St. Paddy's in Portland

A night of Irish storytelling and some salty chips are featured in our monthly guide to enjoying life in the Pine Tree State.

ST. PADDY’S IN PORTLAND

March is, of course, the perfect time to celebrate your Irish heritage, but Seanachie Night at Bull Feeney’s (375 Fore
St., 207-773-7210, www.bullfeeneys.com) in Portland keeps the celebration going all year long, every third Monday of the month, from 7 to 9 p.m. Modeled on the saloon founded by Irishman John A. Feeney (father of the famed director John Ford) in 1878, Bull Feeney’s Irish Pub hosts this authentic gathering, which features traditional storytelling and music from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England, such as Castlebay’s Fred Gosbee and Julia Lane (pictured below). If you can’t make it to the readings, you can always grab a Guinness or sample a tumbler of Irish whiskey. A special St. Patrick’s day reading will take place on Wednesday, March 12. Be sure to call ahead for the most up-to-date information.

SNACKS FROM THE SEA

Though it might still be a bit frigid for a swim in the Maine ocean (unless you belong to the local polar bear club, and if you do, what’s wrong with you?), it’s certainly not too early to swallow a little of the ocean. Linette and Shep Erhart have been harvesting sea vegetables (wild ocean plants or marine algae) in Hog Bay in Franklin since 1971. A small business back then, Maine Coast Sea Vegetables (207-565-2907, www.seaveg.com) now processes more than a hundred thousand pounds of the sea-salty snacks annually. The company offers six organically certified varieties of marine plants: alaria, dulse, kelp, laver, sea lettuce, and bladderwrack. Hand-harvested directly from their beds at low tides, dried at low temperatures by sun, wood, or forced hot air and packed without further processing in their facility in Franklin, these ocean treats are great, local sources of flavor, texture, and nutrition. If you’re not the type to “dive in,” try the Sea Chips, organic tortilla corn chips flavored with dulse, kelp, garlic, and onion powders.

THE PERFECT PLATTER

Now is a good time to bring a little bit of spring — that’s right, we’re almost there, at least technically speaking — inside with unique platters designed to combine flowers and food in a completely new way. Potter Mark Kuzio of Belfast has invented Ikebana Ware (22 Durham St., 207-338-8372, www.ikebanaware.com), a combination of a one-of-a-kind handcrafted serving dish and a metal pin frog. With a small cup that holds water and the pin frog, these platters keep the flowers fresh and showcase Kuzio’s innovative style. Given the scarcity of fresh flowers in Maine at this time of year, Kuzio’s design is ideal for featuring just a few stems rather than filling a vase with those flowers from Florida. Surround the flora with cheese, tapas, pastries, or even stones or shells for a truly unique and Maine-made centerpiece.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Ikebana Ware

Quick Bites
By Kathleen Fleury

Open just a few months, Empire Dine and Dance (575 Congress St., 207-879-8988, www.portlandempire.com) is the new it spot in the Portland nightlife scene, playing host to a myriad of eclectic performers and serving up classy pub fare, killer cocktails, and lots of microbrews (good luck finding a Bud Light here). With a bar and restaurant downstairs and a performance space and bar upstairs, Empire is aiming to become the city’s new live music haven and upscale watering hole. Does it succeed? Pay a late night visit and see for yourself.

Briefly Noted
For a slightly more dramatic take on the chick-lit genre there’s Bride Island (Plume Press, New York; paperback; 288 pages; $14), the debut novel from Alexandra Enders, who has also written for Elle, Food & Wine, and Martha Stewart Living. Once a depressed alcoholic, Polly Birdswell made the difficult choice to leave her daughter behind and head north to a small town on the coast of Maine to be close to her family’s beloved retreat on Bride Island. Now, six years later, she’s sober and stable and wants her daughter back. But when Bride Island’s future is threatened, Polly must also fight to preserve her connection to the land she so deeply treasures.

More Than a Pub
McKay’s Public House in Bar Harbor offers ample reasons to cozy up in the winter.
By Brooke Dojny

In winter, Bar Harbor folds in on itself. Gone are the day-trippers and cruise-shippers. The tee-shirt shops — along with at least half the other businesses — are closed and shuttered, putting the town into what feels like suspended animation. But a local pulse beats strong, and McKay’s Public House offers a haven and meeting place for the eclectic mix of local lawyers, artists, park employees, carpenters, and hospital workers who live in Bar Harbor year-round. [for the rest of this story, to read a review of The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline, and to get away to the scenic Seboomook, see the March 2008 issue of Down East]

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