34 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Portland after dark Clockwise from top left: photos courtesy the samoset resort; courtesy harraseeket inn(2); meaghan maurice; courtesy photo. your old ice skates, lace yourself in, and emerge gingerly onto the treacherous white polish of the ice rink, legs shaky and fawn- like. Take your time: you’ll find your ice feet and be gliding (or at least moving) around the perimeter before long. And even if your Olympic figure skating skills fail to kick in, the view across The Rink at Thompson’s Point and beyond is worth any potential falls, especially during sunset. Admission is $7 for one session and rental skates will set you back just $3. Because ice skating is a tried-and-true romantic date trope, take your partner on Monday night for two-for-one admission. If you happen to prefer skating as a spectator sport or simply need to refuel, The Rink has built two out- door fire pits overlooking the action. Grab a drink and post up in front of the flames for a while. The Yurt Bar offers rotating beer lines with two dedicated Bissell Broth- ers taps (they are neighbors, after all) and, most invitingly, spiked hot cider, coffee, and hot chocolate. “Having the fireplace and woodstove is lovely in the winter,” says Janet Foley, bar- tender at Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room. “Burning the wood stove means that the restaurant smells like wood smoke, not fish. People seem to really love that.” Can’t say we blame them. Olfactory benefits aside, the choice spots at Boone’s are undoubted- ly the tables and booths positioned near the open fireplace that crackles away through the evening. Foley suggests you improve the experience with a drink: “I’d go for the Spiced Rum Punch, our winter punch with cinnamon,” she says. The punch is syrupy sweet, like a sip of the tropics, but the cinna- mon stick garnish adds a warming spice ap- propriate for winter in Maine. “An espresso martini with chocolate shavings or a cognac would pair well, too.” An outdoor bar might seem like a stretch in January, but when it’s carved out of 20,000 pounds of glassy glacier ice, you’ll be feeling less numb and more Narnia. The Samoset Resort in Rockport knows how to winter in style thanks to the annual Glacier Ice Bar & Lounge that appears every year alongside an assortment of themed ice sculptures. Carved by hand, the vast ice bar looks out across the ocean from the resort’s decking–an ethere- al sight all lit up and bedecked with bottles. Take a seat on a frozen “chair” (they’ll pro- vide a sheepskin rug to take the chill off) and channel the White Witch as you a sip a cocktail on ice. Another seafood joint sure to ignite your senses is BlueFin, formerly Eve’s at the Gar- den, in the Portland Harbor Hotel. Thank- fully, whoever oversaw the restaurant’s rede- The Samoset Resort transforms its patio into a glittering winter wonderland,complete with carved ice bar and sculptures, on display fromJanuary 12-20. Samoset Resort Portland Harbor Hotel