tiny Homes, Big Wins” draw. Winners will receive a custom-built small house, including $1,000 in bonus cash toward decoration. With each prize home valued at $60,000 this game might just be worth the gamble. Tickets available through December 9. The next winner will be drawn December 12.

1 6 p o r tl a n d m on t h ly m aga z i n e

from top: courtesy portland symphony orchestra; adobe; corey templeton; wind river tiny homes

Tap , tap

WINTER AT CLIFF HOUSE

IT’S NOT JUST FOR SUMMER ANYMORE

No matter the season, discover a new generation of Cliff House and build memories that will last a lifetime, all cloaked in the comfort and warmth of authentic Maine hospitality. Just an hour north of Boston, enjoy a broad array of activities including snow shoeing under the stars, snuggling by the fireplace, or elemental-inspired spa services to further enrich your escape. Call 207 361-1000 or book online at cliffhousemaine.com

cliffhousemaine.com · 207 361-1000 · contact your travel professional · 591 shore road, cape neddick, maine

Great Gifts! Great Bargains!

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Buy  in Gift Cards and you’ll receive a Free Weekday Movie Pass.

Concierge Cirque Solstice

Clockwise from top: casey jacques; courtesy photo; the ghost of paule revere by Matt Cosby

Mark the longest night and the shortest day of the year with a celebration of the Winter Solstice at Circus Maine on Thompson’s Point. Enjoy spectacles and routines by the resident performers and apprentices, including aerial dancers and acrobats.

Beverages will be provided by The Bar Association and food provided

by Classic Sliders, December 14-16.

Tickets cost between $14-16.

Northern Lights Party for a cause at Eimskip’s fifth annual Christmas Charity Event hosted at Ocean Gateway. Guests can enjoy drinks, dancing, and raffle prizes with a Scandinavian twist. All proceeds will go to The Cancer Community Center. Tickets are $125.

The Big One

Tune In

A Christmas classic is reimagined at Portland Stage this December with It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. The timeless tale is presented as a 1940s radio broadcast with sound effects performed live on stage. Tickets are $45-$65.

774-0465

Stuck trying to decide where to celebrate your New Year’s Eve? Here are some of the city’s hottest tickets: The 8th Annual Tribute to Stevie Wonder at State Theater; Primo Cubano: A NYE Dance Party at One Longfellow Square; The Maine Dead Project at Portland House of Music; The Ghost of Paul Revere at Port City Music Hall; The Red Carpet Event at Circus Maine, Thompson’s Point; and Space Ball 2k17 at Space Gallery.

Happy

200th

Birthday, Thoreau!

Fans of Henry David Thoreau, lovers of photography, and advocates for environmental conservation alike will all enjoy the Thoreau Bicentennial exhibition at Maine Museum of Photographic Art. Through January 27, this exhibition will feature the work of 10 artists who have been inspired by Thoreau and his interest in the transcendental movement. 331-6622 D ecember 2 0 1 7 1 9

Experience Portland Stage, 25 Forest Ave. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, through Dec. 24. 774-0465

Footlights Theatre, Falmouth. A Christmas Carol, Dec. 2, 5-8, 13-15, 19-21. 747-5434

Art

City Theater in Biddeford, 205 Main St. A Charlie Brown Christmas, through Dec. 17. 282-0849

Good Theater, 76 Congress St. Shear Madness, Jan. 10-Mar. 11. 835-0895 Lyric Music Theater, 176 Sawyer St., South Portland.

Carrie, Feb. 9-25, 2018.

799-1421 Mad Horse Theatre, 24 Mosher St., South Portland.

One Flea Spare, Jan. 18Feb. 4. 747-4148 Maine State Ballet Theater, 348 U.S. Rte. 1, Falmouth. Tap, Tap, Jazz, Jan. 20-27. 781-7672 Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St., Ogunquit. White Christmas, through Dec. 17. 646-5511

Bates College Museum of Art, Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St., Lewiston.

Rona Pondick and Robert Feintuch: Heads, Hands, Feet; Sleeping, Holding, Dreaming, Dying, through Mar. 23. 786-6158 Bowdoin College Museum of Art, 245 Maine St., Brunswick. Dmitri Baltermants: Documenting and Staging a Soviet Reality, through Jan. 7; Constructing Revolution: Soviet Propaganda Posters from between the World Wars, through Feb. 11; Art from the Northern Plains, through July 15. 725-3275 Center for Maine Contemporary Art, 21 Winter St., Rockland. Heather Lyon: Milk, Roll, Wrap, through Dec. 17. 701-5005 Colby College Museum of Art, 5600 Mayflower Hill Dr., Waterville. Leah Modigliani: How Long Can We Tolerate This?, through Jan. 7; Bird Watching: Audubon and Ornithology in Early America, through Feb. 4. 859-5600

Marguerite Zorach: An Art-Filled Life at the Farnsworth Art Museum, through Jan. 7.

Penobscot Theatre Company, 131 Main St., Bangor. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Dec. 7-30.

942-3333 Saco River Theater, 9 Salmon Falls Road, Bar Mills. A Christmas Carol, Dec. 10. 929-6472 Schoolhouse Arts Center, 16 Richville Rd., Standish.

Christmas Spectacular, Dec. 1-17. 642-3743 The Portland Players, 420 Cottage Rd., South Portland. A Christmas Story, Dec. 1-17. 799-7337

Skeleton by Rosy Keyser will be on show at “Off the Wall,” an homage to the work of sculptor Eva Hesse at Maine College of Art’s ICA Gallery Jan. 17- Feb. 23.

Farnsworth Art Museum, 16 Museum St., Rockland.

Andrew Wyeth at 100, through Dec. 31; Marguerite Zorach–An Art-Filled Life, through Jan. 18; Other Voices, through Feb. 18. 596-6457 Greenhut Galleries, 146 Middle St. 40th Anniversary Celebration: Holiday Show, through Dec. 31.

772-2693 Maine Jewish Museum, 267 Congress St. Kathy Weinberg and Jeffrey Ackerman, through Jan. 7.

443-1416 Maine Maritime Museum, 234 Washington St., Bath. Shipshape: Decoration and Advertising in the

2 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Gary Gulman, Dec. 30; Satisfaction, Jan. 18, 2018.

772-8274 Blue, 650 Congress St. Irish Sessions, every Wed; The Happy Hour, every Thurs; Jazz at Blue, every Sat. 774-4111.

Cross Insurance Arena, 1 Civic Center Square. Disney on Ice Presents Frozen, Dec. 21-24. 775-3458 Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, 1 Railroad St., Bangor. Kevin Hart: The Irresponsible Tour, Mar. 10.

358-9327 Merchant Fleet, through Feb. 25; Pull Together: Maritime Maine in the 1914-1918 Great War, through May 6. 443-1416

gress St. Liz Miller’s Mendacious Veracity, through Jan. 6; Alyssa Freitas’s Here/Now, through Jan. 6.

828-5600

Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, 314 Forest Ave., “We might climb a tree, at least.” H.D. Thoreau Bicentennial Celebration, through Jan. 27; Where the Map Takes You: The Intersection of Cartography and Creativity at the Osher Map Library, through Mar. 10. 331-6622

UNE Art Gallery, 716 Stevens Ave. “Ahead of Her Time:” The Life and Work of Nancy Hemenway Barton, through Dec. 20; Opening Reception for Images of Children: Period and Contemporary Photographs, Jan. 11. 221-4499

MECA, 522 Congress St., Portland. ICA Gallery: Off the Wall, Jan. 17 - Feb. 23; You Never Know How You Look Through Other People’s Eyes, Mar. 8 - Apr. 20. 775-3052

Music

Aura, 121 Center St. Cam’ron, Dec. 14; Dispatch, Dec. 15; Spose Presents: PDANK XMAS, Dec. 16; Tusk, Dec. 28; Pink Talking Fish, Dec. 29;

Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq. Child’s Play, through Dec. 17; Model Citizens: Art and Identity in the United States, through Jan. 28.

775-6148 Running with Scissors, 250 Anderson St. 5th Annual RWS Holiday Pop-Up Shop & Open Studios Events, Dec. 8-9.

828-5600 Space Gallery, 538 Con-

Mendacious Veracity, an art installation at Space Gallery by Liz Miller, through Jan. 6.

Empire, 575 Congress St. Tribute to Third Eye Blind, Dec. 9. 747-5063 Frontier, 14 Maine St, Brunswick. String Tide, Dec.13; Nihco Gallo, Dec. 20; Darlin’ Corey, Dec. 27.

725-5222 Jonathan’s Ogunquit, 92 Bournes Ln., Ogunquit.

Sawyer Fredericks, Dec. 16; New Year’s Eve Gala, Dec. 31. 646-4526 Maine Academy of Modern Music, 125 Presumpscot St. MAMM Presents: Kids & Teens Open Stage, Dec. 8 and Jan. 10. 8993433 Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St. Magic of Christmas, Dec. 8-23. 842-0800

from top: rosy keyer - MECA; Peter A. Juley & Son; Liz Miller

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Greenhut Galleries annual Holiday Show November 30 - December 31

Opening Reception Saturday, December 2nd 1-3pm

146 M i d d l e S t r e e t , P o r t l a n d , M a i n e 0 4 1 0 1 • 2 0 7 - 7 7 2 - 2 6 9 3 • i n f o @g r e e n h u t g a l l e r i e s . c o m • w w w . g r e e n h u t g a l l e r i e s . c o m December 2017 21

A Charlie Brown CHRISTMAS December 1st - 17th No performance December 3rd

Fridays and Saturdays 7:30pm • Sundays 2:00pm Tickets Available for Online Purchase at www.CityTheater.org or Call (207)282-0849

Experience

One Longfellow Square, 181 State St. Tracy Grammer, Dec. 14; Chris Smither, Dec. 16; Rock My Soul, Dec. 17; Bellatrix, Dec. 19; A Charlie Brown Christmas, Dec. 20; The Portland Jazz Orchestra, Dec. 21; Sara Hallie Richardson and Megan Jo Wilson, Dec. 22; Ellis Paul, Dec. 29; Primo Cubano, Dec. 31. 761-1757 Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St. The Ballroom Thieves, Dec. 9; DigiTour Winter, Dec. 20; Spencer Albee, Dec. 22; Moon Hooch, Dec. 28; The Mallett Brothers, Dec. 29; The Ghost of Paul Revere, Dec 30-31.

956-6000 Portland House of Music and Events, 57 Temple St. Hambone, every Mon.; New Year’s Eve with Maine Dead Project, Dec. 31. 805-0134 State Theatre, 609 Congress St. Angel Olsen, Dec. 9; Jim Brickman, Dec. 13; The Fogutters Super Fantastic Christmas Extravaganza, Dec. 15. 956-6000 Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dug Way Rd. Carol Noonan and Dana Cunningham, Dec. 9; Stone Mountain Live for Christmas, Dec. 15-16; Le Vent du Nord, Dec. 31; Spencer Albee, Jan. 20. 935-7292

Comedy

Community Television Network, 516 Congress St. Playback Theater, the first Fri. of every month. 775-2900 Lincoln’s, 36 Market St. Laugh Shack Comedy, every Thurs.

Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St. Bob Marley, Dec. 29.

Film

Space Gallery, 538 Congress St. From Nowhere, Dec.; Blade of the Immortal, Dec. 28. 13. 828-5600 Portland Museum of Art, 7 Congress Sq. Jane, Dec. 28 - 31. 775-6148

Literary Events

Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St. Portland Monthly First Friday Fiction, Dec. 1.

Mantor Library at University of Maine Farmington, 116 South St., Farmington.

Robin, Zarro, and Horton: Political Resistance in Literature, Dec. 16. 778-7210 PRINT Bookstore, 273 Congress St. Children’s Book Holiday Mingle, Dec. 10.

536-4778 Thomas Memorial Library, 6 Scott Dyer Rd., Cape Elizabeth. Maine Author Jeffrey Ryan and the Appalachian Trail, Dec. 14.

799-1720 2 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Tasty Events

Aurora Provisions, 64 Pine St. Two to three free tastings each month on Tues. 871-9060 Craft Beer Cellar, 111 Commercial St. Craft beer tasting every Fri. 956-7322 Leroux Kitchen, 161 Commercial St. Free wine tastings on the second Sat. of each month. 553-7665 Local Sprouts, 649 Congress St. Music Brunch with Sean Mencher and Friends, every Sun. 899-3529 Lolita Vinoteca + Asador, 90 Congress St. Tapas Mondays, every Mon. 3:30-10:30.

Wines paired with small plates. 775-5652 Otherside Delicatessen, 164 Veranda St. Monthly wine tastings. 761-9650 Rosemont Markets, Portland and Yarmouth. Two to three free wine tastings each month on Fri. 774-8129 Sweetgrass Farm Old Port Tasting Room, 324 Fore St. Tasting bar is open year-round for Maine-made wines and spirits. 761-8GIN

Holiday Magic! Dec 2-3, 9-10, 16-17 2017.

Saturdays 5-9 pm. Sundays 4-8 pm Tickets at StrawberyBanke.org Strawbery Banke Museum 14 Hancock St. Portsmouth NH 03801

Don’t Miss

Anthony’s Dinner Theater, 151 Middle Street. An Evening with The King: An Elvis Christmas Party, Dec. 16. Tickets $39.95; An Enchanted Christmas, Dec. 9 &16. Tickets $20. 221-2267

Made in Maine, Worn around the World.

Fifth Annual Holiday Benefit and Art Show, Chaya Studio Jewelry, 22 Cottage Rd., South Portland. Local jewelry artist Chaya Caron will host the 5th annual holiday art show to spotlight local artists and encourage holiday shoppers to buy local, through Dec. 24. 221-6552 Fire & Ice Bar, The Nonantum Resort, 95 Ocean Ave., Kennebunkport. Enjoy blazing bonfires, ice bars and sculptures, local food, and live music, Dec. 9-10. 967-4050 Picnic Portland Holiday Sale, Brick South, Thompson’s Point. An indie craft fair and music festival, Dec. 10. 747-5288 Polar Bear Dip & Dash, East End Beach.

Feeling brave? Start 2018 with a 5K dash around Back Bay finished with an icy plunge into the ocean, Jan. 1.

Set with your stones …or ours.

Music at the Museum with George Lopez, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Dec. 14. 725-3275 The Red Carpet Event, Circus Maine, Thompson’s Point. Circus-themed entertainment is the cherry on top of this extravagant New Year’s bash, Dec. 31. 536-0768 –Compiled by Madison Andrews and Sarah Moore. To submit your own event listing, visit: portlandmonthly.com/portmag/submit-an-event/

616 Congress Street, Portland 207-773-6011 www.daunis.com December 2017 23

D

a n na h small important luxuries

123 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport • 207-967-8640

There’s something in the water…and it’s alive! Well, not quite. Phippsburg fisherman Rink Varian and his partners Matthew Borowski and Jessy Cusack hit their $29,000 Kickstarter target to produce a mechanical fishing lure named “Zombait.” After inserting the dead bait, “all you have to do is put it in the water and it will start swimming automatically,” the trio’s Kickstarter page promises. “And, unlike live fish, it won’t get tired over time or die unexpectedly!”

Master of Illusions

Standing on Main Street in Bangor since 1959, Paul Bunyan probably thought he’d seen it all–until now. Illusionist Ted Outerbridge was recently spotted levitating his wife, Marion, several feet above the ground in front of the famous statue to promote the couple’s tour, OUTERBRIDGE: Clockwork Mysteries.

From top: Jack F, courtesy photos

Forgetting SOmething?

Oh snap! Over 27,000 voters visited the polls in Portland during the recent municipal elections. But one voter left rather empty-handed, or more accurately, empty-mouthed. A pair of dentures was discovered in a polling booth at Merrill Rehearsal Hall. The city clerk’s office put out this notice: “If you or someone you know voted there on Tuesday and are looking for a set of dentures–or if you recognize this smile–please call the City Clerk’s office.”

Sweeten the Deal

The tastiest selling point of 415 Brighton Avenue, on sale for $279,900, isn’t its Colonialstyle charm, detached garage, or hardwood floors. Savvy buyers will be rewarded for their purchase with $250 of fresh Maine lobster.

“We did it for 40 Nevada Avenue in North Deering, and it got people talking,” says Jeff Mateja, director of the Mateja Group of Keller Williams Realty. “The idea came from a Keller Williams agent in the Southwest. They were doing it with tacos! The idea’s new; it’s not cheesy yet. And we’ll be supporting a local lobsterman. When the house sells, we’ll be down on Commercial Street buying $250-worth of lobster for the new homeowners.”

December 2017 25

For the cocktail curious and lovers of elevated street food.

O

pium If you dare

The bar at The Danforth • opiumportland.com • danforthinn.com

P o rt l a n d a f t e r dark Nordic snacks and sophisticated cocktails like the Saffron Sour are Scandinavian staples at Portland Hunt + Alpine Club.

the Worl d n u o d Ar In e i gh t D r i n k s

from top: meredith perdue (2); courtesy photo

Raise a glass and taste the flavors of the world–all from the radius of downtown Portland.

W

hether it’s the excess of holiday cheer, everlasting visits from relatives, or the short winter days, we all need a little escape from the marathon of December. If you find yourself dreaming of tropical getaways or romantic excursions to Europe, test the international waters of downtown Portland before booking the next flight out. With its diverse collection of globally inspired bars, you just may find the vacation you’ve been yearning for.

The Heart is Not a Lonely Hunter at Jäger Though I’ve missed Oktoberfest by several months, I set out with a friend in search of a hoppy Bavarian brew on a recent Thursday night. Jäger on 41 Wharf Street pres-

By Madison Andrews

ents a welcome relief from the rowdy latenight crowd. Leaving the cobblestone alley and entering the rathskeller through the Antike brick arch, we travel 3,750 miles (the distance from Portland to Munich) as we take a seat at the bar and peruse the menu.

“Our drafts change all the time,” says Nick, the bartender. “But we always have Spaten Münchner Hell, a premium lager. It’s our most popular German beer on tap.” In the spirit of my mission, and all the more venturesome with the discovery that we’re sitting beside the “old Falmouth sea wall which was once the Portland waterfront,” we let him show the way ($4). The lager introduces a hoppy bitter flavor, but finishes with a honey-like sweetness. Through a Black Forest of rich, enticing smells of wiener schnitzel and sausage floating in from

the kitchen, it’s hard not to dream of pairings. After all, Jäger means “Hunter.” We track down a bratwurst ($7), and Nick successfully tempts us with a soft pretzel ($3).

While we wait, we notice discreet nods to Deutschland in the shape of a German flag and collections of unique steins tucked into shelves. With its relaxed yet intimate atmo-

December 2017 27

Portland a f t e r da r k

Top left: Guinness is the classic Irish choice at Rí Rá. Bottom left: Taco Escobarr delivers Mexican spice. Right: Enjoy kitsch tropical-themed refreshments at Rhum.

Scandimania ur next stop moves us across the map to unchartered territory. Portland Hunt + Alpine Club boasts an excellent menu rooted in Scandinavian influences. “Scandinavian food is good drinking food,” says owner Andrew Volk, whose wife and partner, Briana Volk, is half-Finnish. “Since Briana and I wanted to focus on cocktails, we feature flavors that pair well with spirits.” We elect to sit at the steel-gray bar, where we get to spy on the skillful bartenders, and are quickly presented with leather-bound cocktail menus and a folded, wrinkled map listing food specials. The menu options dare to tweak: “Late Night at OOB #3” lists “shame” as its third ingredient. It’s hard to choose just one drink. I gamble on “The Norseman,” a combination of brown butter-washed aquavit (a Scandinavian spirit), and bitters ($11). It’s caramel-colored, served in a short, frosted glass, with three Granny Smith apple wedges and a large square ice cube melting in the middle. As we’re halfway through our drinks, someone dims the lights. Though the space is loud and full, it never feels crowded. Now

O

2 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

a fan of aquavit, I’ll return to this Scandinavian sanctuary. Considering the hanging lights, saloon doors, and mounted wire animal heads, I would’ve come back for the unusual decor alone.

Trip to the Tropics Though “Tiki culture” may be an American invention, Rhum’s take on the Polynesian-inspired theme makes for an amusing getaway. Established by the Fifth Food Group and situated on Cross Street, Rhum is a playful blend of sultry lounge and upbeat bar, occasionally accompanied by a live band. The space is dominated by a giant bar in the center of the room, adorned

with palm thatch and multi-colored string lights. Octopus tentacles as door handles and Tiki torches as light fixtures add to the tropical ambiance. Feeling a bit out of my wheelhouse, I order the house daiquiri ($8), which arrives in a black, fish-shaped glass. It’s strong but sweet. I watch as a group of women congregates around a giant “fishbowl” cocktail, which has just been set aflame. I get the sense that crowds assemble here mainly for the fun, somewhat flashy, environment–us, too. “Tiki is really about escapism,” Trevin Hutchins, the bar manager, tells us. “Maine has such long and cold winters that we want to offer an escape from that.” After one drink, we’re on our way.

“Tiki is about escapism. Maine has such long and cold winters…”

–Trevin Hutchins, Rhum

courtesy photos

sphere and ample offering of beer, Jäger is Portland’s hidden German gem. Prost!

Sip the Emerald Isle Still craving a diversion from our usual scene, we ponder where Portland can take us next. We decide the antidote to our Polynesian detour is Ireland. Ordering a pint of Guinness at an Irish bar–cliché? Perhaps.

But cheerfully indulgent? Always, and especially at Rí Rá. The pub, located on Commercial Street, offers an expert pour of your favorite Irish beer or whiskey. We settle into a little alcove next to a window. The flickering candle atop our table lights up the red-and-gold wallpaper. I order a Guinness ($6.50) and observe a lively mix of young and old conversing animatedly. The dark wood of the tables and bar, the leathercushioned seats, and the collection of blackand-white prints of Ireland pull together to deliver the homey pub atmosphere found overseas. True authenticity is delivered by the patinated bar and snug, which were shipped to Maine from an pub in Annagassan, Ireland. Though at times Portland may feel small, drop into the right places, and you’ll feel halfway across the world.

Bottle Popping, Globe Trotting Of the several Mexican joints in downtown Portland, Taco Escobarr stands out as a

Portland after dark

Swiss Time 86 Exchange St Portland, Maine 04101 (207) 773-0997 www.myswisstime.com

welcoming excursion to a warmer climate.

Basking under the rainbow ceiling of colorful jalapeño string lights, amp up your classic margarita with one of the bar’s housemade infused tequilas, like pineapple poblano or cucumber ($9). Better yet, stop by during Happy Hour for a cocktail with free chips and salsa and enjoy your $5 trip south of the border.

Irish Pub or Ireland?

AAA agents can help get you around the world.

PORTLAND

SOUTH PORTLAND

BIDDEFORD

68 Marginal Way

401 Western Avenue

472 Alfred Road

AUBURN

BRUNSWICK

600 Center Street, Shaw’s Plaza

147 Bath Road, Merrymeeting Plaza

AAA Travel: (866) 883-4985 3 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Batavia Bound Though it’s tucked inside Tempo Dulu, with its sui generis craft cocktail menu and Asian-inspired small plates, Opium holds its own. “The owners are Dutch, and as Indonesia was once a Dutch colony, there are ties between the two cultures,” bar manager Alexa Doyer says. “The idea for Opium is to feel transported out of Portland.” For an Indonesian-inspired cocktail, try the award-winning Jakarta, an expert blend of Chinese five-spice, coastal root bitters, and absinthe ($15). “It’s essentially a smoked Manhattan, and it won Star Chef’s Best New Cocktail in 2015.” Pair with an order of pork belly dumplings ($12) and snag a seat in the relaxed, purple-hued lounge to round out your sojourn to Southeast Asia.

Great British Getaway ith Maine’s winter chill seeping in, consider seeking shelter underground. Quicker than a trip across the Pond, descend the short staircase underground into Maps. Take advantage of their can special ($7) and spring for the English grilled cheese ($8). Owner Vikki Walker is a globetrotting Brit who landed in Portland to fulfill her dream of opening a bar. Her influence is clear in the cartography-inspired décor (maps line the walls and ceiling) and British charm (an out-oforder jukebox sports a sign that reads “Piss Off! We’re Closed”). Like Vikki, you’ll find Maps the ideal home-away-from-home.

W

La Bella Figura Warm oak floors, exposed brickwork, and a polished copper bar–stepping into Solo Italiano feels like a charming detour in itself. Top that off with artfully-plated dishes of true Genovese cuisine, and you’ve got your trip to Italy arranged.

Simply slip into a seat at the bar and order a crisp Aperol Spritz ($8). Just like the real place, you’ll never want to leave. n

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D o l l a r s & S ense

This is the Year Your Ship Comes In

See what Maine’s banks & credit unions are doing to win you over in 2018.

corey Templeton

E

ver dream of kayaking down the rapids of your income stream? All we need is a paddle and a little direction. That’s where this compare-andcontrast story comes in. Maine’s financial institutions may be eager to help you navigate through the money maze–but which do we choose?

Looking for a high-yield checking account? Town & Country Federal Credit Union offers a 3.01% APY on up to $10,000 with Rewards Checking. Want a bank that actually gives back? Bath Savings Institution offers the Neighbor to-Neighbor-pro-

By Christopher Murray

gram, where they make a $25 donation to a non-profit of your choice when you open a checking account. Town & Country Federal Credit Union caters to the tech-savv, offering customers a voice-activated banking app through Amazon’s Alexa Skills device.

ANDROSCOGGIN BANK androscogginbank.com Branches: 12; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.25 Refund ATM surcharges: With certain accounts Checking account fee: None when minimum

deposit requirements are met ($10 if not met) Highest savings account APY & terms: 1.10%, $100,000 min.

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 8.99% to 26.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 5.32% for customers, 7.85% for non-customers Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.023% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.415%, 15-year fixed December 2017 33

dollars & s e n s e

“We’re the first credit union in the nation to launch an Alexa Skill, a voiceactivated banking app that works with Amazon’s Alexa device.”

–Linda Halleran, Town and Country Federal Credit Union

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25% (or current special of 1.06% for qualifying customers) Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No

AUBURN SAVINGS BANK

23.99% (purchase APR)

auburnsavings.com

Branches: 2; Non-customer ATM charge: $3 Refund ATM surcharges: Some accounts will re-

BANGOR SAVINGS bangor.com

Number of bank branches in state: 56; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50 Refund ATM surcharges for customers?: Yes Checking account fee?: None for Benefit Checking Highest savings account APY & terms: Benefit Money

Market 0.30%, $100,000 min. deposit

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 10.99% to Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 5.04% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.363% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.500%, for

ceive refunds of up $10/month

15-year fixed

free; Click Connect account is $3/month, or free if you meet requirements.

Highest savings account APY & terms: Health Savings Account: 0.35% for $25 minimum for account opening; Money Market Complete Account: 0.35% for $200,000 minimum Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.516% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 5.044% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 4.325%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.35% CD/IRA, 5-year fixed, $500 min. deposit (or current 1.55% 30-month CD/IRA special) Highest CD APY & terms: 1.35%, 5-year fixed, $500 min. deposit (or current 1.55% 30-month special)

Benefit Plus Checking Account member Highest CD APY & terms: 1.46%, 5-year as a nonBenefit Plus Checking Account member, jumps to 1.56% as a Benefit Plus Checking Account member Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.50% requires Benefit Plus Checking Account, $500 min.

Electronic check scanning on mobile devices?: Yes

Checking account fee: Classic Connect account is

3 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Highest APY opportunity: 1.46%, 5-year CD as a non-

BANK OF AMERICA bankofamerica.com

Branches: 16; Non-customer ATM charge: $5 Refund ATM surcharges: With some accounts

Checking account fee: $12 basic. None when certain requirements are met Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.03% with Rewards Money Market Savings Account,

jumps to 0.06% for Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors tier APY Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 12.99% 22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.79% with new car Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.196% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.619%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.00%, 10-year fixed CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.00%, 10-year fixed Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.05%, $2,000 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes BATH SAVINGS INSTITUTION bathsavings.com

Branches: 13; Non-customer ATM charge: $2 Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None for eChecking NOW

accounts with eStatements

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.12% Super

Savings Account

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.292% for

a new car

Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.306% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.723%,

15-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 0.95% for a 5.75 year,

$500 min. deposit

Highest CD APY & terms: 0.95% for a 5.75 year,

$500 min. deposit

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.15%, $500 min.

deposit

Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “At Bath Savings you can make

a difference in your community with the

Portland Paddle

Highest APY opportunity: 1.15%, 35-month CD, $10,000 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 1.15%, 35-month CD, $10,000 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25%, $500 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “Our personalized relationship banking helps our clients care for their families, grow their businesses, and plan for the future. At Androscoggin Bank you will find the smarter banking you deserve.”

–Paul Andersen, President and CEO

Neighbor to Neighbor program. With every new checking account we make a $25 donation to a non-profit of your choice. ” –Glenn Hutchinson, President/CEO

More Loans. More Choices!

BIDDEFORD SAVINGS biddefordsavings.com

Branches: 6; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50 Refund ATM surcharges: No, but eStatements have

free worldwide ATM use

Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.25%,

$100,000 min. balance

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 14.99% to

18.99%

Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.5% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.913% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.095%,

10-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.87%, 5-year CD, $1,500

min. deposit

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.87%, 5-year, $1,500

min. deposit

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.85% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

CAMDEN NATIONAL BANK camdennational.com

Branches: 62; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50 Refund ATM surcharges: Up to $10 with

some accounts

Checking account fee: None for some accounts Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.20%,

$250,000 min. balance. Promise Money Market Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 12.99% to 23.99% (Visa Rewards card) Game Changer: “We are the largest community bank in Maine. We have the most branches in the state.” –Chad Daley, Assistant Bank Center Manager DAMARISCOTTA BANK & TRUST CO. damariscottabank.com

Own It! With PeoplesChoice Mortgages

We have a variety of loans available to qualified applicants.

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Call our mortgage team (207)

282-4156

Branches: 6; Non-customer ATM charge: Yes Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No for basic account Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.25%,

$100,000 min. Money Market Account Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.5% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.75% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.5%, 10-year fixed (based on mortgage calculator) Highest APY opportunity: 1.28%, 18-month variable CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.28%, 18-month

NMLS #449242

PeoplesChoiceME.org December 2017 35

Belong to a credit union and...

Ownit.

At a credit union, members are owners.

That means low fees, favorable rates, and personalized service you can depend on every day. At Maine’s credit unions, we put our money to work locally to help Mainers achieve their financial dreams.

mainecreditunions.org

Join nearly 695,000 members. Belong to a Maine credit union and own it.

variable CD

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.15% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

EVERGREEN CU evergreencu.com

Branches: 4; Non-customer ATM charge: Yes Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None for some Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.40% Mile-

stone Savings

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: As low as

11.90% APR

Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 2.49% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.00% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.25%

10-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.25%, 36-month CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.25%, 36-month Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.70% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: No Game Changer: “We’ve been recognized by The

Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resources Management as one of the best places to work in Maine.” –Jason Lindstrom, President/CEO

“Every new checking account comes with a 90-day free trial of GenGold–a service which features discounts at more than 1,000 local businesses and on gift cards, world-wide travel, and hundreds of other retailers and services.”

– Melissa Rock, Norway Savings

FIRST NATIONAL BANK thefirst.com

Branches: 16; Non-customer ATM charge: $2.50 Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None for some accounts Highest savings account APY & terms: First Choice

Money Market 0.25%, $100,000 min.

d o l l a r s & sense Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.983% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.1%

(based on Portland area)

Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.6%, 15-year

fixed (based on Portland area) Highest APY opportunity: 2.10%, 5-year current special, $500 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 2.10%, 5-year current special, $500 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25%, minimum $500 Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “We’ve expanded our ‘Dream First Rewards’ program for checking accounts. You’ll earn discounts with over 100 local merchants, thereby also supporting local business while you shop.”–Susan Norton, Executive Vice President FRANKLIN SAVINGS BANK franklinsavings.bank

Branches: 7; Non-customer ATM charge: Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None if you meet

certain requirements

(Continued on page 80)

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December 2017 37

C i t i z e n Canine

Old Port Pups There are over 300,000 registered dogs in Maine, according to the Department of Agriculture. We take a walk with a few of Portland’s furry personalities.

From Sta ff & Wire Reports Photos by Meaghan mauri ce

Milo

Nala

Age: 4 & 3 Breed: Standard Poodle and Shar Pei-Mastiff mix Spotted: Outside Life is Good on Fore Street Not a big fan: [Nala:] “I’m a little shy and don’t like loud noises.”

Can’t get enough: “We’ll chase birds all day long. We both love to dig.”

December 2017 39

citizen can i n e

Harper Age: 8 months Breed: Labradoodle Spotted: Outside Longfellow Books Not a big fan: Skateboards Can’t get enough: “I’m the resident dog at House of J Henry Salon, which is great because I love being groomed. And I’m very treat-oriented.”

Esmeralda

Age: 3 Breed: Springer Spaniel-Labrador mix Spotted: Outside Reny’s on Congress Street Not a big fan: Yappy dogs Can’t get enough: “I’m water dog–I love to go out on our Boston Whaler and kayaks. This isn’t my first time in print. Before I was adopted, I starred in a charity calendar alongside a scantily clad fireman.”

4 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Scrappy

Age: 1 Breed: Shih Tzu-Miniature Poodle mix Spotted: Boothby Square Not a big fan: Loud noises Can’t get enough: Adventures

December 2017 41

Tilly

Age: 1 Breed: Standard Poodle Spotted: Tommy’s Park Not a big fan: Loud noises Can’t get enough: “I’m training to become a therapy dog.

When I’m not working, I love to sit and watch birds in the yard.”

Geo Age: 4 months Breed: French Bulldog Spotted: Cliff’s Barbershop, Free Street Not a big fan: Walks Can’t get enough: Chicken and rice for dinner; naps

Anna & Anders 4 2 p o r t l an d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Age: 12 Breed: Dachshund Spotted: Simply Scandinavian, Temple Street Not a big fan: “Using our ‘inside voices’ when we’re excited.”

Can’t get enough: Greeting visitors to the store. “Walmart has retiree greeters, Simply Scandinavian has us two.”

c i t i z en can ine

Olive Age: 4 Breed: Pit Bull-Labrador mix Spotted: Boothby Square Not a big fan: Skateboards Can’t get enough: My three- and eight-year-old human ‘siblings’.

D e c e mb e r 2 0 1 7 4 3

citizen can i n e

Squid Age: 11 Breed: Labrador Retriever mix Spotted: Aboard the Hattie & Arri at Custom House Wharf Not a big fan: “Black olives. They’re the only food I won’t eat.”

Can’t get enough: “I’ve gone out on the bait boat every day since I was adopted as a puppy. Some of our customers give me treats. I’m something of a local celebrity.”

4 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Celebrate your

birthday in the most

fur-tastic way

Come Visit Us in the Purple House in Freeport!

at the animal

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81 Ocean St. #1 South Portland, ME 04106 in Knightville “the SoHo of SoPo”

December 2017 45

citizen can i n e

Mowgli Age: 1 Breed: German Pointer Spotted: Outside Elevation Burger, Commercial Street Not a big fan: Loud noises Can’t get enough: “Frisbee, fetch, and tennis balls.”

4 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Dreamer

Age: 3 months Breed: Golden Retriever Spotted: The corner of Dana and Commercial Streets Can’t get enough: “I’ve been bred for showing.

My dad is ranked No. 7 Golden Retriever in the country. I love to collect seaweed into a pile on the beach and lie on it.”

Lola Age: 7 Breed: Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Spotted: Tommy’s Park Not a big fan: Thunder. “I hide in my parents’ bed during storms.”

Buddy

Can’t get enough: Swimming n

Age: 6 Breed: Beagle-Mastiff mix Spotted: The Thirsty Pig Not a big fan: Strangers outside the house; swings Can’t get enough: Diving for rocks in the ocean

1:15 pm GENEVA LOOP TRAIL SADDLEBACK MOUNTAIN

Brewed for times like these. sebagobrewing.com

For the hearty souls who call summer “the off-season.”

December 2017 47

A casual, affordable, Italian-Inspired Restaurant

At the corner of Federal & Exchange Street in Portland’s downtown.

110 Exchange St. Portland, Maine (207) 879-4747

GLUT EN FRE OPTI E ONS

Our house-made, gluten-free pasta can be enjoyed as a substitute for any of our house-made pastas!

Enjoy the same warm, comfortable ambiance at any of Harding Lee Smith’s other Portland sister restaurants:

73 Congress St. 207-773-3366

84 Exchange St. 207-774-2333

86 Commercial St. 207-774-5725

W W W . T H E R O O M S P O R T L A N D . C O M

H u n gry Ey e

Plat du Jour Off-script moments in the kitchen reveal the culinary creativity of Maine’s award-winning chefs.

adobe stock/photology1971

By Olivia G unn Kotsishevskaya

our dish arrives, the components meticulously arranged and artfully drizzled.

It’s a work of alchemy executed with obvious precision and insight, seemingly created from a tried-and-true method. And yet, more often than not–the secret ingredient? A touch of improvisation.

“We open at 4:30 p.m., and sometimes we’re printing the menu right then,” says Melody Wolfertz, owner and chef at Rockland’s In Good Company. Focusing on dishes that are “genuine and simple,” Wolfertz and her team rarely follow a recipe. “We just make it. If you have something here one night, it’s likely you’re never going to have it again,” she says. “We’re building on flavors, not following recipes.” Wolfertz says she thrives on adrenaline. “Yes, there are days when I wish it were a little more thought out, but I’d probably die of boredom if it were.”

Relying on her network of farmers and local foragers, Wolfertz doesn’t believe in over-complicating her dishes.

“I refer to our food as ‘triage,’” she says. “I cook on three butane camp stoves. My food isn’t meant to be pretty. It isn’t meant to be structural.”

But Wolfertz doesn’t throw the rule book totally out of the window, particularly if she’s drawing from another culture’s recipes. “You can’t riff off another country until you know that country,” she says. “First you learn French, the classic techniques you’re trained in. From there you can start experimenting.” Wolfertz flexed her international culinary muscles during her ‘Food Journey’ dinner series earlier this year at In Good Company. The series covered a diverse geography of international cuisines, from Greenland, to Greece, to Gaza–faithfully reproducing traditional dishes in her Rockland kitchen.

December 2017 49

Hungry Eye But as for her daily menu? “That’s playtime. I have a firm belief that if you’re starting with the best ingredients, then it’s going to be good. How do you screw up something fantastic in its simplest form?”

Wolfertz’s musings bring to mind the words of the queen of kitchen improvisation, Ms. Julia Child: “In cooking, you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

The Art of Spontaneity et’s say 20 pounds of matsutake mushrooms show up after an evening’s menu has already been laid out. What next? “I jumped to serve them that night,” Nate Nadeau, Fore Street’s Chef de Cuisine says. “They were the first of the season. We cleaned them up and made a compound butter. They’re really piney, so we used juniper and some sumac one of our foragers had brought in that day.”

Using ingredients caught, raised, grown, and foraged throughout Maine from the likes of Four Winds Farm in Lisbon, Nadeau and his line cooks are already working with the best paints on the palette, but what happens on the canvas each night is even more impressive. “We write our menu here every day,” he says. “That’s the function of our restaurant. Our crew is here every morning prepping from the ground up for that evening’s meals. We have an idea of what’s coming at us every night as far as proteins and produce, but it changes throughout the afternoon.” With ingredients arriving until the very last minute, the team at Fore Street has to be prepared for Nadeau’s last-minute decisions and inspirations. “The people who help us execute this

L

– Adam Flood, Grace 5 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

have skills that you don’t necessarily learn in culinary school.”

Sizzling Improv Working under pressure while staying innovative is bound to result in some offscript moments, so why not make a menu for them? The Chef’s Tasting Menu at Five Fifty-Five on Congress Street, owned by Steve and Michelle Corry, is the perfect outlet for that creative energy. “It allows us to have a little fun with some extra ingredients we have in-house–something cool we saw at the Farmer’s Market we can only get in smaller quantities,” says Chef Kyle Robinson. “We have quite a bit of fun with it.”

Looking at a collection of ingredients for tonight’s meal, Robinson envisions his tasting menu. “I’ll start the seven-course menu off with a scallop crudo with apple-and-cilantro aguachile, fennel, and chorizo oil, then a local chicken liver pâté with grape jam, fermented grapes, husk cherries, and house-made brioche.” And that’s just the beginning. A sweet potato agnolotti and butternut squash may make an appearance, along with seared scallops, cauliflower purée, roasted romanesco with a sauce of hazelnuts, capers, and red wine. To finish it all off? “A date cake with figs, mascarpone mousse, and tahini ice cream.” If one dish proves particularly popular, there’s a chance it’ll find a spot on the permanent menu.

Should guests request the Chef’s Tasting Menu, they should hang on for a delicious ride. “I’ll grab a purée from this dish, a vinaigrette from that dish, some vegetables from another entrée. It ends up being a collection of little bits and pieces of different menu items transformed into something new.” This spontaneity means you’re likely to see a dish once–and only once. “We don’t do the same thing over and over again. It tends to be similar people who come back for this experience, so we try to give them something they haven’t seen before,” Robinson says. “It’s great fun. On occasion, if it’s a crazy busy night, it can be a little difficult for us to stop and clear our heads and think, ‘What can we come up with right now?’ But on a mellow weeknight, it gives us a chance to be creative and try out something we’ve read about or seen.”

Happy accidents Some chefs find last-minute menu ventures exhilarating–others less so. “The thing is, I try not to have that happen,” says Adam Flood, Executive Chef at Grace. It’s stressful enough making sure the food ordered from the menu is perfect, let alone cooking off-the-cuff. That’s not to say he’s never been pushed to improvise.

“I’ve had a few happy accidents in the kitchen,” Flood says. “I remember making king oyster mushroom confit, which can be

from left: meaghan maurice; adam flood; amy wilton

“I was making king oyster mushroom confit. I left them in the oven at 350 for four hours. When stuff like that happens, it feels like a horrible pit in your stomach. You want to puke, to be honest. I enjoy the art of perfection.”

This page: Kyle Robinson of Five Fifty-Five whips up seared scallops with hazelnuts, capers, roasted and pickled cauliflower, and wild rice romanesco accented with red wine sauce. Opposite page: (above) Adam Flood’s “accidental” crispy king oyster mushrooms with black garlic aioli and shaved burgundy truffles at Grace; (below) Halibut with cauliflower and potatoes at Melody Wolfertz’s Rockland restaurant, In Good Company.

very rubbery if not treated right. I put them in the oven without checking the temperature, a very rookie thing to do, and cooked them at 350 degrees when it should have been 225. I left them in the oven at 350 for four hours.” After abandoning the effort to focus on other dishes at hand, Flood returned that evening to examine the aftermath. “They were super caramelized, nice and soft. They were the best mushrooms I ever had!”

F

lood’s mushrooms ultimately made it onto Grace’s menu for a time as Fried King Oyster Mushrooms with black garlic aioli, though he says the process of improvisation in the kitchen is not one he enjoys. “When stuff like that happens, it feels like a horrible pit in your stomach. You want to puke, to be honest. But then you get away from that feeling, think of what you’ve done in the past, and move forward to fix it.

I enjoy the art of perfection. If things aren’t going well and I’m pushed to improvise, I can and I’m good at it. But it’s only satisfying after the fact.”

There’s a romanticized image, one many of us share, of our favorite Maine chefs whisking, sautéing, and chopping their way to the next signature dish led by pure imagination and instinct. But maybe we value equally, if not more than their artistry, their resourcefulness. n

Healthy Thai Food | Beverage | Alcohol 363 Fore Street Portland, ME 04101 www.CheevitdeePortlandME.com

207 747 4795

December 2017 51

Prelude 2017 @ OVWB Tue 11/28 TASTING CHAMPAGNE LANSON PRELUDE KICK-OFF DANCE PARTY + LATE-NIGHT INDUSTRY NIGHT Wed 11/29 RED WINE + CHOCOLATE TASTING BLUES, SOUL + FOLK with BREAD & CIRCUS Thu 11/30 HOLIDAY JAZZ with BOB CHAREST BAND Sat 12/2 ALL DAY PRELUDE PARTY on the PATIO BLUES, SOUL + FOLK with BREAD & CIRCUS Tue 12/5 MIDDLE of the MAYHEM DANCE PARTY + LATE-NIGHT INDUSTRY NIGHT Wed 12/6 MERLOT AND MERLOT CAKES: WINE + CHOCOLATE TASTING BLUES, SOUL + FOLK with BREAD & CIRCUS Thu 12/7 HOLIDAY JAZZ with BRUCE COUILLARD TRIO Sat 12/9 ALL DAY WRAP-UP PARTY ON THE PATIO BLUES, SOUL + FOLK with BREAD & CIRCUS

Everyday Sommelier

Tasting the Stars A

I’m often asked about my ‘Desert-Island Wine.’

The answer? It’s always champagne.

adobe stock/kalim

ll champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne, so the saying goes.

True champagne comes from the region in northeastern France of the same name.

With its wonderful sparkling qualities and complexity of flavors, it pairs well with a variety of foods–from triple-cream cheeses to buttered popcorn, shellfish to smoked salmon. And, of course, it’s just as good on its own when a celebration is called for! There’s surely no better way to ring in the New Year than with a bottle of bubbly. Forget trying to find someone to kiss at midnight–the real question is, which of these champagnes will you be sipping when the ball drops?

Pop the Cork According to acclaimed cellar master JeanBaptiste Lecaillon, the magic of the Louis Roederer Brut Premier is “its structured texture, richness, and length, which are distinctly winey. It’s a full, complex wine that’s both rich and powerful while remaining a classic.” I couldn’t agree more.

The non-vintage champagne is made from a blend of 40-percent Pinot Noir, 40-per-

By Ralph Hersom

cent Chardonnay, and 20-percent Pinot Meunier, aged for three years before release. This champagne has an impeccable pedigree: Louis Roederer also produces the famed Cristal cuvée.

Dynamic Duo The Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2008 is the seventy-second vintage from the legendary house that also produces Dom Perignon. The 2008 vintage is generally considered the best since 1996. Unlike the tart 1990s wines, champagnes from 2008 have perfect balance and a delightful intensity of fruit. Made from a blend of 37-percent Pinot Noir, 40-percent Chardonnay, and 23-percent Pinot Meunier, each sip delivers an elegant liveliness with floral notes of honeysuckle, hints of citrus, and ripe stone fruits.

Why stop there? The rosé champagne from the same legendary house of Moet & Chandon will have you tickled pink. Once again, the Grand Vintage 2008 is a standout wine made from a blend of 46 percent Pinot Noir (of which 20 percent is red wine), 32 percent Chardonnay, and 22 percent Pi-

not Meunier. Enjoy hints of raspberry in the nose, a sweet rose petal aroma, and an impeccable balance that will sparkle on your tongue. I could smell this wine all day long!

There’s nothing like pink fizz to get a party started–and this is one of the best rosé champagnes I’ve tasted in a long time.

A Famous Favorite Founded in 1849, Pol Roger was wellknown as Winston Churchill’s favorite champagne house. The prestige Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill was created in 1984 to honor him. The blend, which is a closely guarded family secret, is Pinot Noir-dominant, providing structure and breadth, while Chardonnay contributes elegance and finesse. Sourced from only Grand Cru vineyards, this champagne is made during the best vintages–my choice being 2006–and is always released later than Pol Roger’s other vintage-dated bottles, reflecting Churchill’s appreciation for older champagnes. n Ralph Hersom is a sommelier and owner of RRH Cellars Wine Consultancy. He was formerly the Cellarmaster at Windows On The World and Wine Director of Le Cirque 2000 in NYC. December 2017 53

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L’Esprit de L’Escalier

Tiny Gifts A portfeuille cherished in childhood hold significance greater than the sum of its parts.

adobe stock/stanislau

T

he portefeuille, or change purse, is imbued with the iconography of my life, tumbling through memory like an ever-occurring dream weave.

Larger than the humble item it represents– a repository for small change–its meaning and responsibility is writ large. As a child of six or seven, I was sent on a monthly errand in the neighborhood to pay the insurance premium for my mémère. I was given the portefeuille with the payment and told, “Walk to Aunt Sadie’s, don’t lose the

By Rhea Côté Robb ins

portefeuille, and get a receipt.” I was like the neighborhood Little Red Riding Hood with my portefeuille.

Sadie was my great aunt. That black silk portefeuille became the life connection between generations. Had I not been given the task, I’d never have personally met my great aunt. Small change or monumental event in the life of a child? The memory lingers.

Pause to consider the small things: the gifts uncharted, unknown in their lasting imprint and influence upon the young.

How can such a small act give insight to such a large memory? In my entire life, portefeuille has meant so much more than just a coin purse. The icon speaks to a deeper, secret language of self. It becomes more than just another French word.

There are memories and, more importantly, stories attached to the small change purse of my life. n Rhea Côté Robbins is the author of ‘down the Plains,’ and editor of Heliotrope–French Heritage Women Create.

December 2017 55

Dining Guide Anthony’s Italian Kitchen, offers homemade Italian cooking using the freshest ingredients, featuring favorites such as pizza, pasta,and sandwiches. Voted “Best in Portland” for three years. Dine-in and catering services on offer. Beer and wine available.

Open 11-8 Mon. through Sat. 151 Middle St #5, Portland; and new location Cumberland County Courthouse, 205 Newbury St. anthonysitaliankitchen.com, 774-8668.

Bolster, Snow & Co., is located on the firstfloor of the spectacularly reincarnated brick mansion, The Francis (formerly the Mellen E. Bolster House). With executive Chef Nicolas Verdisco at the helm, Bolster Snow provides guests with warm and genuine hospitality, gracious service, and fiercely seasonal food and drink that are representative of the Northeast Region. 747 Congress St. Portland, 772-7485, thefrancismaine.com Bruno’s Voted Portland’s Best Italian Restaurant by Market Surveys of America, Bruno’s offers a delicious variety of classic Italian, American, and seafood dishes–and they make all of their pasta in-house. Great sandwiches, pizza, calzones, soups, chowders, and salads. Enjoy lunch or dinner in the dining room or the Tavern. Casual dining at its best. 33 Allen Ave., 878-9511.

Bull Feeney’s Authentic Irish pub & restaurant, serving delicious from-scratch sandwiches, steaks, seafood & hearty Irish fare, pouring local craft & premium imported brews, as well as Maine’s most extensive selection of single malt Scotch & Irish whiskeys. Live music five nights.

Open 7 days, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Kitchen closes at 10 p.m. 375 Fore St., Old Port, 773-7210, bullfeeneys.com.

The Corner Room features bright, wideopen space with towering ceilings complemented by handcrafted woodwork. Patrons can expect a warm, comfortable atmosphere, marked by the rich aromas of housemade pastas, pizzas, antipasti and artisanal breads. Come and enjoy the taste of Venice in the heart of Portland, ME! 879-4747, 110 Exchange Street. Visit thecornerroomkitchenandbar.com for more information.

DiMillo’s Now through December, relax and enjoy Head Chef Melissa Bouchard’s masterful creations. Every day, she offers something new and delicious. Try our Early Dinner Specials, Monday-Friday or our wonderful Port Side Lounge, Portland’s getaway for grown-ups. Happy Hour includes special menu Monday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. Open daily at 11 a.m., Commercial St., Old Port. Always FREE PARKING while aboard. 772-2216.

J’s Oyster is a premier seafood destination and locals’ favorite with indoor and outdoor waterfront seating on one of Portland’s scenic piers. Established in 1977, J’s offers classic favorites and friendly service. Coastal Living claimed J’s one of “America’s Best Seafood Dives 2016.” Find us on Facebook. 772-4828 Kon Asian Bistro Steakhouse & Sushi Bar serves Asian cuisine with modern flair.

Japanese, Sushi, Thai, Chinese, or hibachi 5 6 p ort l a n d monthly maga z ine

Restaurant Review

Catch of the Season Top and bottom: courtesy blue fin. Inset: Meaghan Maurice

Discover BlueFin at the Portland Harbor Hotel, an enchanted oasis in the heart of the hectic holiday Old Port.

I

t’s a whirlwind day of holiday shopping on the Portland waterfront. Suddenly our feet hurt and we’re starving. We sweep up the plush carpeted staircase in the foyer of the Portland Harbor Hotel, past the crackling fire by the bar, and into BlueFin. In no time, we’re settled into cushy wing chairs, glasses of prosecco and Mohua Sauvignon Blanc in hand (each $10), overlooking what used to be known as Eve’s at the Garden, a serene, landscaped space used for outdoor dining in summer. A pretty little stone nymph perches at the edge of the decorative pool outside our window. Things are definitely looking up.

The name has changed to BlueFin, but the executive chef at this restaurant is still the talented Tim Labonte, and his menu still makes seafood the star. We can’t resist Maine Crab Cakes ($18) laced with spinach, presented on

By Claire z. Cramer

a bed of greens with a delicious grilled-corn tartar sauce and a silken slice of cured lemon.

Swooshes of smoked paprika oil race around the edge of the plate. Fresh flavors join forces on the platter to complement the fresh crab without stealing the show.

The crab cakes, like many dishes here, appear on both the lunch and dinner menus. Our Shrimp in the Weeds is another: a salad of tender sweet beets, dressed ribbons of Atlantic kelp, and baby greens ($18). Ginger vinaigrette brightens the

December 2017 57

Dining Guide tables. Private party rooms accommodates groups from business meetings to birthday parties. Choose fresh, delicious items prepared before your table. Family friendly; open Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. to 11 p.m., Sat. 1 p.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.9:30 p.m. 874-0000.

Hurricane Restaurant New England cuisine with an international twist. Local produce and seafood, full bar, award-winning wine list, in-house dessert chef, lobster & blueberry pie! Sunday Brunch & Make-Your-Own Bloody Mary Bar. Good restaurants come and go; great restaurants get better and better. Lunch & dinner seven days a week. Bar menu always available. Reservations suggested. 29 Dock Square, Kennebunkport, Maine. 967-9111, hurricanerestaurant.com

The highest quality lobster, crab, and shellfish.

Plus Lobster Rolls, Chowder, tacos & More!

Visit our retail location: 1035 Ocean Avenue, Portland • 747-5304 www.lindakatelobster.com

Authentic Thai Cooking

865-6005

Dine In • Take-Out Open 7 Days A Week Lunch & Dinner • Beer & Wine Monday–Saturday 11am–9pm Sunday 4pm–9pm

Spice Levels

★ 1 Star: Coward ★★ 2 Stars: Careful ★★★ 3 Stars: Adventurous ★★★★ 4 Stars: Native ★★★★★ 5 Stars: Showoff

Maria’s Ristorante is Portland’s original classic Italian Restaurant. Greg and Tony Napolitano are always in house preparing classics like Zuppa de Pesce, Eggplant Parmigiana, Grilled Veal Sausages, Veal Chop Milanese, homemade cavatelli pastas, Pistachio Gelato, Limoncello Cake, and Maine’s Best Meatballs. Prices $11.95 $22.95. Tue.-Sat. starting at 5 p.m. Catering always available. 337 Cumberland Ave. 772-9232, mariasrestaurant.com.

Pearl Kennebunk & Spat Oyster Cellar is Chef Rebecca Charles’s (of Pearl Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village New York fame) newest restaurant. Enjoy an elevated beach food menu, including Charles’s famous reinvention of Maine’s classic lobster roll.

Join us for Happy Hour Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. for $1 oysters, $5 wines, and well cocktails! 27 Western Ave. Kennebunk 04043. 204-0860 pearloysterbar.com/pearl-maine/

Pedro’s focuses on simple yet full-flavored Mexican and Latino food. Offering tacos, burritos and an impressive array of margaritas, sangria, beer, and wine.

Especiales de la semana (specials of the week) keep the menu varied and fresh and showcase different Latino cultures.

Seasonal outdoor dining available. Open daily, 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. 181 Port Rd., Kennebunk, 967-5544, pedrosmaine.com.

Scratch-made Nice People Totally Authentic ll Feeney’s u B portland’s pub

491 US Route One, Freeport, Maine 1/2 mile south of Exit 20 (Across from Comfort Suite) 5 8 por t l a n d monthly magazine

773.7210 375 Fore Street in the old Port Facebook.com/bullFeeneyS @bullFeeneyS

Restaurant Review Restaurante El Corazon Mexican food from the heart. Authentic family recipes passed down through generations.

We serve large and small plates and an “oversized tequila selection.” Try Portland’s own “Marisco”– a Mexican seafood cocktail of shrimp, bay scallops, clams, octopus, and, of course, Maine lobster.

Open lunch and dinner, Tues.-Sat. 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m., 190 State St. Portland. elcorazonportland.com, 536-1354

Rivalries Sports Pub & Grill Now with two fun and comfortable upscale sports bar locations. Known for great casual pub food, Rivalries’ menu has something for everyone. And, with 30+ HD TVs and every major pro and college sports package, you won’t miss a game! Located at 11 Cotton Street in Portland’s Old Port (774-6044) and 2 Hat Trick Drive, Falmouth (7474020), rivalriesmaine.com

Sea Salt Lobster Restaurant delivers an authentic Maine dining experience using fresh, locally harvested seafood to create delicious dishes that will leave you wanting more. Visit us on Route 1 in Saco and try our fresh Maine lobster rolls, renowned Angus beefburgers, clams, haddock, or fish tacos.

Open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., 365 days a year.

660 Main St, Saco, seasaltlobsterrestaurant. com, 494-1178.

sliced beets and greens into something special–the seaweed is a tasty surprise, and it’s all topped with a tempting row of cold poached shrimp.

T

his is turning into just the sort of fancy lunch treat we were looking for.

When we return for dinner, we’ll try the Sea Scallop Bucatini with sherry butter sauce and hazelnuts ($34) or the “Clean Shirt Lobster” with split tail and picked claws (market price), or the Grilled Pork Loin Chop with goji barbecue sauce, grilled shishito pepper relish, and farro pilaf ($29).

Bluefin is also a tuna-friendly spot, as you’d imagine, with seared rare tuna creations served lunch and dinner.

For this lunch, we share a Maple Chicken Reuben ($14). It’s a highly evolved take

on this sandwich, made with local chicken, Morse’s sauerkraut, and a truly delicious Thousand Island dressing. It’s all layered between slices of rye bread that’s maple-kissed and toasted to buttery perfection on the grill. The sum of the parts is like the love child of a panini and French toast. It’s presented on a wooden board with a basket of just-fried Maine potatoes and a Morse’s sour pickle.

Settled in this serene hotel spot, we’re so happy to be here instead of elsewhere, standing in line with the herd for oysters.

We’ve lucked into the way holiday celebrations should be. n BlueFin at the Portland Harbor Hotel, Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11: 30-2; Sun. Brunch 11-2; Dinner daily 5:30-9:30 468 Fore St., 775-9090, portlandharborhotel.com

December 2017 59

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Holiday Gifts & Events Guide

It’s never too early to start planning for the most wonderful time of the year!

We’ve got you covered with sparkling seasonal events and gift inspiration from across Maine.

Ho lid ay Ev en ts!

• Country Christmas in Bethel,

Nov. 24 to Dec. 24 • Magic of Christmas, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 8-17 • Christmas by the Sea, Ogunquit, Dec. 8-10 • Hanukkah, Dec. 12-20 • Polar Bear Dip & Dash, Back Cove and East End Beach, Portland, Dec. 31.

• Bodhi Day, Jan. 24, 2018

courtesyphotos

Festival of Lights, Boothbay, through Dec. 31.

Festival of Trees, Saco, through Dec. 30.

Holiday Window Display Contest, Portland, through Dec. 16.

• Winter Solstice, Dec. 21 • Christmas, Dec. 25 • Kwanzaa, Dec. 26-Jan. 1, 2018 • New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2018 • Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2018 • Mahayana New Year, Jan. 12, 2018 • Chinese New Year, Feb. 16, 2018 • Mardi Gras, Feb. 13, 2018 • Makar Sankranti, Jan. 14, 2018 • Persian New Year, Mar. 21, 2018

Elfternoon Lunchtime Shopping, Portland, Dec. 13.

White Christmas, Ogunquit Playhouse, Ogunquit, through Dec. 17.

A Christmas Story, The Portland Players, Dec. 1-17.

Victorian Christmas, Wiscasset, Dec. 16.

North Pole Express, Boothbay Railway Village, Dec. 10, 16, 17.

The Leevees: A Chanukah Concert, Maine Jewish Museum, Portland, Dec. 17.

Christmas with Cornils, Merrill Auditorium, Portland, Dec. 19 December 2017 61

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HERMAN S MAINE COAST BOOK SHOPS - Est. 1886 -

Bar Harbor  Boothbay Harbor  Camden Damariscotta  Freeport  Portland’s Old Port

Stir it Up

For the aspiring bartender, Vena’s Fizz House Infusion Jars. Serve up ready-prepared cocktails–all you do is add booze! Try Maine Margarita or Campfire for $12.50.

Give The Gift of Reading!

Cocktail Hour

Bring out your inner sea captain with these nautical cuff-links from local company CHART Metalworks. Stay on trend during cocktail hour with one of their unique bottle-openers.

Both pieces are $65.

Check shermans.com for new releases every Wednesday!

n ine stones sPa

®

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Eat. Play. Save.

Id e a s H o li d a y G if t

Portland Dine Around Club™ Celebrating 30 Years of Savings!

Everybody loves SAVINGS! The Perfect Gift for every one on your list.

Portland Dine Around Club has given Mainers huge savings for 30 years. Members receive special deals for over 300 Southern Maine restaurants, local attractions, sporting events and more. Join the club and start saving!

Still Only $29.95!

So Fresh and So Clean Keep clean up at camp this year with Hunting Camp Soap by Portland General Store.

This charcoal-activated soap is ideal for the cabin, but will fit right in at home too. Pick up a bar at Portland Dry Goods Company for $14.

Purchase at our Maine Mall Kiosk or Maine Wicked Goods Mercantile in Freeport.

Call 207.775.4711 or Order Online.

MWGM 304 US Route 1, Freeport •

dineportland.com • 207-775-4711

Cute and Colorful

Dress to Impress

Bowtie.com’s “We the People” bow tie is the ultimate gift for a history buff or diehard Hamilton fan. Handcrafted in Maine. $48.

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courtesy Photos

Brighten up a loved one’s day with any of these cheery, colorful accessories by Erin Flett. Pick the perfect pouch out of the wide selection of designs and sizes, all available at Blanche + Mimi. Pencil case, $30; wristlet, $34; and carry-all, $36.

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KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE

modern handmade natural

minkahome.com

Jamie Hogan

3 dock square. kennebunkport 207.204.0275

Sponsored by

BUY TICKETS: 207.774.0465 www.portlandstage.org 25A Forest Ave, Portland, ME

December 2017 65

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Ho lid ay Gif t Ide as

Box of Love

For your homesick friend: a birch box filled with local treats. Find it at Fabula Nebulae, $125.95.

One of a Kind

If you’re looking for a beautiful salt or pepper grinder that lasts, go for the Ash Morrison mill from Dailey Woodworking, $100.

Basket Case

If you’re struggling to settle on just one delectable item, spring for a gift basket from Maine’s Pantry. Breakfast lovers will appreciate the Boothbay Breakfast Basket, $42.95,

Arm Candy

nEAT Feast sculpted cutting boards

theneatkitchen.com 6 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Packing feels like less of a chore when you have luggage like this. Artemis Design Co. create carpet bags from repurposed Kilim rugs sourced from Istanbul. Duffel bag, $545 and crossbody bag, $148 at Peyote Moon.

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Timeless Style for Men & Women Joules, Saint James, Tribal, Joseph Ribkoff, Kinross, Prana, Royal Robbins, Kuhl, Pendleton, Mountain Khakis, Johnny O and more.

66 Front Street

The Secret Ingredient

Bath 443-1796

Hoping to give new life to your cooking? The Wild Maine Blueberry Balsamic from Vervacious will impress seasoned and rookie chefs alike. Unconvinced? Stop by their company store on Commercial Street where they host tastings all day long. $15 per bottle.

Do Try This at Home Your oyster lover can skip the lines at Eventide and indulge safely with this gadget that takes the scare out of shucking. Find the AW SHUCKS! Oyster Shucker online at awshucksoysteropener. com. $225.

Bath - Boothbay Harbor - Camden

Come Join the Party

A Tate House Colonial Christmas | December 9th & 10th noon to 4pm 1267 Westbrook Street, Portland, Maine | For more information go to www.tatehouse.org December 2017 67

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Looking Fly For a twist on a classic, opt for this distinct boutonniere, handmade by a fourth-generation fishing guide at Maine Fly Boutonniere. $49.99 each.

Whether your hometown’s featured on it or not, you’ll want to snag one of these unique Town Totes, $40, from Kurier. This functional, on-trend bag is handcrafted with reinforced leather handles. And if typography isn’t your style, go for the Buffalo Plaid tote, $98.

Dress up your Christmas tree with pretty pewter ornaments from Danforth Pewter. This duo would bring holiday cheer to even the most Charlie Brown-esque tree.

Snowflake, $18.50 and Santa’s key, $25.

Cool Beans

Coffee addicts can indulge their obsession in style with this marble-effect mug and pitcher from Campfire Studios, The set costs $66 at Gus & Ruby.

Cozy up this holiday season with Ramblers Way reponsibly sourced + skillfully made clothes in-store everyday

Stop by our new Portland store 75 Market Street | RamblersWay.com

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courtesy photos

Talk of the Town

Bits of Glitz

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Bringing you all things tea Purveyor of fine teas, treats, tea wares, accoutrements, books, linens–offered in an atmosphere of calm and eclectic beauty.

WEDS–FRI 10 am-5 pm SAT 10 am-3 pm Other times by appointment.

Thanks for Buying Local!

The perfect spot to catch up with a friend over tea and a scone.

Tea Tasting Class • Knowledgeable assistance. Available for speaking engagements.

5 Industry Road, Suite 1A, South Portland • (207)761-8041 • www.nelliestea.com

The Snuggle is Real DINO I N T E R N AT I O N A L F U R S Luxury Outerwear, Capes, Ponchos, Vests, Hats, Scarves & Vintage DinoFurs.com • 207-772-1344 343 Gorham Road South Portland, ME At Cornerbrook Plaza December 2017 69

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C

ing our 46th Y brat ear e l e !

Exquisite Custom-Designed Jewelry for 46 Years

Port Mag_Ad 24.indd 1

10/29/17 10:20 PM

PORTLAND

|

WESTBROOK

(207) 774-5946 harmonsbartons.com 584 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101 7 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Sheepscot River Pottery Pottery and Fine Gifts

Visit us on the web at www.sheepscot.com, or at one of our stores: Route One, Edgecomb, 04556, 207-882-9410 Main Street, Damariscotta, 04543, 207-563-6677

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Birds of a Feather

Spread a little holiday cheer with our outdoor friends this season with a Lobster Buoy Birdhouse.

Each birdhouse is handmade from Maine cedar and repurposed lobster rope. Find yours at LisaMarie’s Made in Maine or place a custom order online, $39-59.

Tree Dressing Add some local history to your tree with the Merrill Auditorium ornament from Springers Jewelers, $30

Stay Cozy

Show the world your love for all things Maine with the “Maine Lighthouse Tee” from Pinecone & Chickadee, $28.

AN ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS

Italian Kitchen C A T E R I N G

Starring a cast of ten of your favorite characters

Sm. 8-10

Med. 10-18

Lg. 18-24

Lasagna Stuffed Shells Eggplant Parmesan Baked Ziti Baked Jumbo Ravioli Meatballs (Old Family Recipe) Chicken Anthony

$40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 59.95

$60.00 60.00 60.00 60.00 60.00 60.00 79.95

$75.00 75.00 75.00 75.00 75.00 75.00 94.95

Chicken Tetrazzini

59.95

79.95

94.95

Boneless Chicken, Broccoli, and ziti in garlic butter sauce

Breaded chicken tenders with Mozzarella cheese and red sauce

See the Full Menu Online for more Delicious Dishes, Salads, Sides, and Sandwich Platters w w w. A n t h o n y s I t a l i a n K i t c h e n . c o m

151 Middle Street • Portland, ME • 774-8668 Fax: 774-2395 • anthonysitaliankitchen.com 7 2 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Dec. 9 & Dec. 16 1:00 pm

20

$

00

Includes Pizza Party Show, Interaction & per Photos with person Characters

5.00 PER TICKET DONATED TO MAKE A WISH

Beer and Wine available • Free Parking in Rear Lot Reservations Required • Call 221-2267 | 151 Middle Street, Portland

courtesy photos

Maine on My Mind

South Street Linen delivers the perfect scarves for layering in cooler weather. The Maine-made linen scarves trap warmth without being itchy. Savannah Stripe Scarf, small, $139, large, $159.

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www.dcolejewelers.com

December 2017 73

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15% OFF YOUR NEXT IZZY’S CHEESECAKE PURCHASE

135 WALTON STREET, PORTLAND ME (207) 797-9990 IZZYSCHEESECAKE.COM (use code: HOLIDAY17)

OFFER EXPIRES MARCH 31ST 2018

Fabulous

RTER’S A C

Socks for Men, Women, & Kids One of the Best Selections of Quality Cross-Country Equipment in the Northeast!

Stay in our Bethel Lodge or cabins for your Outdoor Adventure!

Over 55km Groomed Trails Gift Certificates

564 Congress Street, Portland, Maine (207) 805-1348 • thesockshack.com 7 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

786 Intervale Road, Bethel 824-3880 420 Main Street, Oxford 207-539-4848

www.cartersxcski.com

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Ireland’s Crystal & Crafts 558 C ONGRESS S TREET , P ORTLAND | 207 773-5832

Gift Great s!

Idea

Made to order, just for you in Kennebunk, Maine

www.FIOREoliveoils.com | Visit one of our Tasting Rooms!

BAR HARBOR • ROCKLAND • FREEPORT • BRUNSWICK • LEWISTON • BREWER December 2017 75

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"Maine's Original Hot Sauce"

The Perfect Gift For Any Holiday!

Use promo code HOLIDAY for 15% OFF!

Captain Jim’s Marine Salvage & Nautical Antiquities Maine’s Largest Marine Salvage Super Store Authentic Nautical Antiquities & Gifts Nautical Hardwear, portholes, Ship’s wheels, Clocks, Nautical Artwork & lots More!

the

Paper Patch A Portland Tradition since 1974 for fine stationery, note cards, journals, greeting cards, wrapping papers and accessories.

Featuring custom invitations and announcements, and personalized

Call Capt. Jim at (207) 838-9902

3 2 6 Pr eS uM P S Cot S t r e e t, Portl AN d M A r iN es a lva g e M A iN e. CoM oPe N e v e ry S At u r dAy 9 - 3P M or by APPoi NtMeNt

7 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

stationery by Crane’s, and William Arthur.

21 Exchange Street (207) 774-3125

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ARTMARTMAINE.COM 512 CONGRESS STREET

Bun Warmer Skirts 40% off Specials

Art Supplies

(207)775-4244

FF thru 15% O de: co 12/31 ND L T R PO A

Buns are best when warm, especially when they are your own!

Our sweater skirts are cozy and warm for any winter occasion. Slip this skirt on over leggings, tights, yoga pants or wear on it’s own!

It’s the perfect accessory to put between you and the elements.

Made in Maine

207-994-2106 Studio: 71 Organug Road, York, Maine JackandMaryDesigns.com

UNIQUE, EXCLUSIVE, HAND -CURATED SELECTION OF HOLIDAY GIFTS AND DECOR O N LY AT OA K H I L L AC E H A R DWA R E

29 GORHAM RD SCARBOROUGH

MON-FRI 7A-7P S AT- S U N 8 A - 6 P

SCARBOROUGHACEHARDWARE.COM F A M I L Y

O W N E D

A N D

O P E R A T E D

B U S I N E S S

December 2017 77

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December 2017 79

DREAM FIRST

D o l l a r s & Se nse This is the Year Your Ship Comes In (continued from page 37)

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.15%, $50,000 +

Money Market Account

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.63% on new

cars (special rate)

Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.158% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.558%,

15-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.30% 59-month special

$2,500 min.

We live by a simple idea, and hope you do too:

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.30% 59-month special

$2,500 min.

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.15%, $500 min.

Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

Dream First, then go from there.

Because you can.

GORHAM SAVINGS BANK gorhamsavingsbank.com

National Bank Bangor • Bar Harbor • Blue Hill • Boothbay Harbor • Calais • Camden • Damariscotta • Eastport Ellsworth • Northeast Harbor • Rockland • Rockport • Southwest Harbor • Waldoboro • Wiscasset

A Division of The First Bancorp • 800.564.3195 • TheFirst.com • Member FDIC

Branches: 14; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50 Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, for some accounts Checking account fee: None for most accounts cHighest savings account APY & terms: 0.25%,

$75,000 min.

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 13.99% -

23.99%

Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.13% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.172% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.415%,

10-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.15%, 5-year, $500 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 1.15%, 5-year, $500 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.40%, minimum $500 Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

KENNEBUNK SAVINGS kennebunksavings.com

Branches: 13; Non-customer ATM charge: $3 Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: Not for the

Breakaway Checking

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.10%, $5,000

min. balance

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 12.99%

to 23.99%

Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.29% for a new car Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.80% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.350%,

15-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.31%, 5-yr. CD, $500

SVN | The Urbanek Group Commercial Real Estate Advisors 100 Silver Street, Portland ME | 207.613.7400 www.theurbanekgroup.com All SVN® Offices Independently Owned And Operated

8 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

min. deposit

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.31%, 5-year $500 min.

deposit

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.40%, $500 minimum Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

Include us in your conversations with your wealth advisor, trust officer or development team.

Kerry Peabody, CSA CLTC

Marty Duggan, CLU

www.clarkinsurance.com Serving

Maine | New Hampshire | Massachusetts

PERSONAL • BUSINESS • BONDS • BENEFITS

Imagine leaving a million dollars to your family, college or favorite charity - even though you may not have a million dollars.

(207) 774-6257 • WWW.CLARKINSURANCE.COM

Legacy

LOCATION:

Maine Solutions Federal Credit Union, providing convenient and effective banking solutions for over 50 years, is now open to new members within Cumberland and York Counties.

We are a community based credit union, that is service focused with the answers to your banking needs.

209B WESTERN AVENUE SOUTH PORTLAND (207) 775-8371 www.mesolutionsfcu.org HOURS:

Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration

BE PART OF THE SOLUTION! MAINE SOLUTIONS FCU @KEEPITLOCALMAINE @KEEPITLOCALME @KEEPITLOCALMAINE KEEPITLOCALMAINE.COM

FOLLOW US AT:

7

dollars & s e n s e KEY BANK keybank.com

Branches: 50; Non-customer ATM charge: $3 Refund ATM surcharges: With some accounts Checking account fee: None for some accounts Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.35%,

3-month bonus promotion; 0.05% without bonus Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 13.99%22.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.74% Highest APY opportunity: 1.15%, 29-month Tiered CD (with rewards), $2,500 min.

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.15%, 29-month Tiered CD (with rewards), $2,500 min.

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25% Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “Key Privilege Accounts have no monthly fee, free checks, and a free safedeposit box.” –Sandy Walsh, Marketing MACHIAS SAVINGS BANK machiassavings.com

Branches: 19; Non-customer ATM charge: $4 Refund ATM surcharges: With some accounts Checking account fee: None with the Ultimate

Green account

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.25%, $25,000

min. balance

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 8.99%-26.99% Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 4.675% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.324% Lowest res. mortgage APR terms: 3.679 10-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.50%, 5-year CD,

…

$1,000 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 1.50%, 5-year CD, $1,000 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.37%, $250 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes MECHANICS’ SAVINGS BANK mechanicssavings.com

Branches: 4; Non-customer ATM charge: Refund ATM surcharges: Yes Checking account fee: Fees waived if you meet

certain criteria

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.30% Rela-

tionship Money Market

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores:

Best APR for 60-month auto loan: Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.977% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.257%, 10-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.87%, CD/IRA, $500 min.

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.87%, $500 min.

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.75%, $500 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes

Take Take home home home more moremore than thanthan aaamemory… memory… a memory…

TakeTake home more than memory...

Enjoy the signature tastes of Maine wherever you are! Call or click MaineLobsterDirect.com... the ultimate source for fresh Maine lobster. Our premium, hard-shell Maine lobster is harvested daily from the cold, clear waters of the North Atlantic and shipped overnight throughout North America. Stop by our wharf and we’ll pack your order to travel or click/call us when you get home.

We We Wewelcome welcome welcomewalk-in walk-in walk-in We welcome orders—large orders—large orders—large walk-inor or or orders—large small small smalland and andgladly gladly gladly or small supply supply supply andrestaurants restaurants restaurants gladly supply and and and restaurants caterers. caterers. caterers. and caterers.

48 48 48Union Union UnionWharf Wharf Wharf 48 Union Portland, Portland, Portland, WharfMaine Maine Portland, Maine04101 04101 04101•Maine ••toll toll tollfree 04101 free free800.556.2783 •800.556.2783 800.556.2783 toll free 800.556.2783

December 2017 83

d o l l a r s & s e nse NORTHEAST BANK northeastbank.com

Branches: 10; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50 Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: None for Northeast

Express account

Highest savings account APY & terms: 1.10% APY

Pearl Money Market (available to NEW customers, $5,000 min. balance) Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 6.209% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.071% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.498%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.10% APY Pearl Money Market Highest CD APY & terms: 1.40%, 5-year CD, $500 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.20%, 5-year, $500 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “With our high-yield Pearl Money Market account, competitive CD rates, and state-of-the-art mobile banking tools like Mobile Check Deposit, Northeast Bank offers personal deposit products designed to fit your needs.” –Chris Delamater, Marketing Director NORWAY SAVINGS BANK norwaysavings.bank

Branches: 24; Non-customer ATM charge: $4 Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, up to $20 for

ICONIC DESIGN ICONIC DESIGN BACKED BY BACKED BY SUPERIOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE

certain accounts

Checking account fee: None for some accounts

Visit your local KitchenAid brand retailer for more information on the full lineup of KitchenAid appliances ®

Visit your local KitchenAid brand retailer for more information on the full lineup of KitchenAid appliances

ES ★ BE D

LE

I S ★ SERV

Route 302 - 54 Bridgton Road - Westbrook

RETAIL INFORMATION HERE 800-797-3621 - www.lpapplianceme.com

CE

SA

LP

APPLIANCES, BEDDING, SALES & SERVICE

RETAIL HERE Ask us INFORMATION about financing options.

NG ★

AP PL

NC

DI

IA

®

Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm | Saturday 9am - 12pm ®/™ ©2016 KitchenAid. All rights reserved. KEY22011. Form No. KX160329A

®/™ ©2016 KitchenAid. All rights reserved. KEY22011. Form No. KX160329A

8 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.10%, $100,000 min. balance (with requirements) Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.626% for a $30,000 new car Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.060% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.443%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.10%, Premium CD, 5-year, $500 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 1.10%, Premium CD, 5-year, $500 min. deposit Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.20%, $500 min.

Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “Every new checking account comes with a 90-day free trial of GenGold–a service which features discounts at more than 1,000 local businesses and on gift cards, world-wide travel, and hundreds of other retailers and services. It even has identity restoration services in the event

that you are involved in a data breach.”

–Melissa Rock, Marketing and Communications Officer, VP PEOPLE’S UNITED BANK peoples.com

Branches: 27; Non-customer ATM charge: $3 Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, with some

accounts Checking account fee: $10-$30 depending on account, waived if you meet certain requirements Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.35% Premier Advantage Money Market Account, $100,000 min.

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 10.99% to 21.99% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 3.298% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.379%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.05%, Business Advantage CD Highest CD APY & terms: 1.05%, Business Advantage CD Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes ROCKLAND SAVINGS BANK rocklandsavingsbank.com

Branches: 2; Non-customer ATM charge: Refund ATM surcharges: No Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.25%,

$100,000 balance required

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: 0% Intro

APR for the first 12 billing cycles, 10.99% 20.99% after that Highest APY opportunity: 2.05%, 4-year special, $500 min.

Highest CD APY & terms: 2.05%, 4-year special, $500 min.

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.25%, $500 min.

Family-Owned, Old World Butcher Shop & Meat Market

Come find all the great flavors of the holidays in one store!

Voted “Best of the Best” Butcher shops in Greater Portland for the Last Two years.

Open Daily 8am-6pm • 799-3374 • 101 Ocean Street, South Portland

Maria’s Ristorante – Portland’s Traditional Italian Restaurant – – Portland’s Classic Italian Restaurant –

Chri stma s TH E C R O with ON E Dece RS m Dinn ber 16 er Sh ow

SACO & BIDDEFORD SAVINGS sbsavings.com

Branches: 8; Non-customer ATM charge: $3.50

Refund ATM surcharges: No

Checking account fee: Several no fee options Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.70% Youth

Savings Account; 0.55% Mainely Preferred Savings, $250,000 min.

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.625% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.316% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.988%, 15-year fixed Highest APY opportunity: 1.86%, 5-year CD, $500 min. deposit Highest CD APY & terms: 1.86%, 5-year CD, $500

Six Course Italian Dinner for Two (Including a bottle of wine) $29 Per Person

Most romantic in in the the 1980s.

1980s. ve a te!

Most romantic Gi tifica Most Cer Most romantic romantic now. now.

Gift

Wednesday-Saturday | www.mariasrestaurant.com Open Open Wednesday-Saturday | www.mariasrestaurant.com 337 Cumberland Avenue, Portland • 772-9232 337 Cumberland Avenue, Portland • 772-9232

December 2017 85

dollars & s e n s e min. deposit

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.90%, $500 min. deposit Electronic check scanning on mobile devices: Yes Game Changer: “We recently launched a Commu-

nity Debit Card Program with five of our local school districts and with every non-ATM transaction, we’ll donate a portion of the transaction fees to each of the school districts depending on the card you choose.” –Bob Quentin, President & CEO

SANFORD INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS banksis.com Branches: 8; Non-customer ATM charge: Yes Refund ATM surcharges: Yes, with

Ultimate Checking

Checking account fee: No Highest savings account APY & terms: 0.30%, Money

Market, $25,000 min. balance

Credit card APRs for A, B, C credit scores: N/A Best APR for 60-month auto loan: 3.0% Lowest 30-year fixed rate res. mortgage APR: 4.034% Lowest res. mortgage APR & terms: 3.474%,

15-year fixed

Highest APY opportunity: 1.87%, 5-year,

$500 min. deposit

Highest CD APY & terms: 1.87%, 5-year,

$500 min. deposit

Best APY for 12-month IRA: 0.10%, variable,

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House of the Month

High upon a Cape Elizabeth cliff, you’ll find romance and shelter from all storms in this cozy castle.

town and shore

By colin W. sarg ent

uilt on a soaring bluff for reporter, editor, poet, publisher, and lawyer Sylvester Blackmore Beckett (1812-1882), Beckett’s Castle is a storybook retreat, stone by quarried stone. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, this one-acre estate with Norman tower and 350 feet of oceanfront is being offered for $3.35M. December 2017 93

Below right: The rose gardens, planted by Harvey and landscaper Lynn Shafer on the granite outcroppings of Cape Elizabeth, caught the eye of international rosarian Peter Beales. Beales featured the garden in his 1996 book, A Vision of Roses.

taxes. After Sylvester Beckett died in 1882, the property passed to his daughter, Augusta Beckett Verrill.

Sometime before 1963, it was bought by an Army officer who’d served at Fort Williams. Lt. Col Walter Singles left the castle “to his daughter,” Edna Singles Thomas, but life dealt her an unlucky hand and she was unable to live the fairy tale.

In the end, a number of “squatters lived in the house,” Abby says, doing what they could to stay warm in the dark winters. “Because the fireplace was no longer usable, they’d have fires in the middle of deal of the century the [living] room,” having “My mother bought the house dragged in “a fire pit.” There in 1982, at a real auction and not was a lot of “drinking and supposbefore the auction, as I’ve read edly nudity.” somewhere on the internet,” A social worker with a 1981 Nancy’s daughter says by teleMaster’s Degree from Boston Uniphone from Cambridge, Massaversity, Nancy Brill Harvey saw bechusetts. “She paid $100,000.” yond the mountains of beer cans as By then, the castle was endan- Bas-relief of Sylvester Beckett by she cleared and lovingly restored gered and up on the block for back Benjamin Paul Akers, 1851. aine State Historian Earle Shettleworth Jr. has identified this Gothic whimsy as one of the first summer residences built strictly for vacation purposes on the Maine coast. To see it, head south along Shore Road, pass Fort Williams and Delano Park, then turn left on Singles Road until you reach No. 7.

The most recent resident is the late Nancy Brill Harvey (1930-2016), who adored her role as keeper of Beckett’s Castle. Her daughter, Abby Harvey, is overseeing the sale.

9 4 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

the house and launched a private practice in downtown Portland “which she ran for 15 years,” Abby says.

Galaxies of Roses In her mind’s eye, Nancy also saw worldclass seaside rose gardens shooting up be-

town and shore; “visions of roses” by peter beales, photo by vivian russell; collection of maine historical society

House of the Month

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House of the Month

One of the Early Birds Only a handful of vacation houses graced the Maine coast before Beckett’s Castle. “To the best of my knowledge, the first summer cottage on the Maine coast is Glen Cove Cottage on Cape Elizabeth, which dates from 1853 and is now the home of Dr. Bruce Nelson on Shore Road,” says Maine State Historian Earl Shettleworth, Jr. “The next one would be Grove Hall, the Goddard Mansion at Fort Williams, which dates from 1858 and is now part of Fort Williams Park. The first Bar Harbor Cottage was built by Alpheus Hardy in 1868 and is no longer standing. Several Bar Harbor cottages were built in the late 1860s and early 1870s–about the time of the construction of Beckett’s Castle. Thus, Beckett’s Castle is not the first summer cottage on the Maine coast but an early example of the building type.”

tween the savage granite outcroppings of the castle’s spectacular vantage.

So successful was she in creating these surf gardens with landscaper Lynn Shafer that word of her castle’s beautiful mantle crossed the Atlantic. World-renowned rosarian Peter Beales came from London to visit Nancy and see the wonders of Beck9 6 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

ett’s Castle’s gardens for himself “a few years before his book The Vision of Roses, came out in 1996,” her daughter says.

Of this coffee-table book, realtor Tish Whipple says, “If you flip to the garden before Nancy’s, you’ll see it was the Queen Mother’s.”

So it was Nancy Harvey herself, in a du-

et across more than century with the original Beckett, who discovered a way to divine and interpret the genius loci of Beckett’s Castle.

“My mother had this sort of contagious character,” Abby says. “Her favorite spots were the kitchen and her rose gardens. She loved to cook. She really adored the people

town and shore

who helped her restore and keep the house.

She loved her children and grandchildren first, but she loved her house, too, and everyone who understood it. So she’d have people over to celebrate–everyone from architect Stockley Holmes to the painters to contractors to those who worked with her– or just appreciated her–gardens.” Who’d re-

fuse an invitation to a place like this? nother drawing card was the magic of looking out and seeing four lighthouses: “Portland Head Light, Ram Island Light, Seguin Island Light, and [the East Tower of] Two Lights.”

Say it’s an icy day on Shore Road. What

did Nancy like to serve in her romantic castle? “Chicken cassoulet. Deep, rich stews.

Of course, she’d have lobster. But the memories I have of what she served often came in a soup bowl.”

Nancy Harvey was what used to be called an original: “She liked to make up words.

A ‘drooly’ day by the ocean on an overcast December 2017 97

House of the Month

day.” If ever someone offered help when she didn’t wish it, Nancy would laugh and say, “‘No need. I’m Miss Tuffington. I can take care of this all by myself!” ho doesn’t adore a castle on the Maine coast? “I love the bay window that’s off the living room and dining room,” says Tish Whipple. “It’s all glass above wood floors.

It has this amazing view up and down the coast.” In the pre-dawn darkness and at sunset, “I love the way the light comes off Seguin Island.”

The living room may be “a small space, but it has all those wonderful Gothic windows in it. It pulls the ocean in so you’re on top of it. The house seems to grow right out of the granite rocks. There are wonderful masses of granite stones that the sea rushes over,” so from the first you’re hearing,

9 8 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

Above: Views from the kitchen and living room extend across the ocean. Stairs to the 30-foot tower lead “right out to the open air.”

town and shore

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f course, romantics will head straight for the tower. “The tower has its own persona.” It grabs you on sight. “You arrive at the property in a cobblestone circular drive and see a small cottage structure with a 30-foot stone tower. You enter the tower directly. The walls are probably a foot thick. Inside, you look up and you’re 1 0 0 p o r t l a n d m o n t h ly m a g a z i n e

town and shore

feeling, experiencing this castle in Sensurround. “You almost feel as though you’re in a ship. It’s so dramatic.”

Outside, “Flowers may look fragile, but among these huge masses of stone and the granite outcroppings, they connect a tender beauty here. But inside, it’s that window that connects the drama of the ocean, windows, rocks.”

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House of the Month experience.” Writing suited him. As a reporter, he filed stories for the Portland Advertiser and Portland Bulletin; as a visionary, he promoted the Grand Trunk Railroad and Portland as a freight destination and was “one of the original projectors of Evergreen Cemetery.” As a successful publisher, his enduring gift to researchers is his annual Portland Directory, an indispensable street-by-street chest x-ray of life as it’s shifted and changed across the years in the Forest City.

aware of the height. It isn’t grim– you feel as though you’ve walked into a miniature baronial estate.”

But there’s a surprise at the top of the tower.

“It goes to the open air,” Abby says. “As you’re going up, some people expect to find a roof over their heads, but they don’t. I’ve seen some people look as if they’re about to throw up!” Halfway up, these guests are in a quandary: “‘I’m afraid of heights, but I have to see what’s up here!’”

For those who don’t choose to head up to the ramparts, “The living room and dining room are lighter spaces and pull you into the body of the house,” Whipple says.

Raise the Portcullis!

According to the Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena (riseupparanormal.com), Beckett was born in Portland to “William and Grace (Blackmore) Beckett,” who

I

sailed here from England. As a young man, “he took a voyage to the West Indies in the Bud, a sailing vessel; was shipwrecked; and his narrative of the event proved a thrilling

n 1842, Sylvester “married Louisa Mills Davis, daughter of James and Elizabeth Davis, of Maine,” according to the site. “His wife left him a widower in 1857 and he never remarried. She bore him three children, two of whom, George Waller and Lizzie Grace, died in childhood.

The eldest daughter, Augusta, married George W. Verrill, an attorney in Portland.

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years, six months, and seventeen days.”

Sylvester died in Portland in his winter palace at 15 Gray Street. This elegant brick townhouse (pictured above), sadly demolished, was the equal of the well-known houses on Park Street Row. Beckett’s Castle was his summer retreat.

Taxes for Beckett’s Castle are $12,546. n

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Cumberland True Spring Farm Condominium 3 BR, 2 Full BA, 2 Half BA $595,000

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John Hatcher • The Hatcher Group 6 Deering Street, Portland, Maine 04101 207-775-2121• John@JohnHatcher.us • www.JohnHatcher.us

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New England Homes & Living Assisting people buy and sell properties in the beautiful 237 Waldoboro Road, Jefferson, ME 04348

207-549-5657

Western mountains of Maine since 1985

Enjoy Maine’s Vacation-land!

Kingfield - 113 acres . Exceptional private retreat off the grid. Log cabin w/fireplace.

Views! Trout pond. $365,000 On the river less than 2 miles from Sugarloaf Ski Resort access rd. 3 bd 1 bath furnished. $210,000

Jefferson, Café Beautifully renovated bakery and café in Jefferson is ready for opening. Café has everything you need to start cooking now– fryolators, sandwich units, proofer, pizza oven, stove, grill top, refrigerators, freezer, walk-in cooler. New tables are in place and waiting for customers to enjoy their meals. $295,000 www.BlackDuckRealty.com email: info@blackduckrealty.com

Hancock Pond - 264 ft. of shore frontage!

2 bed camp plus a guest cottage. $205.000

Eustis - Dead end Rd. 2 bed 1 bath plus large garage. Great recreation area and close to Flagstaff Lake. 4+ acres. $134,900 259 MAIN STREET, KINGFIELD CSMREALESTATE.COM 207-265-4000

Brunswick - $649,000

— Rich with 19th-century charm —

155 Gray Road, Suite 101, Falmouth, Maine 04105

Minutes from many of Brunswick's conveniences, including Bowdoin College, fine and casual dining, shopping, and art galleries, this impeccably maintained, updated home includes many original architectural details and quiet outdoor space with colorful gardens of blooming perennials, annuals, and flowering shrubs. This gracious home lends itself to comfortable, intimate gatherings, or grand entertaining.

MLS# 1323946

RAVEIS.COM

240 MAINE STREET BRUNSWICK, MAINE 207.729.1863 December 2017 107

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2325 Broadway, Ste.1 South Portland, ME 04106-3362

207.772.2223 lorangerdoor.com

Fiction

The Great White Whale

By Dylan Ro binson

ADobe stock

T

he Great White Whale, a restaurant, became a staple of fine Maine dining in 1989, known nationally and revered locally for its blue-ribbon-winning clam chowder. Summer visitors and envious celebrity chefs flocked by the thousands to get a taste of that signature chowder. Unlike much of the food world at the time, head chef Dwayne Miller made his chowder from all natural ingredients: butter, milk, flour, vegetables, and, of

course, the clams.

Ever after, Dwayne and his family found success in their quiet, small-town business niche. From his provincial perch, he downplayed his success and soupçon of fame from doing what he loved. Having been taught to cook at an early age by his mother, he’d inherited her knack and listened intently to her whispers of the hardearned family secrets of the culinary craft.

She passed away when Dwayne was only 27.

From there, he worked tirelessly to make his mother’s dream of running a restaurant a reality. He honored her memory as his North Star by further venerating her clam chowder recipe, the same exact one that put The Great White Whale on the map.

The chowder was more than just an incredibly satisfying meal, it was a symbol of Dwayne’s dedication to his family name.

The glory days of the late Eighties and early Nineties dissipated as the once fruitDecember 2017 109

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Fiction

T

hings were even worse in his personal life. Dwayne’s physical and mental health began to deteriorate from working through years and years of stress. He divorced his high school sweetheart Charlotte, the mother of his two sons, Mark and Ahab. Mark moved away from home immediately after graduating from college to start up a prophylactic delivery service in Canada.

Ahab stayed home in hopes he might help his father with his business.

That brings us to today, Dwayne’s 55th birthday.

Dwayne stands alone in the kitchen of The Great White Whale, working on a fresh batch of chowder for himself after closing up after a deadly New Year’s Day. His son, Ahab, walks into the kitchen from the dining area with a certain look on his face. Not happiness, but satisfaction.

“Well, Dad, that’s another season in the books.”

Dwayne picked up a ladle and sipped some chowder. “This is my last season, Ahab. I’m handing the reins over to you now. You know cooking and business–I only know cooking. Where this industry is heading, you’re better suited here than I am.” Dwayne threw the keys to Ahab. “You got this.” n

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ful small-town nook turned its attention from the local economy. Corporations infiltrated the small towns like a sea of fleas. People no longer went to momand-pop country markets and local department stores to get their goods; now it was WalMart and Best Buy. As the industrial invasion took grip of his small town, Dwayne and his family suffered.

While fast food chains like McDonald’s and KFC became prominent, business for The Great White Whale began to submerge. Dwayne tried everything, including a change in business model that saw the restaurant transform from fine dining to a chat-n-chew style more convenient for customers and easier on Dwayne’s checkbook, but it was all for nothing. Business continued to plummet, dropping fathoms deeper to a few dedicated regular customers.

Dwayne ran his body and his funds to the very bottom, hemorrhaging money–nearly filing for bankruptcy–just to keep his dream alive.

494 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine • thehoneyexchange.com • 207.773.9333 •

Custom art glass for any application.

Custom Designs, Restorations and Repairs, Windows, Doors, Lighting, Kitchen and Bath, Fusing, Painting, Sandblasting, and more...

• 630 Forest Ave Portland, ME 04101 • 800.773.4154 • www.phoenixstudio.com • December 2017 111

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Harvest on the harbor 1. Chelsie DiConzo, Margaret Logan 2. Chris Dyment, Mckayla Cahill 3. Eben Miller, Sarah Gelber, Carrie Whitcomb 4. Sherri George, Phil George 2

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Spark Maine Art Stories at MHC 1. David Johansen, Titi DeBaccarat 2. David Mongeau, Jared Mongeau 3. Matthias Waddicor, Geo Neptune 4. Ian Trask, Kathy Amoroso 5. James Graham, Tilly Laskey, Barbara Goodbody 6. Joyce Mongeau, Brendan Bullock

America Now, A Dialogue at Holocaust Center Augusta 1. Diane Hudson, Abby Shahn, Amanda Slamm 2. Ed Zelinsky, Anne Lively 3. Deb Fahy, Mary Becker Weiss 4. Brendan Bullock, Jack Montgomery

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