Memorial Day in Portland, Maine started off with a yummy breakfast and a fun boat tour. Now it was time to head out once again to grab dinner for my final night. I was in the mood for Thai and decided to check out Boda. Inspired by Thai street food, the restaurants offers unique tapas, grilled skewers, and homestyle entrees.
I was seated at the bar and started off with one of their classic cocktails, the Thai Basil Tom Collins made with gin, Thai basil, lemon juice, homemade sour mix, and soda. Cheers!
From their tapas, I wanted to try the Kanom-Krok Quail Eggs. The perfectly fried little eggs were served sizzling hot in a cast iron pan and seasoned with soy sauce and scallions. They were delectable.
They also offer an array of meat and vegetable skewers from their grill bar. I ordered the Bacon-Wrapped Scallop Skewers. The crispy charred bacon wrapped around plump tender scallops served with a spicy garlic lime dipping sauce was delicious.
For my entrée, I couldn’t decide which noodles I wanted. I eventually decided to do the Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles). The dish is made with wide stir-fried rice noodles, onions, tomato, pepper, bamboo shoot, Chinese broccoli, Thai basil, and egg. It was okay. The flavor and spice came up short and the overall texture of the dish was too soft and mushy.
My Thai dinner at Boda was quite enjoyable. Even though the noodles were a miss, I loved the quail eggs and scallop skewers. Service was good too. It was nice to see more unique offerings than the usual fare most Thai restaurants have.
The night was still young, so I decided to have a couple cocktails at the Portland Hunt + Alpine Club. The cocktail bar features clever cocktails, quality spirits, and Scandinavian small plates.
The bar was pretty full, but I managed to find a seat at the kitchen counter. Cocktails are broken down as Refreshing, Adventurous, Classics, and Wild Card.
My first cocktail was the Line of Flight from the Adventurous section. It had gin, sherry, tea, lime, egg white, and pink peppercorn. It was definitely different and very good. Next, I had the Rainkiller from the Wild Card section. Made with coconut-washed rum, pineapple syrup, lime cordial, bitters, and crushed ice, it was smooth and refreshing.
I really liked the cocktails and the wonderful smell of their popcorn with green chile powder, butter, and parmesan was filling the room. I surprisingly didn’t try it and ended up just chatting with a local for a bit. We decided to get a beer at the casual local brew pub Gritty McDuff’s, otherwise known as Gritty’s.
After last call, it was time to head back to my hotel. My final day in Portland was wonderful! I had a later flight to catch the following day, so I still had time to squeeze in a couple more meals before the airport. 😉
Boda
671 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 347-7557
Website
Portland Hunt + Alpine Club
75 Market Street
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 747-4754
Website
Gritty McDuff’s
396 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101
(207) 772-2739
Website
