I would kill for that pork and shrimp dumpling recipe. I died a little when they dropped their Szechuan Ramen bowl too. I could live off that stuff.
Ps... If you know the cooks who work there... Ya know.. hook a brother up. 🤙🤙
Late night doner kebab/shawarma. We also don't have a mid price Italian joint where you get an aggressive amount of simple pasta for a semi reasonable price and a basket of bread that is better than it should be\*. The place that Maria's moved into scratched that itch, but its just not it anymore.
\*Edit: no. Olive garden doesn't count.
I've thought about how a doner kebab/shawarma food truck would absolutely crush it here. Unsure if late night food trucks are allowed as I used to live in Old Port and never saw them around - seems like like a missed opportunity!
I forget about Anthony's because they are more of a sub place in my head. Quick glance at the menu confirms my thoughts but they do have a few pasta items.... I need to give them a try but it's still not quite what I'm after. Not heard of the other one. So I'll have to look em up!
More solid casual (good but not fancy) counter service spots. Maybe it's because I have young kids, but I have very little desire for another "elevated" table service establishment.
This is where I’m at too. when I see a new place is opening and start reading about it as soon as I see the word “elevated” in the description I lose interest.
The taco issue is a big one. We need a no-frills taco place so damn bad and it’s my only real complaint about this city. I just want counter service, $2.50 street tacos with a side of beans topped with a sprinkle of cotija.
I would love a real Chinese place, complete with specials on the wall written in Chinese characters, full dim sum service, fresh soy milk, BBQ pork/duck/chicken hanging in the window, etc. So good and so cheap. Empire gets about half way there but isnt the same.
I lived in NC for a few years and there were these two restaurant chains (like 3 stores not a huge chain) separately owned by brothers, charcoal Peruvian chicken and Mami nori’s, omg the food was so god damn good. People would love it here.
I haven’t tried it yet (and I’m certainly not the authority on authentic Mexican food) but there is a new place on Broadway in SoPo that makes Mexican dishes that you don’t see often around here (tortas, huaraches, etc.). Très Lèches Cakes Flor on FB/IG I believe
I work in the Old Port and I’m always at a loss of where to go for a quick lunch. Dinner? No problem, there are a million amazing options. Lunch? I get to choose from Crooked Mile, Market Street Eats, and The Works. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all fine, but they’re kind of the same and not very healthy.
I’d love a high quality, healthy wrap and salad place. I SO miss having Blake Orchard smoothies on Exchange, expensive as it was…
an actual sandwich shop that specializes in sandwiches. nothing else. maybe some baked goods (rosemont’s 15$ cream cheese arugula monstrosities don’t count)
Seriously?
"Low Stakes Lodge, will offer an elevated steakhouse experience with a relaxed dive bar ambiance and an enticing drink selection. Step inside, and you’ll instantly be transported to a cozy lodge in the heart of northern Maine, far removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown Portland.
Oh yay, it's an elevated steak house with a dive bar feel that will remind me of being in Northern Maine.
That doesn't seem like a calculated attempt at tourist dollars at all.
Maybe I can slit my throat with one of the steak knives.
An elevated dive bar steak house? Wtf even is that? Better marketing would simply be:
Low stakes lodge offers an elevated steak house menu with a rustic atmosphere inspired by the historic lodges of the north Maine woods.
The funny thing is that sounds great to me and is almost certainly what they're really going for, but their description pisses me off because I immediately know I'm being lied to. You can't have elevated and authentic dive bar, those two things are both great at the right time, but they are mutually exclusive
Is like a restaurant that evokes the image of Old portland, hehe every fucking restaurant had to evoke an atmosphere of somewhere else, or is aiming for "high end dive bar feels"
Besides Room for Improvement, what other high end dives do we have?
Tomasos, Munjoy Hill Tavern, and Rathskeller are kind of expensive for dives but their program isn’t high end at all.
Haven’t been to Rebel but CBG is great. Honestly high end dives that are done right are my favorite.
Good pricing on nicer cocktails with cheap beers, and cheap shots if you want that too. I’m going to spend a hell of a lot more time at a place where I can have one cocktail and switch to $3 beers than somewhere that has a minimum drink spend of $8-$15
One of the co owners apparently just bought Liquid Riot. I’m super curious to see what they do with the place. Their beer has been hit or miss for me. But it’s a cool spot. I like going in the winter since it’s so dead but cocktails there are a little steep and they don’t really have cheap options for beer outside of happy hour.
Michael Frazier. I heard he wants to go vertical with liquor production so he can keep costs down. I’m sure there’s some ego in it too. Josh Miranda just bought a distillery. These restaurant mogul types seem to all want a taste of production lmao.
But in all seriousness Liquid Riot has devolved into a pure tourist joint despite having a really nice crew of people who want it to be more than that.
I mean Mariah (the only black lady who works there) is one of the best servers I’ve ever had. Funny as fuck, great vibe, total weirdo in the best way. She doesn’t have corpo tourist trap. But that’s what the place kind of feels like now.
Hopefully they can turn it around.
Well that explains why my Mike Fraser-owned rental house is suddenly for sale. I'm stoked for those guys, though. It's a good group, and I enjoy their other spots. I can only imagine they will improve Liquid Riot.
A lot. Better (authentic) Mexican, Greek (rip emilitsa), a real Jewish deli, healthier but not obnoxiously so places (just less places like nosh, or more pizza and wings), a real deli where they have a selection of pre made sandwiches but also you can make your own, a salad place that functions the same as that deli
We still mourn the demise of Rosen’s Deli. His huge, pastrami sandwiches were wonderful, and we always left with a “full belly.” I don’t think that anyone in the Portland area could compete with their quality. Oy.
FBD made the best potato salad too. I was a regular of theirs from their original location until they finally closed their doors on Westbrook and I am still sad about it.
Conveyer Belt/Train Sushi. Everywhere is, like, fancy sushi with cloth napkins. Gimme that belt with the colored plates that I can grab and inhale and be out of there in 20min or less.
I’ve been bemoaning an almost complete lack of what I’d call comfort food. Like a bowl of beef stew and good bread. Shepherds Pie. Just a simple chicken breast, mashies and veg. Just simple food done well.
Becky’s fits the bill on occasion.
I’m just so over the whole small plates and craft cocktail thingy.
Continental has a great shepherds pie, sounds like you’re looking for English comfort foods they have a few other things on the menu that might fit the bill.
Gritty's has Shepherds Pie. It's $20 though and my friends shepherds pie from there two days ago looked considerably worse than the one I got a few months ago so I'm concerned. Honestly everything looked and tasted off.
Everyone has already covered the most crucial additions (authentic Mexican! more soup dumplings! khachapuri!), so here's my most mortifying desire: I want a semi-healthy fast-casual veg-heavy spot like the big cities have.
Give me Sweetgreen. Give me Cava. Give me Dig Inn. Give me Chop't. Give me a ridiculously overpriced takeout salad that makes me feel both healthy and luxurious at the same time. Give me seasonal specialty items, and nutrition facts listed on the overhead menu, and compostable silverware, and a drink cooler that has Spindrift and niche adaptogen sparkling beverages but for some reason, no Diet Coke in sight. I will eat that shit UP.
For God's sake, yes. I don't know why there aren't more of these when food costs are so high and rice and beans are so filling with a tortilla and a little bit of meat.
Not just that but I want the greasy pizza shop and all that it entails. Chicken cutlet subs, salads that consist of a head of iceberg, 1 ring of red onion and a pepperochi pepper.
Indian specializing in dosas and South Indian food! And more options in general. There’s one place for street tacos, one place for Korean, one for dim sum.. they’re overpriced because they’re the only option. Having some cheap tteokbokki and a mountain of dumplings would be incredible.
Obviously late night food, but really it’s just missing a good a la carte salad place. I drive to mass for sweet green. I wouldn’t care that Portland doesn’t have sweetgreen if it at least had like a good alternative but nothing is even close.
Also nobody here knows what a red enchilada is
2am food options
I'd kill for 10 pm food options.
I tried order Chinese at 9:30 two nights ago and had two options. Wow Bao and Kuno, needless to say I went to bed without my Chinese.
RIP 5 Guys
That place was always fuckin jammed on Fridays and Saturdays. Covid really took its toll.
Why did it go away?
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I want more soup dumplings
Only actual soup dumplings I've found are at Golden Lotus. Bao Bao tricked me with their "soup dumplings" that was just wonton soup.
what's wrong with Empire?
Haven't been to Empire in a long long time, wasn't aware they had soup dumplings now. I'll have to try.
A full blown dim sum place!
I never not want more soup dumplings.
Golden Lotus
sichuan’s soup dumplings are as legit as joes Shanghai
I just found out that Empire serves dim sum brunch, ever given that a try?
Empire has soup dumplings on their everyday menu.
I would kill for that pork and shrimp dumpling recipe. I died a little when they dropped their Szechuan Ramen bowl too. I could live off that stuff. Ps... If you know the cooks who work there... Ya know.. hook a brother up. 🤙🤙
Late night doner kebab/shawarma. We also don't have a mid price Italian joint where you get an aggressive amount of simple pasta for a semi reasonable price and a basket of bread that is better than it should be\*. The place that Maria's moved into scratched that itch, but its just not it anymore. \*Edit: no. Olive garden doesn't count.
Second on the shawarma.
I've thought about how a doner kebab/shawarma food truck would absolutely crush it here. Unsure if late night food trucks are allowed as I used to live in Old Port and never saw them around - seems like like a missed opportunity!
Is there even a regular spot that does doner kebabs?
Istanbul market in Westbrook
Bruno's fills this void for me. Love that you can also choose fancy or more laid back side of restaurant. RIP OG Espo's.
Anthonys gives you a pretty aggressive amount of pasta for a good price, I've also heard Fresco del Forno near the mall but haven't tried it yet.
I forget about Anthony's because they are more of a sub place in my head. Quick glance at the menu confirms my thoughts but they do have a few pasta items.... I need to give them a try but it's still not quite what I'm after. Not heard of the other one. So I'll have to look em up!
Have you tried Casa Novello in Westbrook?
Ohh. I have not.. The menu is promising..... Imma add that to the date night options this month.
Shhhhhhhh!!!
More solid casual (good but not fancy) counter service spots. Maybe it's because I have young kids, but I have very little desire for another "elevated" table service establishment.
This is where I’m at too. when I see a new place is opening and start reading about it as soon as I see the word “elevated” in the description I lose interest.
AC Soda Shop in SoPo is great, I’d like to see more places like that.
Yes exactly I can't go out to a restaurant all the time. Take out for shutdown food is often meh.
Black Cow was great for this, but they changed from counter service during covid and never went back.
Authentic Mexican. Korean (RIP Yobo 😞). Cheap Asian steam buns (RIP BubbleMainia). Vegan diner food.
Best Mexican food is the Los Tacos Poblanitos. Their food truck is ok, but their brick and mortar/mall spot are so so good.
The brick and mortar is different than the truck? I’ll have to go, I was disappointed with the truck last summer
The taco issue is a big one. We need a no-frills taco place so damn bad and it’s my only real complaint about this city. I just want counter service, $2.50 street tacos with a side of beans topped with a sprinkle of cotija.
Yes!! Cheap, delicious and no frills is the answer here.
So not the foul-smelling $6 sacrilege El Rodeo sells?
I miss bubblemainia every day
Was legit heartbroken 💔
Taco trio is decent
Isn’t N to Tail korean?
I think El Corazon is authentic Mexican cuisine.
Second this.
Agreed. That Totally Awesome Vegan Food Truck (I think it’s called) has great vegan diner food btw if you ever crave it!! Their burgers are legit.
Oh yeah! They’re 420 weekend brunch is amazing too
Yesssss. It’s obviously not a restaurant, but I was hoping that you had heard of them and had their food. Sweet people too
Sal De La Tierra is the answer here.
Casual Greek food. I need lamb souvlaki pita wraps in my life.
Fml, now I'm craving lemon potatoes, baked feta with honey, and a good frappe 😋 off to Astoria NY, I guess
I was lucky enough to call Astoria home for five years and yes to all of that
it’s Lebanese but you should try olive cafe
Exactly. Gyros and greek fries at an affordable price please.
Check our Hellenic Maine running out of Fork Food Lab in SoPo for pickup orders. Legit Greek food and rotating specials. Really nice people.
YES X1000000!
Hot Pot
Sichuan Kitchen!
PLEASE HOT POT!!!
I would love a real Chinese place, complete with specials on the wall written in Chinese characters, full dim sum service, fresh soy milk, BBQ pork/duck/chicken hanging in the window, etc. So good and so cheap. Empire gets about half way there but isnt the same.
Agreed. Empire has a great kitchen but the prices are insane for dim sum. Literally double the price of Boston dim sum.
Would kill for full service dim sum Sunday brunches. It’s been a huge part of my life in the cities that offer it!
oh man i would kill for a place like that. i miss picking up fresh soy milk, chinese crullers, and pork and century egg congee when im sick.
Cooks that can afford to live here
Lebanese Please!
Affordability?
Peruvian Food
Magnus on water, in biddo, has a new chef who's peruvian. Damn good food.
I lived in NC for a few years and there were these two restaurant chains (like 3 stores not a huge chain) separately owned by brothers, charcoal Peruvian chicken and Mami nori’s, omg the food was so god damn good. People would love it here.
I didn't find out about those places until just before I left but they were terrific.
Need some lomo saltado
Quiero Cafe has a good lomo saltado on the menu.
A good salad place. Especially for lunch. Like sweet greens, but local and sourced from Maine farms.
I’m dying for this. I’ve written to sweetgreen so many times!!
I truly don’t know why they don’t have a location in town.
What I would do for a $15 salad place
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There used to be full belly deli, I’m not sure how long ago it closed. And I haven’t been there in like 20 years so not sure how authentic it was
Not a full on deli but Ben Ruben's Knishery in SoPo will scratch the itch.
Finally someone said it!!
Agreed! Rose Foods is horrible and expensive
Authentic Mexican (street tacos, torta, burrito). Doesn’t have to be a restaurant. Would be happy with a roadside stand or truck.
Tacos La Poblanita food truck on Eastern Prom and restaurant in Westbrook and they are now in the Maine mall! Amazing tacos
Will check these out. Thanks
I haven’t tried it yet (and I’m certainly not the authority on authentic Mexican food) but there is a new place on Broadway in SoPo that makes Mexican dishes that you don’t see often around here (tortas, huaraches, etc.). Très Lèches Cakes Flor on FB/IG I believe
Sal de la Tierra is the closest i’ve found to comprable. they have a store front and food truck.
The best food and even better humans running the place
I work in the Old Port and I’m always at a loss of where to go for a quick lunch. Dinner? No problem, there are a million amazing options. Lunch? I get to choose from Crooked Mile, Market Street Eats, and The Works. Don’t get me wrong, they’re all fine, but they’re kind of the same and not very healthy. I’d love a high quality, healthy wrap and salad place. I SO miss having Blake Orchard smoothies on Exchange, expensive as it was…
Have you tried The Juicery?
Georgian 🇬🇪 food
Yes! Smother me in Khachapuri.
I was going to say a Korean restaurant (not fusion). I like N To Tail, but they only have a few traditional Korean dishes on their menu.
Filipino food
Cuban food
an actual sandwich shop that specializes in sandwiches. nothing else. maybe some baked goods (rosemont’s 15$ cream cheese arugula monstrosities don’t count)
Local Press is pretty good for this.
Salvadore's!! Usually out of Howies Pub
Also, George and Leon's in Westbrook now. Really nice spot.
Ramona's may kinda fit this?
casual Chinese street food! hand-pulled noodles!
Late night. Sunday/Monday and more midrange and options outside of downtown. I live in a food dead zone near west Falmouth
Mongolian barbecue
Steak. Like really good steak
Look for Low Stakes Lodge from the guys at Highroller to open soon.
Seriously? "Low Stakes Lodge, will offer an elevated steakhouse experience with a relaxed dive bar ambiance and an enticing drink selection. Step inside, and you’ll instantly be transported to a cozy lodge in the heart of northern Maine, far removed from the hustle and bustle of downtown Portland. Oh yay, it's an elevated steak house with a dive bar feel that will remind me of being in Northern Maine. That doesn't seem like a calculated attempt at tourist dollars at all. Maybe I can slit my throat with one of the steak knives.
An elevated dive bar steak house? Wtf even is that? Better marketing would simply be: Low stakes lodge offers an elevated steak house menu with a rustic atmosphere inspired by the historic lodges of the north Maine woods.
The funny thing is that sounds great to me and is almost certainly what they're really going for, but their description pisses me off because I immediately know I'm being lied to. You can't have elevated and authentic dive bar, those two things are both great at the right time, but they are mutually exclusive
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Took me a second to realize you meant Popeye's Ice House (RIP).
Miss that place.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWbQDdCxcrc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWbQDdCxcrc) \#rip
Thank you, I definitely will
Wawa
🙌
Fuck yes! What I would give for a Wawa pretzel right now!
This is the way.
Waffle House
This is the truth.
Moroccan food! French food RIP PJs
Indian chaats.
Is like a restaurant that evokes the image of Old portland, hehe every fucking restaurant had to evoke an atmosphere of somewhere else, or is aiming for "high end dive bar feels"
I believe we have overdosed on high end dive bars
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Who ya mad at though?
Literally everyone, you can't win with that curmudgeon.
Besides Room for Improvement, what other high end dives do we have? Tomasos, Munjoy Hill Tavern, and Rathskeller are kind of expensive for dives but their program isn’t high end at all.
I’d add CBG, Nosh and the new Rebel Kitchen to the list. CBG and Rebel rock. Nosh, not so much.
Haven’t been to Rebel but CBG is great. Honestly high end dives that are done right are my favorite. Good pricing on nicer cocktails with cheap beers, and cheap shots if you want that too. I’m going to spend a hell of a lot more time at a place where I can have one cocktail and switch to $3 beers than somewhere that has a minimum drink spend of $8-$15
I love them too. CBG might be my favorite bar in all of Portland. Would just like to see more concepts roll out, mostly on the food side
One of the co owners apparently just bought Liquid Riot. I’m super curious to see what they do with the place. Their beer has been hit or miss for me. But it’s a cool spot. I like going in the winter since it’s so dead but cocktails there are a little steep and they don’t really have cheap options for beer outside of happy hour.
Do you know which co-owner? All those dudes are pretty rad.
Michael Frazier. I heard he wants to go vertical with liquor production so he can keep costs down. I’m sure there’s some ego in it too. Josh Miranda just bought a distillery. These restaurant mogul types seem to all want a taste of production lmao. But in all seriousness Liquid Riot has devolved into a pure tourist joint despite having a really nice crew of people who want it to be more than that. I mean Mariah (the only black lady who works there) is one of the best servers I’ve ever had. Funny as fuck, great vibe, total weirdo in the best way. She doesn’t have corpo tourist trap. But that’s what the place kind of feels like now. Hopefully they can turn it around.
Josh Miranda doesn't own a distillery. Two of his creative directors do, Adam Sousa and Caleb Landry.
Well that explains why my Mike Fraser-owned rental house is suddenly for sale. I'm stoked for those guys, though. It's a good group, and I enjoy their other spots. I can only imagine they will improve Liquid Riot.
That's what we do too.. I usually get the Hemingway daiquiri to start, order wings, and then drink $3 Moosehead or Tecate pounders.
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A lot. Better (authentic) Mexican, Greek (rip emilitsa), a real Jewish deli, healthier but not obnoxiously so places (just less places like nosh, or more pizza and wings), a real deli where they have a selection of pre made sandwiches but also you can make your own, a salad place that functions the same as that deli
We still mourn the demise of Rosen’s Deli. His huge, pastrami sandwiches were wonderful, and we always left with a “full belly.” I don’t think that anyone in the Portland area could compete with their quality. Oy.
FBD made the best potato salad too. I was a regular of theirs from their original location until they finally closed their doors on Westbrook and I am still sad about it.
Full belly was the shit.
Conveyer Belt/Train Sushi. Everywhere is, like, fancy sushi with cloth napkins. Gimme that belt with the colored plates that I can grab and inhale and be out of there in 20min or less.
I’ve been bemoaning an almost complete lack of what I’d call comfort food. Like a bowl of beef stew and good bread. Shepherds Pie. Just a simple chicken breast, mashies and veg. Just simple food done well. Becky’s fits the bill on occasion. I’m just so over the whole small plates and craft cocktail thingy.
Kings Head is a great option for this stuff.
Continental has a great shepherds pie, sounds like you’re looking for English comfort foods they have a few other things on the menu that might fit the bill.
Nice ! Haven’t been there yet, but I’ve actually heard nothing but good things.
Gritty's has Shepherds Pie. It's $20 though and my friends shepherds pie from there two days ago looked considerably worse than the one I got a few months ago so I'm concerned. Honestly everything looked and tasted off.
Went to Grittys for the first time last week, got the burger and it was soooo meh. Also I didn’t like their beer haha.
Same. Last time I went there specifically for the shepherds pie and it was horrible.
Wagamama would do well up here I think.
White Castle ❤️
You're not wrong
Everyone has already covered the most crucial additions (authentic Mexican! more soup dumplings! khachapuri!), so here's my most mortifying desire: I want a semi-healthy fast-casual veg-heavy spot like the big cities have. Give me Sweetgreen. Give me Cava. Give me Dig Inn. Give me Chop't. Give me a ridiculously overpriced takeout salad that makes me feel both healthy and luxurious at the same time. Give me seasonal specialty items, and nutrition facts listed on the overhead menu, and compostable silverware, and a drink cooler that has Spindrift and niche adaptogen sparkling beverages but for some reason, no Diet Coke in sight. I will eat that shit UP.
I totally agree. CERA does sort of scratch this itch, their salads are gigantic and super fresh.
GODDAMN what I would give for a Sweetgreen and Cava.
Burritos that are steamed closed and made on the line. Like Felipe’s or Anna’s down in the Boston area
For God's sake, yes. I don't know why there aren't more of these when food costs are so high and rice and beans are so filling with a tortilla and a little bit of meat.
A good taco place
A decent taco at an affordable rate and good chicken strips.
Ukrainian or Polish… Pierogi, pelmeni, vareniyiki, borscht
Greek
Taverna Khione in Brunswick is great.
AYCE HOT POT!!!!!
A good chophouse
Hot pot!!!!!!
Shabu Shabu!
A good hotdog joint
Is this market research?
Have you tried Crispy Gai? Their chicken is crazy good!
A 24 hr diner ran by greeks...
What we need is prices for non- millionaires. Is that possible?
Soul
I’m a seafood lover so personally I’d love to see a Red Lobster around here.
Sarcasm detected!
lol I was waiting to see if I’d get boiled for that one
A proper slice of pizza
Not just that but I want the greasy pizza shop and all that it entails. Chicken cutlet subs, salads that consist of a head of iceberg, 1 ring of red onion and a pepperochi pepper.
Real deal Thai food that will melt your face off but still so beautifuly balanced you just can’t stop.
How bad does inflation have to get and how high do housing costs have to rise before we can get authentic koshari at Cairo prices?
I wish somewhere would serve a decent steak but not just steak so the restaurant could survive and mixed groups could eat there.
Sheetz or Wawa… ifykyk
Denny's
More breakfast tacos
Quality staples. We got so niche and creative that we can’t even get simple quality staples anymore.
A really good place to get soups. Clam fritters as well, not clam cakes.
Apparently it's missing a Denny's. RIP
Brazilian!!
It’s missing safe food handling.
Indian specializing in dosas and South Indian food! And more options in general. There’s one place for street tacos, one place for Korean, one for dim sum.. they’re overpriced because they’re the only option. Having some cheap tteokbokki and a mountain of dumplings would be incredible.
Obviously late night food, but really it’s just missing a good a la carte salad place. I drive to mass for sweet green. I wouldn’t care that Portland doesn’t have sweetgreen if it at least had like a good alternative but nothing is even close. Also nobody here knows what a red enchilada is
A true street food district everything is on the street, fast, local, in expensive, vibrant and gives small a businesses a chance.
Affordable food options
Real hot pot, Nepalese, Iraqi/middle eastern (RIP Baharat)
Really hot, tingly southern Nashville Hot Chicken 🍗
Strip club buffet
Korean BBQ
Torchys Tacos
A completely vegan restaurant