Feature | Portland Monthly Magazine

A fresh crop of entrepreneurial dreamers is ready to ignite your summer.

Just when you feel you’ve got the whole city memorized by heart, you turn a corner and dazzling new restaurants, bars, and shops waiting to be explored. Portland is as restless and shifting as the sea that surrounds it. So take a deep breath and dive into the new Old Port…and beyond.

Exchange Street Evolution

On the last night of 2017, we said goodbye to Sonny’s cocktail bar and hello to Black Cow at 83 Exchange Street. Housed in the same gorgeous 19th-century former bank that provides the picturesque backdrop to Tommy’s Park, Black Cow is nonetheless a very different beast from its predecessor. Gone are the sultry red walls and heavy drapes, replaced by a vibrant teal paint and dove-gray banquettes. Chef de cuisine Nicholas Nappi describes the casual restaurant as “elevated classic Americana”–think succulently greasy cheeseburgers made on dense, house-made buns and drizzled with caramelized tomato mayo and mustard, “cured and ground right here.” Heady nostalgia is apparent in the playful menus (Slushburgers are Sloppy Joes for the Instagram world), newly installed soda fountain, and shake bar. Before you panic, the original Sonny’s bar remains, along with much of its original staff and a pared-down list of 10 fancy cocktails. “We started afresh with the bar program,” Nappi says. “The new menu features  citrus-forward drinks and whiskeys that cut through the grease of the burgers.” The air of classic kitsch and Black Cow’s reasonable prices ($5 hamburgers) are sure to appeal to parents and their kids alike. The restaurant looks a lot less friendly for those with dietary restrictions–most options contain meat and dairy…https://www.portlandmonthly.com/portmag/2018/04/whats-new-2/

All images courtesy of Portland Monthly Magazine.