Friday in Portland, ME

Hung out with Tom and Jen last night. Met some friends from work at the Top of the East. Great view, very comfy chairs, lousy service and expensive drinks that were not full enough. Then went to the Free Street Taverna for some eats and were totally dissed by the nonexistant wait staff. Don't know what the deal is with them but it is rare that I enjoy my time there. It has happened but it is rare. Which is too bad because I really like the location.

The highlight of the night was the Fairfield Porter exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art and a quick gyro at the kitchen.

The PMA is free on Friday evenings something which I really appreciate. We went because Tom is an Amherst graduate and Porter was the artist in residence there for a while. It was time well spent. The paintings were colorful and pleasing. Porter has a very painterly style which still manages to convey a feeling of lightness. He is summer vacation. The Porter exhibit is up for another couple of weeks so get there soon.

After being totally ignored by the waitstaff at fst, we left free street and crossed congress to the Kitchen. Look for their site, thekitch.com coming soon. We got there just as they were closing. I asked if they were still serving and even though they had shut everything down the owner looked up and said "we'll serve you."

Talk about customer service! Tom and I had a Gyro. Jen had the Jamaican Jerk Chicken wrap. She and Tom ended up switching. I had the dregs of the wrap and while quite spicy, duh, it was most tasty. The gyro was good but next time I will order the JJC wrap.

We ended the night at Three Dollar Deweys. Another disapointing wait for the waitress but at least she showed up. A sign of the autumn to come, Sam Adams Octoberfest was on tap.

Overall it was a night of extremes in customer service. But we had fun and that's what counts.