Winter Weekend in Portland Maine (eatcation)

What does a winter weekend in the pretty little city of Portland, Maine look like you ask? Well, it sort of looks like this: Fresh out of the oven donuts, french fries cooked in duckfat (and then smothered in gravy), delicious dumplings, more local breweries than you can possibly fit in a weekend, views of the sparkling Atlantic and yes, some snow.

Popular Summer Stop - Portland Lobster Co.

If you have lived in the northeast you can agree that New England winters seem to kind of drag on forever.  That fresh snowfall always gets us giddy, but by week 3 of sub freezing temperatures, icy bridges and dirty snowbanks mixed with garbage and gravel, we are beginning the countdown to daylight savings.  Sure, you can head to the mountains to ski but again, this is New England.  You can get a great powder day or a weekend filled with long lift lines, single digit temperatures and a lot (a lot) of ice.  So what do you do when the forecast is projected to be 20ish and the skiing conditions are awful?  You go on a Eatcation**. 

First official food stop on the way to Portland: Rise Donut from Congdons

* Eatcations can involve activities besides eating. However, the main reason for the trip and largest enjoyment must come from eating. For example: You can go for a nice little walk along the harbor, but you better be putting your all into Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, with a stop at a brewery somewhere between there. The purpose: to eat some great food. Everything else is optional. Portland, Maine is just about the perfect place to go on a eatcation. Portland is Maine's largest city and has seen a dramatic transformation with the influx of foodies and hipsters that make this city what it is today. Bon Appétit named Portland America’s foodiest small town, the New York Times called Portland “one of the best places to eat in the Northeast,” and the current new title is in competition with San Francisco for the most restaurants per capita. 

In the summer, you have a lot more options as far as recreation goes from whale watching to walking tours. In the winter you are a little more limited. For this post, we are going to focus on what you can (and should) do during a winter weekend in Portland Maine. And like I said, this was an eatcation so I basically, well, ate.

BaoBao Dumpling House- Portland, Maine

We arrived in Portland, Maine just in time for lunch.  I knew Portland was famous for it's food scene and the  biggest issue would be how to fit as much food as possible in 48 hours (first world problems).  With high expectations and building excitement, it is quite easy to look at the long list of 4 to 5 star rated restaurants and be a little overwhelmed by the options.  

The thing about Portland is there is more than a little bit of everything.  In the mood for Asian?  Pick from one of these five restaurants with rave reviews.  Seafood?  I don't even know where to begin with the choices.  I decided to consult "The Bible" (Fodor's New England travel guide if you are new to the blog) with this tough decision.  The book had yet to disappoint me so far, with an awesome stop at Congdon's donuts and a nice little walk at Rachel Carsons preserve to start the day.  

While perusing through the food section, two restaurants really jumped out at me: BaoBao for their dumplings, and Duck Fat for their fries.  The idea was set and I was not leaving Portland without dumplings or french fries.   And so, our first real stop (if you don't count the donuts) became BaoBao. 

General Info

BaoBao Dumpling House

Rating:  4.5 Stars 

Address: 133 Spring Street, Portland, ME 

Contact: 207.772.8400  info@baobao-maine.com
Open:  Wednesday through Sunday, Closed Monday and Tuesday

Reservations:  Parties of 8 or more

Vegetarian Friendly:  Yes

Gluten Free Friendly:  Dumplings no, but some options 

Parking:  On the street (metered)

Special Events

1/2 Price Dumplings: 2:00-4:00 (Wed-Fri)

Happy Hour: 4:00 - 6:00 (Wed-Fri)

Monthly Tap Takeover (currently featuring Oxbow Brewing)

Pop Up Events 

Why The Name?
"BaoBao 包宝 in Chinese translates to “wrapped treasure”, or in our case, dumplings (jiaozi 饺子), served in a historic townhouse in Portland’s West End.  We offer Asian inspired comfort food, designed to satisfy both the midnight foodie, or discerning dinner diner.  Our core menu is supplemented with ever-changing daily specials and a wide variety of teas, beers, wines and specialty cocktails".

Allagash Brewing Company

When heading north to Maine in the winter, I knew our options of outdoor activities were a little limited.  With temperatures hovering in the high 20s, this trip was going to be mostly about eating and drinking our way around Portland.  When the temperatures are below freezing and you want to take off on a foodie/boozie adventure in New England, Portland Maine is the perfect place to go.  

The weekend was a mix of good food and great local beer.  Looking at a map of breweries, the list of local brews in Maine can almost be overwhelming (so much beer, so little time I am afraid).  While the microbreweries are popping up at an alarming rate, there are the big names like Shipyard and Allagash who are well known and have been around for a while.  To start our tour in Portland, we decided to stop into Allagash to see the space and of course, sample some Maine brewed beer. 

Entrance to Allagash Brewing Company

A great and very busy brewery in an awesome space.  On a "campus" or I guess you could call it an industrial area with several other breweries and distilleries.  Free tours, FREE TASTINGS and a really cool tasting room and patio (covered and with heaters in the winter).  I loved that the patio was dog-friendly and I can see how this would be an amazing spot in the summer, making your way through the various breweries, distillery and food trucks.  While here in January, we tasted four beers, all delicious with my favorite being their classic (and first beer!) Allagash White.  Little Brett was a close second and the porter was a delicious winter treat.  White makes it pretty far across the U.S. and it is pretty common to see it bottled at various restaurants in New England. 

While most breweries are just trying to sell beer (and it seems to be all about IPAs these days), Allagash is working on expanding on and perfecting Belgian Ales.  If you like Belgian beers and want to taste and tour the operation, this is a great stop in Maine.  While the tours were booked up, we were told we absolutely have to come back to see the operation.  Tours are free but book up quickly (reserve in advance online).  While the tastings are free, you cannot order a pint at the bar, beer is only sold to go.  They have some various merchandise and snacks available for sale as well.  If you love the local beer scene after your tasting at Allagash, you can turn this into a full out Maine Brew Tour.  Head across the street to try out Foundation Brewing Co, Austin Street Brewing, Bissel Brothers Brewing, New England Distilling and Geary's Brewing.