Harvest on the Harbor: Portland, Maine

Harvest on the Harbor / FoodLovesWriting.com

We walk into the Ocean Gateway building our first night in Portland, and inside the air is electric, people swarming every direction, hands reaching for small bites as they juggle tastes of wine. Live jazz music from the Fogcutters Duo band plays in the corner. A hundred voices comingle. We shed our winter coats and mittens and plunge into the crowd.

Harvest on Harbor OpeningNight5

Here in America’s most northeastern state, in a glass-enclosed building with surrounding water views, is the opening event for Harvest on the Harbor, a four-day food festival celebrating Maine’s renowned food scene.

While we’ve traveled several hundred miles from Nashville (by way of Chicago) to be here, we’re not the ones farthest from home. In fact, attending events and competitions over the next few days will be participants from 34 different states and five countries.

HarvestonHarborFood

It may sound strange to someone who’s grown up in the northeast, but visiting New England in the fall has been on my vacation dream list for as long as I can remember. When Tim and I got married two years ago and tossed around October honeymoon ideas, Boston or Maine almost won out.

Now here we are, a week after our second wedding anniversary, and Tim’s holding a glass of all-natural Crabbie’s ginger beer (and later going back for one more with a ready hand), from inside a building on Portland, Maine’s historic waterfront.

I’m taking a plate of seaweed salad, and we’re splitting a Maine pumpkin whoopie pie stuffed with amaretto cream. We collectively marvel at the duck craquelin ice cream sandwiches from Rockland’s Primo restaurant, a reaction only surpassed when we taste the same establishment’s braised pastured beef sliders. We’re actually here, together, in Portland! In the fall!

Harvest on Harbor OpeningNight5

Portland’s Gorgeous Gelato scoops up samples from its mini ice cream stand – pistachio for Tim, dark chocolate for me.

We tuck ourselves into a corner by the windows with our bowls of ice cream and big camera shoulder bag, and Tim says to me, “This is fun!” and I smile. By the time the night is over, we’re sure of two things: There’s a reason Bon Appetit called Portland, Maine, America’s Foodiest Small Town in 2009, and, man, we’re thankful to be tasting it.

Harvest on Harbor OpeningNight5

We attend two more Harvest on the Harbor events: International Night on Thursday and Top of the Crop on Friday. Thursday’s spread mimics that of opening night’s: Lots of tables with samples, all from local purveyors, but this time with an international theme.

We like the vegetable samosas, and I go back for seconds on a pumpkin pie shake, but it’s Friday’s event we’re most interested in and still talking about when we leave Maine Saturday to go home: the four-chef Top of the Crop competition.

Harvest on the Harbor Top of the Crop / FLW
Harvest on the Harbor Top of the Crop / FLW

At its heart, Top of the Crop celebrates the part of Maine’s food culture we like best: the farm-to-table movement. Each chef presents his take on local, high-quality food, cooking it before the crowd while we receive samples at our seats.

Each demonstration feels like a miniature cooking show. “Here’s a trick you can try at home!” and “Watch what happens when I drop this in the pan!” The first chef is David Levi, of the upcoming Portland restaurant Vinland, who wows us by cooking his dehydrated beet chips in ghee, then topping them with strained raw-milk yogurt, all while talking passionately about his plans for what will soon become the world’s first all-local restaurant.

“So that means I couldn’t use a lemon,” he explains to the oceanfront room, stressing his point. “I’d have to use something like sorrel or sheep’s sorrel instead.” Three more chefs present after David, each naming the farms that sourced their ingredients like I’d tell you where I bought my milk.

Chef Kerry Altiero of Cafe Miranda is named winner, winning over the crowd with talk of his own Headacre farm, a 17-acre Maine saltwater farm that sources much of his restaurant’s food.

Our favorites at Top of the Crop: Hearing the passionate chefs speak and learning more about Maine’s local food.

Harvest on the Harbor Top of the Crop / FLW
Harvest on the Harbor Top of the Crop / FLW
Harvest on the Harbor Top of the Crop / FLW

While an event like Harvest on the Harbor would hold obvious appeal for Portland locals who are proud of their town, it’s also a treat for out-of-towners like us. In one evening or afternoon, we are experiencing multiple tastes from multiple restaurants, giving us fast exposure with minimal running around.

By the end of the events, we leave Harvest on the Harbor dying to visit Primo if we’re ever in the area again, for example, as well as wishing Vinland had already opened its doors.

But even beyond our scheduled events, Tim and I take advantage of our time in Portland by exploring it and the surrounding towns like we’re on a second honeymoon.

Our few days in Portland include walking the city’s charming cobbled streets, the smell of fish in the crisp air; getting lost in Freeport at L.L. Bean’s flagship store and loving the area’s fall colors; driving up Route 1 through Wiscasset, Rockland, Rockport and Camden, each of which charmed us with a marina and farmland and cedar shake homes; and feeling our way around a part of the country that’s easy to love.

Here are some other highlights of where we stayed, what we ate, where we shopped and what we saw in Portland.

October in Maine / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Beauty / FoodLovesWriting.com
Freeport / FLW
Freeport / FLW

Portland, ME Downtown / FLW
Freeport Maine Woods / FLW

WHERE WE STAYED

To say that staying at the elegant Portland Harbor Hotel was a luxury doesn’t seem sufficient. Conveniently located right downtown and walking distance from the Ocean Gateway building, this hotel is plush linens, granite bathrooms, New England artwork and gleaming wood floors.

We loved our third-floor suite overlooking the hotel’s courtyard, with tall pine trees as our early morning view.

Our favorites from this hotel: The luxurious feel (Shanna) and how everything was super clean (Tim)

Portland Harbor Hotel / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Harbor Hotel / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Harbor Hotel / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Harbor Hotel / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Harbor Hotel / FoodLovesWriting.com

WHAT (ELSE) WE ATE
Rockland, ME / FoodLovesWriting.com
Highlights include pastries from Standard Baking Company, set beneath the highly acclaimed Fore Street, which I loved in 2009 and wish we’d had time to visit this trip / a giant apple spice cookie from Scratch Baking Company in South Portland / fries from the legendary Duckfat, alongside house-made garlic and Thai chili mayos /a slice of pumpkin cheesecake to go from Sarah’s in Wiscasset / locally sourced fish and vegetable tacos at El Rayo Taqueria.

Our favorite tastes in Maine (not easy to pick!): Braised beef sliders from Primo at Harvest on the Harbor (Tim) and that apple spice cookie from Scratch, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside (Shanna)

Standard Baking Co / FoodLovesWriting.com
Standard Baking Co / FoodLovesWriting.com
Standard Baking Co / FoodLovesWriting.com
Standard Baking Co / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Bakery / FoodLovesWriting.com
Scratch bakery / FoodLovesWriting.com
Duckfat Exterior / FoodLovesWriting.com
Duckfat Portland / FoodLovesWriting.com
Wiscasset, ME / FoodLovesWriting.com
Mexican Eats in Maine / FoodLovesWriting.com

WHERE WE SHOPPED
In downtown Wiscasset, we wandered through a charming shop called Rock Paper Scissors, and besides seeing hundreds of other things we liked, we spotted Lindsay and Taylor’s latest book (which is gorgeous!).

Wiscasset / FoodLovesWriting.com

Right in Portland, we visited Folly 101 at the recommendation of Map and Menu (a great Portland guide blog!), a bright, tasteful shop that made me swoon. It’s a miracle the only thing I left with was a vintage dish.

Our favorite part of visiting these shops: Being surrounded by beautiful, inspiring things.

Folly 101 / FLW
Folly 101 / FoodLovesWriting.com
Folly 101 / FoodLovesWriting.com
Folly 101 / FLW

WHAT WE SAW
New England in the fall is one of those quintessentially American experiences I’ve always dreamed of experiencing. The colors! The charming houses! The word I keep thinking of is dreamy. Highlights were Wolfe’s Neck Woods in Freeport, driving through and visiting towns along Route 1, all the houses everywhere and seeing all these things with Tim, at a leisurely, vacation-like pace.

Our favorite New England sites: The small towns (Tim) and the New England architecture that had me asking, “Why are houses so much prettier here?” more than once (Shanna).

Portland, ME / Food Loves Writing
Freeport in October / FoodLovesWriting.com
Freeport Maine / FLW
Coastal Maine / FoodLovesWriting.com
Freeport Maine Woods / FLW
October in Portland / FoodLovesWriting.com
Rockport, ME / FoodLovesWriting.com
Along U.S. 1 / FoodLovesWriting.com
Fall in Maine / FoodLovesWriting.com
By the Water in Portland / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland, ME Water / FoodLovesWriting.com
Portland Maine Sunset / FoodLovesWriting.com
Harvest on the Harbor / FoodLovesWriting.com

Tim’s Three Favorites from Maine:

  1. Driving around small New England towns with Shanna
  2. Friday’s Top of the Crop event
  3. Wednesday’s Grand Tasting

Shanna’s Three Favorites from Maine:

  1. Visiting a place so different from where we live
  2. Learning more about Maine’s food scene (ranked second highest in the country for its farm-to-table focus!)
  3. Strolling charming streets with Tim, surrounded by golden leaves

Disclaimer: Our accommodations and admission to Harvest on the Harbor were provided for us, but all opinions expressed are our own. Special thanks to Visit Portland for making this trip possible for us – Visiting Maine together was literally a dream come true, and we still can’t believe it happened.

About Shanna Mallon

Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.

23 thoughts on “Harvest on the Harbor: Portland, Maine”

    • Thanks, Kathryn! Certain parts of New England/Portland reminded us of London… and you can bet that’s on our dream travel list, too. : )

      Reply
  1. You really captured the heart of Maine in all your pictures and words..Thanks for including my farm & Cafe in your wonderful blog.. we are passionate about our foods here in Maine!

    Looking forward to your visit in the future..Annette @ Gone Loco! Cafe

    Reply
  2. I feel like I just experienced a mini-vacation this morning! Loved reading this and learning about places I haven’t been and seeing some familiar sites I have (I ate at Sarah’s years ago, but no pumpkin cheesecake …). This convinces me that we must make it back to Maine soon.

    Reply
    • You’re so sweet, Jolynn. I’m glad you enjoyed it! And PS my brother and I went to Sarah’s a few years ago, but during August, and had a killer blueberry streusel pie. I love that they do seasonal desserts!

      Reply
  3. Vinland! The croissants! And oh my gosh, those homes. What an amazing trip. I’m so glad you shared it with us and now I really really want to go.

    Reply
  4. As someone who has lived in Maine for five years, can I just say what an awesome looking trip you had? You hit so many amazing places! I’m tickled you went to Scratch, not only because it is our favorite bakery in the area, but because it means you were right across the street from our house! If only I would have run into you there… You definitely have me wanting to plan a trip to Rumford now, and I’m so happy to see that you visited Folly 101 and Rock Paper Scissors – seriously, two of our favorite shops in the state.

    Reply
    • Thank you again for keeping such a beautiful and helpful blog, Meredith! All of your tips were spot on, and you guys always make me want to go wherever you post… we’ll probably have to come back sometime. : )

      Reply
  5. we were just in Maine with a stop in Portland for brunch and I must say, I have a whole new appreciation for fall! Everything was positively stunning and such a testament to our wonderful creator! So glad you had a good trip!

    Reply
  6. What a wonderful trip! Though we live in Massachusetts and love so much of the same things (quintessential small towns, homes full of character, the teeming trees of fall, hillsides riddled with farms—and farm stores!, farm fresh food), there IS SOMETHING ABOUT MAINE! It is one of our family’s favorite go-to places when we aren’t visiting family or friends. Just us-getting away. I love that it’s so close to the wide spread view of the ocean while holding all the charm of early American living and emerging upon its own set of terms. I think “dreamy” is perfect word-usage here!

    Reply
    • We thought about you while we were traveling, Erin! New England is so crazy beautiful, I wonder if people who live there get used to it or are still amazed every fall? I love that you still love it. And you’re so close to Maine! Perfection!

      Reply
  7. Ah! I DO still love it! I sometimes hurt inside as I drive around beholding the beauty. I also think the Lord gave deep beauty to this area to help us through the long, bitter days of the northeast winter. 🙂

    Reply

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