Pat's Pizza (review date night)

http://www.patswindham.com/

Date night! So my husband and I moved, AGAIN! From an apartment in the city to a house near a pond. We are excited about having so much room for activities! (Brother's movie reference). The house is a lot bigger than our city apartment and somehow we are only paying $100 dollars more a month. The house itself is gorgeous and the area seems very friendly and quiet. But now we don't know where to go to eat! After living in the city we knew our fast food date nights and our pricey romantic date nights. Now, in new territory, we have to try a of bunch new places. Introducing Pat's Pizza! 

Hours: One of the reasons my husband and I chose to drive 20 minutes to Pat's Pizza, other than both of us craving pizza asap, was because their website said they closed at 11 pm at night. Everything else was closing at 10 pm and it was just about 9:30 pm when we decided neither one of us wanted to cook. After unpacking boxes of pots and pans who wants to get them all out and cook on them? We were a little worried when we started out. It was a Tuesday night and we assumed that the restaurant wouldn't be busy and the crew wouldn't want to serve us. To out surprise their parking lot was filled with cars and when we walked in they were mildly busy. 

Lay Out: We have been to another Pat's Pizza before in Scarborough and the lay out was a little different. You went through a side door and down into a basement area where the bar is on the right and the booths on the left. It functions fine, however, if you've never been there before it's a little weird. I remember thinking. "What do they do with the rest of this big building?" Windham's, however, is more like a traditional restaurant. Ironically, right when you walk in the bar is again on the right and the dining is on the left. 

 

Service: Unfortunately not a selling point. However, to be fair, it was close to closing time. In any case the waitress seemed distracted. She was not overly friendly but she was not at all rude. She served her purpose and did her job. My husband used to be a server, so he takes actions as a waiter/waitress seriously. I on the other had just want my food. 

Menu: The menu was pretty easy to navigate. Prices were decent. I personally like when menus have pictures, it usually sways my decision making a bit. I had nothing to go off with these menus so we took our time going over the list of pizzas. 

                    

Food: The pizza was AMAZING. The deciding factor on food was a Chicken and Basil pizza and a Pastrami and Cheese Sub. The toppings on the pizza were chicken, basil, mushrooms, provolone, and cheddar cheese. The chicken appeared to be fresh, some pieces rather large, so you could tell it wasn't from a can or processed. The chicken was also moist and everything was baked perfectly. My husband had 2 favorite things about the pizza was the basil (the perfect amount apparently) and the thin crust. I couldn't stop eating. The gourmet pizza along was $13 for a large. And we had leftovers! 4 slices of pizza. The Sub . . . my husband was more than slightly disappointed. His exact words, "it's not anything special." I guess the pizza was too perfect. The sub was a small amount of shaved pastrami with some cheese. He ate half and we left the other half behind.    

So all in all, another great and cheap date night. Left with some amazing pizza for left overs and didn't may over $25.00 for two hungry people. 

Thanks for reading and if you're ever in town you best go to Pat's Pizza.

Save me a slice, would ya'?

Have a sweeter day than yesterday.

The Great Lost Bear (review)

Food review in Portland, Maine! So I've mentioned before that my husband and I are new to Maine. Moved here several months ago and are still finding beat places. This St. Patrick's day my husband decided we would try something new. He looked up bars in Maine and saw The Great Lost Bear had a 3.9 star review. So we got dressed up and went out.

Parking: Off street parking woo who! My husband hates parking on the street and since we had never been there before was worried that since it's in Portland we would have to. Turns out they have a parking lot to the left of the building. It's a bit small but we found a spot and went inside.

Building & Decor: is a little worn and the inside wood, walls, and artwork are as well. Even though everything looks like it's been there a while, everything looks like it's supposed to. I don't know how to explain it but as soon as we stepped in we felt comfortable and chill. The overall atmosphere was bar you would bring family and friends too. The lights weren't to dark, the music wasn't to loud, and spacing wasn't to crowded. 

Service: Our waitress was pretty cool. All the servers were wearing green on account of the holiday I assume. They were pretty friendly and really patient answering our awkward questions. Having never been there before we had a lot of questions. My husband is really picky about his food and his beer. They explained sizes, sides, and their favorite foods and beers. Overall fairly friendly, but again just right, no fake smiles.

Menu: For such a small looking place they had a rather large menu! And my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach.  I just couldn't decide and neither could my husband. They had salads that sounded tasty, burgers that sounded mouth watering, chicken that sounded delicious. There was a lot to choose from. The menu itself was pretty entertaining also. Little drawings all over the place and funny phrases to describe the food. It took us forever to order, not just because we couldn't decide but because we were having so much fun commenting about the look of the menu.

Food: Was amazing. Brought out to us hot & melting. My husband and I finally decided on 2 Philly Cheesesteak bombs. Shaved steak, grilled with green peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Melted on top was their seasoned cheese sauce. I didn't even add mayo to mine! The fries were great too. Not fancy, but definitely sliced and cooked, not from a bag. However, we did see some mean looking burger at the table next to us were a lil jealous. But that's for round 2!

Top it off: So I guess you figured it out. That my husband and I had a lot of fun and loved The Great Lost Bear. But there was something else that I couldn't keep my eyes off while there. Glass Etching Windows . . . as part of the walls separating the dining areas. If you've seen some of my other blogs particularly the Glass Etched Mason Jar one, you'll know I love etching glass. Now there's a reason these etching were so interesting to me. First they are on huge pieces of window panes and second none of of them were alike. Someone had designed them. And I'm dying to know how, who and how long did it take to do!?

So there you have it. If your in the Portland area and want great food and a relaxing place to chill and hang The Great Lost Bear has my vote. Hey! And let us know when you're in town. My husband and I always like good food and a good time!

Thanks for reading! 

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Have a Sweeter Day Than Yesterday!