Portland, Maine

[norm]

My girlfirend and I are flying up there for the Asylum shows Aug. 4-5, and I had a couple of questions about the area:

1. Is something going on that weekend besides the shows? A lot of the hotels are sold out and the ones that aren't are ridiculously expensive. The hotel prices in Portland for that weekend rival that of a Florida beach on a holiday weekend.

2. Is it generally mucho cheaper to stay outside the city? So far it seems that even the out-of-town hotels aren't much better.

3. Does Dave Gutter's Meat Market actually exist or is it some joke about his ween?

4. Is there anything awesome to see in the area besides the Rustic Overtones?

[Darek]

1) not sure about that, not that I"m aware of

2) You may want to even considder renting a car for a couple of days and staying farther away. I've had to do that in the past with shows in Boston and even with the rental cost and hotel it was still cheaper than staying in the city. You may want to look away from the coast a ways, Gorham area maybe.

3) It's for real, 771 Roosevelt Trl Windham, ME

4) I'll let a Portland resident field that one

[Tim Nickerson]

1.) Not sure. You can get cheap hotels in South Portland, and Westbrook. Check out Motel 6, Holiday Inn, Travel Lodge or Howard Johnsons in Westbrook.

2.) yup. you must've looked at hotels in so po.. they're about the same price as portland.

3.) like darek said.. yup. and they have killer fillets there.

4.) flatbread on commercial st is a MUST place to eat. amazing food. amazing.

[araungzeb]

1. The only thing I can find is something called the "Greater Portland Festival of Nations," although I don't think it's a very large event and could account for sky-high hotel prices.

2. I imagine that it'd be a lot cheaper to stay out of town, so I'm kind of surprised that the ones outside of town are just as expensive.

3. Yeah, Channel 13 interviewed Dave there around a month ago.

4. Like Tim said, Flatbread. Amazing pizza. There's some other great restaurants and places around town, but I don't live in Portland so I'm not much of an expert.

[shellaaa]

1. i'm guessing that hotel prices in portland would be really high because people love maine in the summertime, but still want their taste of city life too...

2. i bet it would be cheaper to stay out of town. not sure how you feel about camping but i'm guessing that would be the absolute cheapest. there are some nice campsites not toooo far away...

3. the meat market...good quality meat sold to you by dave gutter and his father...

4. flatbread is delicious AND healthy and organic. i'm also a fan of the croissants in the coffee shop on exchange street and i like granny's burritos and the blueberry pie ice cream in the shop next door to it (i think it's still there...)

[Poptrash]

4. Portland Headlight - probably the most photographed lighthouse in the world.
Eastern Promenade - Take a picnic and sit and watch the boats in the harbor.
Back Bay - Walk/Ride bikes around 3.5 mile trail that circles Back Bay.
Musuem of Art - I think it's free on Thursdays (at least it used to be).
Old Port - Right by the water this place comes alive at night with numerous bars, pubs, & clubs.
Portland Sea Dogs - Double A (minor league) baseball team for the Boston Red Sox (Haddlock Field off Congress St.)
Sunset Cruise - Goes out around Casco Bay and you can check out the seals and magnificent views.
Plus many, many more things. There's almost no end to the things to do in Portland in the summer.

[cherry]

I just want to preface this by saying I am not a local.
I've stayed the Inn at St. John www.innatstjohn.com a few times. Their rates are slightly lower. It is a cozy kinda B&B sans the ambiance. It feels like you're staying at someone's house as opposed to a straight up hotel and come to think of it, yes they do have some sort of complimentary breakfast. As far as proximity to the Asylum, i walked back from a NYE show one year.. not sure if that was a good idea late at night but we couldnt get a cab. And in any case, it's not even a 5 minute ride there and def walkable.

4. The Lobster Shack at Two lights www.lobstershack-twolights.com is waaaay touristy and I love it! It's the perfect place for out of towners, although i hear its packed during the summer (i went during while it was raining in december). And my personal fav restaurant in Portland, cute date place is Street & Co. Hope you like seafood!

[araungzeb]

Ooh, and if you ever happen to find yourself in Scarborough and are a seafood fan, you have to try out Ken's Seafood. It's on Pine Point Road, and is easily my favorite seafood restaurant in Southern Maine, slightly beating out Lobster Shack and blowing away Demillo's. It's pretty casual, but the prices and food are amazing. Howie Carr loves it too, though I'm not sure if that will be a good or bad thing to you. ;D

[Tim Nickerson]

two of my friends work at kens. they do have great food!

[mlose]

there is absolutely nothing to do in maine, so it should never be visited by anyone especially from massachussettes.

sorry, tourists get on my nerves sometimes.

yeah isten to them, plenty to do in ptown.

just walk around the damn old port

[chomsky]

The Beach to Beacon 10K is Aug. 4th in Cape Elizabeth and the race has become well respected and attracts some of the top international runners to compete. It draws thousands of people to the greater Portland area and likely accounts for the hotel crunch.

Defineitly hit Casco Bay lines and head out to the islands while you're here. Great way to see the coastline, check out the sunset over Portland, and it's relatively cheap too....

[Tim Nickerson]

There's like 20 hotels right off Exit 48 on 95 (westbrook) it's literally a 10 -15 minute drive from Asylum.

All nice quality cheap hotels (prob under $100 per night). Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, Howard Johnsons, Best Western, Motel 6, etc... all of these hotels are within 10,000 feet of eachother! plus you're right across from platinum plus! lol

[handsingloves]

So I hear that place serves donuts topless? That worth looking into?

[Tim Nickerson]

i live near there and i've never been! they open at 6am though lol.. i gotta go check it out soon.. for sure! lol

[norm]

Topless women and donuts! I'm in heaven! My girlfriend may not agree though

I did find a Rodeway Inn on Brighton Ave. $90 for Saturday night, $70 for Sunday night.

[Tim Nickerson]

I live near there and Rodeway Inn is cool, but I never see the actual HOTEL / MOTEL. All I ever see is a small shack that says "Rodeway Inn", and then that's it. Not motel, no building, nothing. The motel must be located somewhere else??? I dunno.. anyway.. at least try to check the price of Holiday Inn, or Howard Johnsons, or even MOTEL 6!! All those hotels are less than a half mile near Rodeway, and WAY NICER. Oh yeah there's a Travellodge right next to Rodeway too.

[norm]

They were all either sold out or ridiculously expensive (around 150/night)

[finks]

I know you are more than likly up here allready, and now that I am wayy the fuck up in Ft. Fairfield, my hand isn't on the pulse any more of PTown, but there is more than enough to do there.

If you love good beer, we have one of the highest ratios of bars to people per capita in the US. Gritties and the Shipyard are a must visit along /w Seadog Brewing Co in Thopsham.

Other than Beer and the Old Port, Culture is all around. Tons of local parks, but Ft Williams is 100% a must stop. Totally free and as stated before, where the Portland Headlight resides.

As for eats, Granny Burritos for sure, as well as the Porthole.

[norm]

I'm coming next weekend and I love good beer. I'll be sure to check out Seadog as I love breweries.

[ironboots]

If you can, check out and take a tour of the Shipyard brewery. They make great beer! I haven't been there in ages.

[csprague]

And for the Maine Microbrew scene, nothing sums it up better than the Great Lost Bear, out on Forest Ave (somewhere in the mid 500s I think). They have 54 taps, heavily weighted towards regional microbrews. Great burger and desserts too, even if their fries are a little weird.

www.greatlostbear.com

[finks]

Stop at 3 Doller Dewey's as well, just to order a Cadallac Mountain Stout. No joke, it is one of the top 10 beers in the world according to MANY publications.