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Continuing our reviews of our dining excursion with our friend, Sunday evening found us down in Old Port. This is a bit out of order, as Flatbread Company was the last place we tried, but it was the best of the bunch, so I wanted to get a review posted ASAP. Located next to the ferry terminal, right around the corner from Ri Ra’s, Flatbread is very easy to get to, assuming you can find parking in Old Port (anyone who’s tried during the summer knows what I’m talking about).

The dining room is very comfortable, with a very laid back feel. There are lots of children’s hand-drawn pieces of art everywhere (including the menu covers), some couches that you can eat on, and a mostly wooden, old time feel. They don’t take reservations, but I believe you can call ahead to get your name on the list. We went around 6:00 Sunday and were seated within 15 minutes.
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We had a friend up to visit for Labor Day weekend so, of course, that meant we had to try a few new places to eat. On Saturday evening we had dinner on Peaks Island Saturday night. After taking the ferry over and renting a few bikes to tour the island, we reviewed menus and decided that Peak’s Island House would be a good place to grab a bite. We asked to sit out on the back deck so we could see the sunset over Portland. It got a bit cool as the sun went down, but the view was amazing and we’re so glad we sat outside.

The dinner itself was okay. As has been said by more than a few people, you don’t go out to Peaks Island for the dining. She had their seafood pasta, which She reports was quite good. I had a chicken salad, and our friend had a chicken dish and the French onion soup. My salad and the other chicken were both average. There was nothing specifically bad about the dinners, but given the price, we had slightly higher expectations. Then again, we were on an island, so I guess we should have known better.

The wait staff was very friendly, and even rushed the check for us so we could catch the ferry back into the city. The photo opportunities off the back deck should not be missed, but I’d say you could take or leave the food. If you’re out on Peaks already, then by all means give it a try. But between the cost of the food and the $7.25 for the ride out there, it’s certainly not worth a trip specifically to eat at Peak’s Island House. The Inn on Peaks was slightly better, and had a better selection of beer thanks to Shipyard Brewery. Of course, they were also another dollar or two more expensive…

The Sea Dogs prevailed in their play-in game last night against the Fisher Cats and will start their best of five series against Trenton tonight, in New Jersey. Despite being swept by New Britain, it’s been quite a weekend for the Sea Dogs. Not only did they still manage to get into the playoffs, but Clay Buchholz, who started the year in Portland and was voted the Sea Dogs’ pitcher of the year for 2007, threw a no hitter against Baltimore for the Red Sox. He will, of course, be extended his stay with the big club after that.

She and I were out with a friend at the Sebago Brewpub on Market Street (beer review coming in a later post) for the last several innings of that game and the atmosphere was quite electric. Portland is a big sports town, and given its proximity to Boston and AA affiliation, a huge Sox town. Needless to say, there was much cheering throughout the pub when the umpire rang up Nick Markakis to complete the no-no. Being a life-long Sox fan, this may be one of the best parts about moving from New York to Maine. With football season starting up, I’m starting to see Pats signs everywhere too. Did I mention I also root for them?

Now then, time to see if the Sea Dogs box office (207.879.9500 if you’re interested) still has any decent seats for Friday evening. I may have to postpone my Friday workout to Saturday for this one. Go Dogs!

Update: We’ll be in the second row of section 202 (first base box seats) on Friday night. I hope to see a full stadium that night!

We’re back. Not that we went anywhere, but we’ve not managed to get anything posted here in a week. Uggh. On the bright side, we have several posts worth of material to catch up on, so let’s get started. For our “date night” last week, She and I headed down to Hadlock Field for the Sea Dogs Field of Dreams Fan Appreciation night. This is the second Dogs game we’ve caught–I think I mentioned that we took in a game from the right field bleachers back in May.

This time we had general admission seats for the Field of Dreams doubleheader and ended up sitting almost directly behind home plate. We weren’t sure whether they allowed cameras (they do), so we don’t have any pictures, but the theme for the night was that Hadlock Field is the Sea Dogs field of dreams (you know, the Kevin Costner baseball flick). The Dogs wore vintage 1920s Portland Eskimos uniforms and did the somewhat corny, but really pretty cool enter through the cornfield scene using some corn stalks out in center field. After thanking the great fans in Portland, the players actually came up into the stands to greet people. A very nice touch.
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