Fore Street on Fore Street in Portland, Maine

Haruki Murakami wrote in If There Were a Time Machine that both Portlands in the United States are great for food. The one closer to me is Portland, Maine, and the restaurants he recommended are all concentrated on the main street in the city called Fore Street. Topping the list is the restaurant of the same name, Fore Street (the other two are Street and Company and Hugo's) 🍽️. I’d heard it was very hard to get a reservation here. On a whim the night before, I managed to book a table for 8:30 p.m. the next evening 🕣. That same afternoon, I tried walking in again, and the staff told me they usually reserve two-thirds of their seats for bookings, but if I was willing to line up right when dinner service starts (between 4:30 and 5 p.m. ⏳), I’d very likely get a seat—and of course, I was willing ✨. The restaurant’s paper menu changes daily 📄. We did quite a bit of research beforehand, reading lots of reviews online and noting two dishes Murakami mentioned in his essay: Wild Mushroom Orecchiette and Seafood Stew. Unfortunately, they weren’t on the menu that day—a bit of a letdown 😔. For drinks, we chose the local Blueberry Sparkling Water 🧃. Maine is famous for its blueberries, and it certainly lived up to expectations. Staying true to the principle of “eating the freshest seafood in a port city,” we ordered: Wood Grilled Squid 🦑: Every piece cooked just right—not too chewy, not too charred. Wood Oven Roasted Mussels (from Bangs Island, Maine) 🦪: Served on a cast-iron plate, straight from the oven to the table, keeping the perfect temperature. The mussels were bathed in butter mixed with almond crumbs—creamy and fragrant. At first, I mistook the almond crumbs for minced garlic, but the rich, nutty aroma upon tasting was a lovely surprise 🌟. For the main course, we originally wanted lamb shoulder, but on the server’s enthusiastic recommendation, we switched to Saddle (Roasted Lamb Saddle) 🐑—which wasn’t even listed on the menu. The server explained in great detail—though I didn’t catch everything—that it was the lamb’s backstrap, roasted in a special way to render out the fat. When it arrived, the aroma was captivating 🔥: a thick, boneless slice of lamb with tender meat in the center, a ring of fat around it, and a golden, crispy crust on the outside. It was topped with onions, black pepper, garlic sauce, rosemary, and other herbs. Underneath the lamb was a pan-fried shredded potato cake 🥔 shaped to match, probably to absorb any excess oil. For a side, we ordered Roasted Pumpkin 🎃—soft in texture with a gentle color, served with a sweet-and-sour fruit jam. It wasn’t bad, but not particularly memorable either. As Murakami said, “Taste is a regional thing.” 🌍 #BostonLife #PortlandMaine #ForeStreet #MurakamiRecommendation #NorthAmericanFoodNotes #HiddenGemRestaurants #LongFormFoodWriting #FoodDiscovery #TravelDiary #MaineEats