The Land of a Thousand Meals, Part II

Hello again y'all!

Well I had a day to reflect on the genius of my previous post, and gave my hands a bit o' rest. Now I'm back at it, hooray! Thanks for hanging in there kiddies!

So Monday, for part II of my dining adventures, I was treated to an impromptu lunch at David's, www.davidsrestaurant.com/, by a fellow classmate after my first official docent class at the Portland Museum of Art (PMA for the cool kids). 

Located on 22 Monument Square, off Congress Street, and right next to another Novice Fork review, Shay’s, David's has that been there a long time vibe, with a strange decor of lots of brick and faux flowers (welcome to 1995). However, the waitstaff here get it right, friendly, attentive, and swift, we had a table in seconds, and water in little over a minute. This is a good thing, because after a long docent class, my eyes were the shape of T-bone steaks. The clientele of mostly business lunchers was subdued and buttoned up and sleepy, even though the place is large and was mostly full (an universal sign that the food is good, btw).

The menu, for lunch anyway, is a combo pack of lots of different things: Pastas, entrées, pizza, sandwiches, appetizer salads and larger entrée salads. It all looks good, but it’s somewhat hard to find a common theme, which I look for when dining out. If I had to, the overall theme reads as “innovative” with an attention to seafood and steak… nothing wrong there. I’ll call it “Pan-American” with Mediterranean and Asian influences. That said, there is something for everyone, even if the overall effect of the menu seems a bit scattered. 

I had a Grilled Chicken Sandwich (wow so original… I always get one when I don’t know what to get), and it was really good, char grilled, tender and juicy, with tomato, onion and BBQ sauce, it was the perfect chicken sandwich. My friend had a Hamburger because, in his words, he “needed some red meat after a week of salads” (I hear that). We both got fries, which were decent too.

I think the true test of a restaurant is if I can’t wait to go back, and I can’t say that about David’s. It’s the type of place I know will be there if I need it, but if another place opens up, one I truly love, I’ll be there instead. That said, it was a good lunch, I was full, the bill was small, $18.00 for the two of us, and the service was awesome, which always contributes more to an experience than I realize sometimes. So…

Rating time, yay! I think this is a 3 Fork spot, for nothing wrong in particular, but more because the place feels a bit old, menu a bit scattered and simply it is not my fave restaurant in Portland, ME. Then again, you’ll get a good meal, at a great value, and with great service, all things to be thankful for.

Words for the day? Sure, why not…

When it rains, like today, you want to get all cozy and cook at home, so do so. Bake some brownies, call some friends over, watch a movie or reruns of Glee, and enjoy being indoors, sometimes the best meal you can have is at home. Aww now I’m all sentimental, it’s fine for a guy to cry, right?