Marcy’s Diner

Foodie-Nation Status Continues Strong in Greater Portland Where Diversity Reigns

October 17, 2016 / / Uncategorized

What’s increasingly making Portland a worldly source of provocative dining and a contender to maintain its foodie-nation status is the diversity of what there is to eat and where to find it whether dining in or dining out.  It comes up in the most ordinary places from vendors at a farmers market to a soup swap in a barn in Yarmouth to a fine meal on Munjoy Hill to a French-bistro inspired dinner in the Old Port. It makes the food lore of the daily meal so delicious.

Crystal Springs Farmers Market

Crystal Springs Farmers Market

While Portland has one of the biggest farmers markets in terms of number of vendors, Brunswick beats the odds with its contribution of buying local because it has market days 3 times a week: On the Green in downtown Brunswick on Tuesdays and Fridays and  on Saturday down the road at Crystal Springs on Pleasant Hill Road.

Brunswick's On the Green market

Brunswick’s On the Green market

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Don’t Call it Brunch When you go to Darla’s Place (Marcy’s Diner) for a Hash-House Breakfast

August 8, 2016 / / Restaurants

There’s no kvelling over picture-perfect golden-yolked eggs with better provenance than your nearest relation.  Nor is savoring the artisanal loaves of buttered toast likely,  because there are none.  And no need to fret whether the bacon is nitrate free because it most assuredly isn’t. Instead, breakfast at Marcy’s Diner on a weekend or weekday morning (the earlier the better because you don’t want to wait) is a no-frills culinary epic where hash is slung with style and the crispiest hash browns around come from a Sysco container of pre-grated potatoes. (Oh but what she does to  make them regal is the queen’s magic touch.)

Darla Neugebauer, the Free Street entrance and outside signpost

Darla Neugebauer, the Free Street entrance and outside signpost

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LFK: At Sunday brunch it’s all about a very winning heap of homemade hash

October 19, 2015 / / Discoveries, Restaurants

There’s a lot of good corned beef hash served at Portland restaurants–especially those with brunch menus.  In fact, you can get hash on any day where breakfast is served—from hotel dining rooms to dives and everything else in between.

LFK's delicious curried corned beef hash

LFK’s delicious curried corned beef hash

Hot Suppa, Marcy’s, Becky’s, Local 188, Front Room, to name a few have admirable dishes of corned beef hash.

But the winner for the most unusual is cooked up at LFK.  The bar/restaurant follows an interesting concept of offering two plate sizes for many of its dishes.  Whatever size you choose you get a heaping helping of hash in the small ($9) or large ($16) portion size. Unless you’re feeling voracious the small  portion is  plenty big filling an 8-inch round dinner plate to the rim.

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The time is now for compelling Sunday Brunches, indoor farmers’ markets, fabulous autumn skies, fall menus and winter wardrobes

October 5, 2015 / / Discoveries, Restaurants, Travel

October brought in the first fall weekend that seemed like classic autumn in Maine: puffy cumulus clouds hanging from  bright blue skies; the farmers’ markets in full swing with squash, apples, Brussels sprouts and vibrant root vegetables looking as luscious as ever. Even what we eat and where we go to have it takes on the hues of seasonal change.  I made my first meatloaf since last year.  Sweaters were unpacked, socks covered ankles, jackets donned and a wool blazer worn in the evening. Even a stroll through Portland’s Saturday farmer’s market made me think I should have worn gloves since the brisk winds made the 48 degree temperature feel much colder.

Clockwise: cows grazing on pasture at Bisson's Farm and butcher shop, Topsham; farmer's market at Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust

Clockwise: cows grazing on pasture at Bisson’s Farm and butcher shop, Topsham; farmer’s market at Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust

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Weekend brunch, Portland: Are you still standing on line to get in?

September 14, 2015 / / Restaurants

From the divine dining annals of  Middle Street (Eventide, Duckfat, East Ender,  et al) to the proprietors on the four corners of Longfellow Square,  the legion of brunch buckaroos waiting on line to get into Portland’s trendiest eateries has spiraled to new highs.  All that craving rush for variations on eggs Benedict or the latest take on tater tots define this culinary madness.

The hot spots, Local 188, Eventide, East Ender and Duckfat

The hot spots, Local 188, Eventide, East Ender and Duckfat

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Marcy’s Diner: After the fall Portland’s darling of the big dish– Darla–is riding high, slinging hash and enjoying all the attention

July 27, 2015 / / Discoveries, Restaurants

By now the world knows (even the seagulls steer clear) not to mess with Darla Neugebauer–aka Marcy’s Diner—the empress of the hash-house hootenanny starring an old toughie at the flat top, a crying baby and an oblivious millennial mommy, who collectively trounced the newswires and social media pages like a hailstorm of pebbles across the globe (well, maybe not mainland China).  The event has even inspired several new dishes on the menu like 3 Screaming Baby Pancakes and Liberal Parent Omelet (or Entitled Eggs Benedict?).

darla darla at the grill Darla clipping2

And, for better or worse, it’s made the diner and its proprietress instant stars (mom didn’t make the grade, coming off too arrogantly namby-pamby). Nearby Becky’s Diner may have been feeling the pinch, however, as tourists and uninitiated locals camped in front of the Oak Street digs instead for a look see.

Lovable greasy spoon diner is all the rage in Portland at Marcy's

Lovable greasy spoon diner is all the rage in Portland at Marcy’s

And for pure ridiculousness, offers have been pouring in for Neugebauer, from a TV cooking show to a reality sit-com.

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