Travel in city Portland, state Maine

Visitors often come to Portland, Maine, for the first time because they want to spend a summer weekend in a quaint city by the water, or because they’ve heard about the city’s superlative seafood (80 percent of the United States’ lobster comes from Maine). Seduced by the easy access to nature and relative affordability, many return for longer stays or even for good. Between 2020 and 2022, Maine’s population had the highest percentage increase of any New England state.

Both chefs and owners of dining establishments, who are often one and the same, face a multitude of challenges working in today’s highly competitive restaurant industry. Three accomplished chef/owners recently offered their views on a variety of industry-related topics.

Memphis. Atlanta. Birmingham. There are certain American cities that are known for Black history. But African American history and culture can, of course, be found across the United States, in seemingly unlikely cities, like Portland, Maine, say, or Providence, R.I.

Philadelphia is getting major love from Frontier Airlines with a dozen new summer routes — and a sale to celebrate.

Picking a vacation destination is always a tough choice.

Some airlines have begun issuing waivers in anticipation of what is expected to be a major snowstorm in the Northeast United States this weekend.

I recently put caviar on an extra-toasty Cheez-It, and I’m obsessed. I took my inspiration from Alexis Cervasio, proprietor at hip Boston market EBO & Co. and proponent of putting caviar on everything,

Hyatt’s first upper-midscale extended-stay brand experiencing growing pipeline with strong interest from developers

American Airlines is gearing up for the new year with several new flight routes to popular summer destinations in 2024.

An unusual nigiri will soon be on offer at Bar Miller, a new omakase restaurant in New York City’s East Village: the humble bluefish, sourced from the New York-New Jersey coast, served raw. “Bluefish has this reputation as being a lesser tier, like a poor man’s fish. But if you treat it with care, it’s incredible,” says Jeff Miller, the executive chef. “When it’s in season, it’s rich, fatty and buttery, with a little bit of subtle tuna iron quality.” Featuring bluefish on a sushi menu is surprising when the city is awash with omakase that, like those in Tokyo, offer prestigious (but unsustainable, according to Seafood Watch) fish like bluefin tuna, Japanese yellowtail and Japanese eel. “Sometimes I think my life would be so much easier If I’d gone that route,” Miller says in reference to the classic omakase menu for which there are standard suppliers. Instead, through trial and error, he built a menu entirely from domestic fish. Bar Miller, which is set to open on Sept. 27, serves San Franciscan anchovies, Hudson Valley eel head trout, and Long Island porgy. (The latter, Miller says, tastes sweet and “super subtle [with] a deep oceanic flavor.”) Miller’s attention to local delicacies extends beyond marine life: The restaurant’s sushi rice is farmed in the Hudson Valley; its sushi vinegar is fermented in Pennsylvania; its soy sauce comes from Connecticut. Even its sake is hyperlocal, fermented in Sunset Park and Bushwick. For Miller, sourcing locally is about expanding on his lifelong appreciation of Japanese cuisine; sustainability is an attendant benefit.

The best thing about visiting the US can be summed up in one word: variety. This expansive country contains an incredible number of travel experiences that would take a lifetime to complete – (figuratively) lose yourself among the redwoods, take deep breaths of sea air on glimmering beaches, or discover underground arts scenes in some of the world’s most famous cities.

When brothers Tony and Nate DeLois opened The Francis, a boutique hotel in Portland, Maine, back in 2017, they realized something was missing in the market. “There has been a lot of hotel development in the past 10 years in Portland, and every new hotel that has been built on the peninsula has been branded,” said Nate, the co-principal and chief financial officer of Uncommon Hospitality.

Matt Tracy, 45, a shoe distributor based in Portland, Maine, loves to cook. On a recent multigenerational trip to Tuscany, he and other family members cooked seven out of 10 nights in a rental villa, preparing dishes like wild boar ragù for 10 people, including his children, 6 and 9.

Getting old has few benefits, but the occasional senior travel discount is one of them. Senior travelers can enjoy a wide range of discounts, but both availability and value vary substantially among different travel sectors and in different parts of the globe.

Low-cost airline Breeze Airways wants to help travelers book a last minute summer getaway with a new sale that has flights starting at just $29 one way.