{"id":11133,"date":"2015-10-30T12:23:34","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T16:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=11133"},"modified":"2015-10-30T12:31:03","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T16:31:03","slug":"lets-meet-for-a-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/lets-meet-for-a-drink\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Meet For A Drink"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

And how about we shake it up a little?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

By Claire Z. Cramer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dec15-Hungry-Eye\"<\/a>On a golden Saturday, the Old Port is hopping. Cocktail hour is already in full swing. Late-afternoon sun streams through the plate glass into Portland Hunt + Alpine Club<\/strong> on Market Street, illuminating the austere decor: long communal tables, filament light pendants, and a long bar lined with backless metal stools. (What\u2019s with all the uncomfortable barstools in this town?) A few stools away, a patron picks up his glass of amber liquid garnished with\u00a0 <\/span>a lime wedge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlantation rum. You could spend an hour sipping this drink\u2013it\u2019s that good.\u201d He knocks it back instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

The bartender\u2013a friendly sprite in a plaid shirt\u2013is straining a cloudy concoction into a pair of old-fashioned glasses. \u201cThese are Green Eyes<\/strong>,\u201d she says. \u201cGin, chartreuse, lime, and a bit of egg white.\u201d With a toothpick, she impales a marinated cherry into the center of a wheel of lime and perches it jauntily on the rim of each glass\u2013green eyes stare back at me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plaid-shirted bartenders are part of the tightly curated alpine motif here, as are the folded, faded vintage aerial charts of Moosehead Lake with the menu printed on the back, and angular wire sculpture busts of wild game mounted on the walls. You can order popcorn with butter, green chile, and parmesan for five dollars, or brown bread with mushroom butter for three. I ask for a Fernet Branca and soda because I\u2019ve been told by people half my age that Fernet<\/strong>\u2013once considered little more than show-off bitters\u2013is all the rage from here to Buenos Aires. The drink arrives in a tall skinny collins glass. It\u2019s $8.50. Hmm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next to me, Tatiana and Kate, visiting from Boston, are debating the cocktail menu. \u201cWe\u2019re eating and drinking our way through Portland this weekend,\u201d says Tatiana. They have a small map of the downtown peninsula, with stars on the places they\u2019ve been. \u201cHugo\u2019s<\/strong> last night, we had lunch at Duckfat<\/strong> and just had amazing oysters at Eventide<\/strong>, and we know we have to go to Central Provisions<\/strong>.\u201d They settle on their drinks, a White Noise<\/strong> (\u201cadult soda,\u201d $8.50) and an In Cold Blood<\/strong> (whiskey, sweet vermouth, salt, $11). \u201cPortland is a really popular destination for people in Boston.\u201d When I ask whether they\u2019re keeping a journal of what they\u2019re eating and drinking, Kate says,\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re taking pictures,\u201d and holds up her phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Extra Points<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to meet for a drink, it\u2019s always a little tastier if it comes with a bonus. Lolita<\/strong> has Monday Tapas. With every glass of the day\u2019s designated wine selection\u2013on our recent visit they were from France\u2019s Rh\u00d4ne region\u2013you\u2019re given a surprise tapa on the house. Our group sampled two reds and a rose and shared such dazzling treats as marinated eggplant crostini, slices of chorizo braised in cider, spicy meatballs in red sauce, and patatas bravas drizzled in paprika aioli. To break it down: One person can enjoy two glasses of very decent wine, and enjoy two excellent tapas, for $10. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>The Little Tap House<\/strong> on the corner of High and Spring streets calls its signature inducement the B&B\u2013a glass of the featured beer of the day with a free treat for $5. They\u2019re not just free, they\u2019re liberating, from braised brisket over corn chips to a quesadilla to a wedge of flatbread pizza. <\/span><\/p>\n

Three of us arrive to a roaring crowd and manage to grab the last high-top barrel table. But wait\u2013there\u2019s been a tap-takeover by a Long Island brewery that has canceled the day\u2019s free snacks. We recover from this\u00a0 <\/span>ghastly setback once our towering goblets of today\u2019s special $4 pinot noir arrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

By The Book<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know the The Cocktail Club<\/em><\/strong>?\u201d a colleague asks. <\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s talking about the 2014 hit book by Maureen Christian Petrosky. Petrosky takes the\u00a0 <\/span>book club concept\u2013and its logical offspring, the wine club (coincidentally also the title of Petrosky\u2019s previous book)\u2013and amps it into an empowerment manifesto to bring women together to taste hard spirits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a group of professional women, and we meet once a month at one of our homes,\u201d my friend says. \u201cThe book chooses the liquor for each calendar month\u2013gin, whisky, pitcher drinks\u2013and provides cocktail recipes and some food-pairing ideas. Women are doing this all over the country.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>How do we join here in Maine? A pause. \u201cWe have to ask you. Or you could start your own!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026Or Consult An Expert<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like the Blue Spoon<\/strong>\u2019s wine time for happy hour,\u201d says Kate McCarty, author of Distilled In Maine<\/em> (History Press, 2015) and Portland Food: The Culinary Capital of Maine <\/em>(History Press, 2014). <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHunt + Alpine has a great cocktail happy hour, and I love their Saffron Sour<\/strong>. I love the Mai Tais at Eventide\u2013I\u2019ve really gotten into\u00a0 <\/span>tiki drinks lately. East Ender<\/strong> also has great cocktails\u2013I love the Haitian Divorce<\/strong>, a delicious\u00a0 <\/span>dark rum and juice thing.\u201d East Ender\u2019s happy hour runs 3:30 to 5:30 with a special small-plates menu and specialty drinks.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you like the idea of a women\u2019s group, McCarty\u2019s got that covered, too. She\u2019s a cofounder of the Portland Spirits Society<\/strong>, an \u201cappreciation club\u201d for women. Recently, they met \u201cat Grace<\/strong> for a bourbon tasting with a Dean\u2019s Sweets chocolate truffle pairing, and Liquid Riot<\/strong> for an American whiskey tasting\u2013both theirs and others.\u201d Check blueberryfiles.com for updates and ticket info. <\/span><\/p>\n

And Then There\u2019s Sunday <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ricky Nelson greets us at the door\u2013he\u2019s listening to the rhythm of the falling rain, and thinking about what a fool he\u2019s been\u2013as we walk into Crooners & Cocktails<\/strong>, having just spotted the \u201c$3 Mimosas\u201d sign in the window with the brunch menu. The soundtrack here is tons of fun, if way too loud, and the place is a trip. Cushy barrel chairs, lush cranberry walls, Rat Pack posters, black & white TV, thick table linens, old-time hotel china\u2013and a diverse clientele, most with huge bloody marys ($5) before them. We decide to split an order of pork belly eggs benedict while sipping bargain mimosas. Tunes like \u201cEleanor Rigby,\u201d \u201cBe My Baby,\u201d \u201cDock of the Bay,\u201d \u201cand \u201cDo You Love Me?\u201d dance all over the oldies spectrum.<\/p>\n

We hear not a single Rat Pack crooner on this visit, although we spot an item on the menu called the \u201cSinatra Breakfast Sandwich.\u201d We snicker, imagining Frank ever in a million years holding an English muffin stuffed with scrambled eggs, pork belly, red peppers, and gruyere. Ring a ding-ding. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\r\n

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