A one-time tent city and longtime blue-collar enclave, Portland's Munjoy Hill neighborhood has become a hot spot in Maine's biggest city.

Taking up the eastern portion of the peninsula, the area has shops, restaurants, galleries and a theater, but it doesn't have the bustle of Old Port, the sumptuous mansions of the West End or the museums of downtown's Arts District.

Translation: It's just you and the locals in a vibrant, eclectic neighborhood.

And while there's snow on the ground there later this winter, Munjoy Hill's density of sights, shops and dining spots offers plenty of opportunities to pop in someplace warm.

The neighborhood, which officially starts east of the Franklin Arterial, one of the city's main north-south roads, has no Starbucks but at least four independent coffeehouses, echoing the ``Shop Local: Keep Portland Independent'' stickers in many of the city's shop and restaurant windows.

The main drag, Congress Street, runs east-west across the peninsula and is home to two of Munjoy Hill's landmarks. The 86-foot-tall, octagonal Portland Observatory (138 Congress St., 207-774-5561; www.portlandlandmarks.org/observatory) was built in 1807 by the enterprising Capt. Lemuel Moody to let ships communicate with the harbor, thanks to Moody's telescope. (He charged a fee, of course.) A group called Greater Portland Landmarks runs a museum, shop and tours of the tower from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day. Climb to the top to look out on the city and the bay.

ENTERTAINING

The St. Lawrence Arts Center (76 Congress St., 207-775-5568; www.stlawrencearts.org) is a Queen Anne-style building erected in 1897 as a Congregationalist church. After a long restoration, Parish Hall opened as a performing arts venue in 2001, and its resident company, Good Theater, stages six shows a year; other times, the center hosts concerts, comedians and the occasional clothing swap.

Another neighborhood venue is the North Star Music Cafe (225 Congress St., 207-699-2994; www.northstarmusiccafe.com), which opened in 2007 and features performances -- music, poetry or comedy -- seven days a week. The bar area has a coffeehouse vibe, with fair-trade tea-sippers and a soup-sandwich-salad menu, featuring North Star's signature rice and beans. Soups start at $3.50, $7-$8 for sandwiches.

The cafe also serves breakfast; Portland is a breakfast town, with great bagel shops and egg-slingers and creative chefs churning out interesting, hearty breakfasts all across town. And Munjoy Hill has some winners.

For a light fuel-up, start out at the side-by-side Hilltop Coffee Shop (90 Congress St., 207-780-0025; www.hilltopcoffeeshop.com) and Rosemont Market & Bakery (88 Congress St., 207-773-7888). Hilltop's rustic-modern decor, including a salvaged-wood bar and local ironwork, and sunny front window make its few tables prime real estate. Next door, the four-year-old Rosemont Market sells fresh-baked pastries and breads and, for later, cheeses and meats from local farms with names such as Smiling Hill and Maine-ly Poultry, plus sandwiches ($5.50) , soup ($3.75 for a pint and $6.99 a quart), produce and a wide variety of $10-and-under wines.

For brunch, the Front Room (73 Congress St., 207-773-3366; www.thefrontroomrestaurant.com) has you covered: It serves brunch daily from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Chef Harding Lee Smith opened the cozy restaurant in late 2005, giving Munjoy Hill residents a reason to stay on the Hill to eat: divine gnocchi with spinach, bacon and eggs ($8) at brunch, and goat cheese salad ($8) and lamb shepherd's pie ($15) at dinner. Check out its Maine beers on tap; the bar stays open nightly til 11.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@