I may not succeed at St. Patrick's Day (which I historically do nothing for, despite being Irish), but this is a girl who appreciates Cinco De Mayo (there's absolutely nothing Mexican about me at all, expect for the fact that my birthday is sometimes the same day as Dia De La Muertos).
I had heard interesting, mixed reviews of Sonny's - a new place in Portland, ME that calls their fare "new world cuisine." As a foodie, this intrigued me. So, wanting to have a night out to drink some margaritas, eat some hopefully good food, and wear my cowboy hat without being laughed at (I wore a cowboy hat when I was in the fifth grade, and my best friends brother made fun of me for years for it - but, if you know me, then you know I'm a bit of a hat geek. And while I love my cowboy hat, I just never have a reason - and since I was ten, no longer the confidence - to wear it. But The Middle-Distance Runner said she'd wear one with me tonight, and since it was Cinco De Mayo it was the perfect excuse), we decided to avoid all the typical local Mexican places (I paid my dues as a promo girl in the past: I know exactly what those kinds of places are like on drinking holidays) and headed over to Sonny's.
The atmosphere at Sonny's was weird. For example, it definitely isn't the kind of place you wear a cowboy hat. It's the kind of place you wear skinny jeans, thick-rimmed glasses whether you need them or not, asymmetric side-swept bangs, all the while arrogantly pretending you're too good "for the man" or for anything even remotely close to being "corporate."
The bartenders were disinterested and inattentive.
And we were cut multiple times in the bar line by male patrons.
But the drinks were stiff and the food was unbelievable tasting (albeit it quite pricey - but then again, a drunk hipster will do anything to be different; and, that includes paying nearly $10 for half of a pan-fried avocado).
The other really, really weird thing that needs to be mentioned is the serious lack of boundaries there seemed to be with some of the other patrons. We ate at the bar and had multiple people come up to us, completely invade our personal spaces, and ask us how we liked the food while staring at said food.
Would I go here again?
If I came into a lot of money and I didn't have to eat in the bar, perhaps I would. The smashed beets topped with thick goat cheese was a delicious combination I had never thought of that I might like to eat every night for the next year. But, the yam fries were a disappointment - definitely not as revolutionary as everyone made them out to be; in my opinion they were a bit bland. I was impressed with the unique flavor profiles on each plate, but the price and the atmosphere was a bit too much in my opinion.
Click.
Check out my review of Sonny's!
*DISCLOSURE POLICY: This is not a paid insertion. All opinions expressed in this post regarding the product are my own experiences and personal observations. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.*
