Aug 02 2007
Meeting a Reader for Lunch
New2Maine.com reader SteveG was kind enough to contact me and let me know that he and his wife were up in Portland for the week and would like to get together for lunch. After some discussion we settled on The Great Lost Bear on Forest Ave. This is a nice pub with a great beer selection and good food. One word of caution–they have a tiny parking lot (no more than 15 cars I’d say), and there’s not a ton of street parking.
Once you find a spot to park and get in the door, you’re greeted by a typical, though very clean and nice, local pub atmosphere. There are a couple dining areas and the bar with its impressive array of taps. The menu is pretty standard pub fare, but they have just about everything you could want. The selection is far more varied than I’d expected. I chose a Buffalo chicken sandwich and She had a chicken parm sandwich. Both were good, though I would have liked my Buffalo sauce to have a bit more kick. SteveG and his wife had a veggie burger melt and a salad with tuna steak, respectively. Both seemed to enjoy their meals. We’ll definitely go back again. It’s not a short walk from our place, but it is within walking distance, so I’m sure I’ll become better acquainted with their huge beer selection.
We shared some very pleasant conversation during our 90 minutes lunch. SteveG and his wife were very helpful in pointing out all of the places to eat and shop they’ve discovered in the area. They were quite interested in Her teaching experiences, as they have a daughter looking to go into the profession as well. We chatted about impressions of Portland thus far, the pleasant and helpful people we’ve encountered up here, and the general feeling that this is a great place to live and we’re glad we decided to give it a try. SteveG also picked up the check, so I can now report that I’ve actually earned at least one free lunch with this blog. Thanks SteveG!
[...] Whilst at lunch with us, reader SteveG mentioned that he’d been reading the blog of another new Mainer, a college professor and his wife who recently moved out to Portland from Santa Barbara, California. He goes by Ickenham, though I’m not certain whether that’s his real name or not. His wife’s name is Watoosa, so you never know. [...]
[...] selection was pretty good, but compared to some of the other bars in town (see my previous post on The Great Lost Bear), it’s not really in the same league. The guest tap was a Sebago Hefeweizen, and it was quite [...]