3 Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine

Arguably the best-known among all of Maine's many outstanding breweries, Allagash was one of the state's pioneers, first opening in the '90s with its signature Belgian-style wheat beer, Allagash White. There are plenty of other styles to discover at the brewery, including wilds, sours, barrel-aged brews, and special seasonal concoctions on tap, and when hunger strikes, there's a Bite Into Maine’s food truck on-site, where you'll find burgers and excellent Maine staples like lobster rolls and whoopie pies. It's a bit out of the way from central Portland, but the above, plus a fun and friendly tasting room, make the brewery well worth the small trek.

Families, students, and bohemian types gather at this popular New England chain flatbread-pizza place where two massive wood-fire ovens are the heart of the soaring, warehouselike space. Waits can be long on weekends and in summer, but you can call a half-hour ahead to put your name on the list, or grab a drink from the bar and wait outside with a view of the harbor. The menu has eight signature pizzas made with fresh, local ingredients, plus weekly veggie and meat specials; everything is homemade, organic, and nitrate-free, and there are delicious local microbrews on tap.

The biggest of three breweries sharing space in an industrial warehouse, Foundation welcomes visitors (and their fur babies) to its tasting room with a roster of craft brews that pair well with their Detroit-style pizzas and snacks like giant pretzels, available Thursday through Monday. Foundation's best-known brew is the Double IPA Epiphany, but the ever-changing list of beers on tap includes pilsners like Riverton Flyer and wheaty brews such as Radiant Waves.