Portland, Maine Named

Foodiest Small Town in America

by Bon Appetit Magazine

Story provided by www.bonappetit.com

On an unseasonably warm Sunday evening in late April, 70 or so locals of Portland, Maine, allowed three guests "from away" (me, my wife, and our daughter) into an underground dinner party called Deathmatch. With a name like that, I didn't know what to expect. Lobster fighting? Blueberry wrestling? Deathmatch, as it turned out, is an invitation-only event at which several of Portland's talented chefs cook around a theme. That evening, the challenge was Last Meal, or "What would your last meal be?" Lucky guests, many dressed in funereal black, were served 18 courses and lots of booze. For one chef, Last Meal meant caviar and crème fraîche on potato chips. For another, it was handmade tagliatelle with white truffle. But it is the most straightforward dish that I remember best—grill-roasted local Damariscotta oysters served with hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon. I ate one—it was briny, spicy, tart perfection. By the sixth oyster, it hit me: I had to go back to the team at Bon Appétit's offices and make a case for Portland to be named this year's Foodiest Small Town in America.

Read the whole story here: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/10/portland_maine

Read all about Portland, in-depth from Bon Appetit: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/10/portland_maine