Hot Suppa!: Portland, ME
We really wanted our weekend in Portland to feel like a mini getaway. So, we needed to find somewhere good to have dinner after drinking beer at the Bearded Brewfest all day. You can read Derek's review of the Brewfest here. It's really hard to find good restaurants that serve both something I want and something in Derek's restricted diet. I was feeling like seafood that day, so that narrowed down the search also. On Yelp, I came across a place called Hot Suppa! They had great reviews and advertised $1 oysters everyday during Happy Hour from 4-6.When we got out of the Brewfest, it was 4:30 and we took an Uber to Hot Suppa! to make it on time for the $1 oysters. Our driver dropped us off and we went inside what was a hole in the wall. The restraunt is very small. The waiting area takes up almost half of the restraunt and there were only a handful of tables with a small bar. It was cozy and comfortable. Art from local artists decorated the walls, and the place had a bit of a hipster vibe to it.
We sat down and were given a happy hour menu. We could also order from the dishes that were written up on the large chalkboard over the kitchen. For drinks, Derek ordered the New Fashioned and I ordered the Hurricane.
Our drinks came quickly. Derek liked his drink a lot. He said it was really good and a little different from the usual Old Fashioned. My Hurricane was tasty and almost reminded me a little of a Long Island Iced Tea. Not too sweet and a little fruity.
I started with a half dozen oysters. They were fresh and delicious. They were Briny, which I prefer. They came with a lemon and cocktail sauce and I used an array of hot sauces that were on the table.
I then had the calamari. It was a mix of rings and tentacles. The tentacles were much smaller than I have had but they were much sweeter too. I liked them a lot. The calamari came with a salad with tomatoes and jalapenos. It also came with a pesto aioli which I couldn't have because of my dairy allergy, so I enjoyed mine with fresh squeezed lemon and cocktail sauce instead. The batter was thin and left the squid as the main feature of the dish. The portion was small, which the waitress warned me of. However, for me, it was the perfect size as I was having oysters as well.
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