Portland, Maine is just a quick 2.5 hour drive from the center of Providence, RI. We got up early on Sunday and made the venture north after a quick stop for iced coffee on TAP at The Coffee Exchange on Wickenden in Providence (you’ll soon start to note the amount of coffee consumed on this trip).

Portland is a very easy city to navigate to (just up I-95) and small enough to tackle in an afternoon. If you have more time (and more cash) you could certainly stay a much longer time. However, we had a great afternoon sampling really great food (the best of our 72 hours), coffee and small local shops. If you follow me on Instagram (modonmendenhall) you saw much more of the city and my time at Duckfat. Here’s my quick rundown.

5 Hours in Portland, Maine.

First stop: put your name down at Duckfat on Middle Street. It’s worth the wait. If they have a lamb sausage panini special – get it. We devoured the sandwich filled with lamb sausage, turmeric ricotta, pickled jalapenos, cucumber, curry mayo and mint. We also sampled the fries with thai chili mayo, an “All Maine Tonic” (I must admit this is an acquired taste), and the classic duck confit panini with pickled watermelon rind. No doubt this was the best meal of the trip.

While waiting to get into Duckfat, sample coffee from Coffee by Design around the corner.

Work some of the duckfat off with a stroll through the City and Harbor.

Check out the Candy Chang installation at Flatbreads. I’ve been a big fan of Chang for quite sometime and was pleasantly surprised to see this! Take the time to see her Ted Talk.

When it starts to pour down ran, juice up your iPhone and grab another caffeine jolt at Bard Coffee. The folks there are extremely nice.

Look at one thousand more chotchkie shops. Buy a set of salt & pepper shakers in the shape of lobsters. Or, don’t.

Feel like you’re in the latest edition of Esquire at Portland Dry Goods.