When you travel to another city, it's easy to gravitate towards what's familiar-- a Cheesecake Factory dinner here, a coffee from Starbucks there. But the truly memorable experiences often come when we step out of our comfort zones and into the magic of local fare.
I used to travel frequently for work, and in each city, I would try to find at least one local restuarant, vintage shop or coffee bar to check out while I was there. In all my travels, I have to say there is nowhere easier to do this than in Portland, ME. As I mentioned earlier this week, the downtown area of Portland has only one chain retail store and very few chain restaurants, so this is possibly the easiest local city guide/review I have ever assembled. Come with me over the jump to learn of this lovely land of ports.
