Pai men miyake

www.miyakerestaurants.com/pai-men-miyake

Pai Men Miyake is a restaurant that you need to visit.  The focus of the restaurant is on ramen with broths rich in pork, chicken, beef & vegetables. We started with the pork buns.  The pork comes from the Miyake farm.  Its so much more flavorful than pork you get at the local store.  The cube of pork that comes with a pork bun is huge (golf ball size).  Try some of the pork without the bun so you can really taste the pork. The pork buns are delicious and I would image a great late night snack. We had the Paitan ramen and the Kimchee Beef ramen.  The Paitan ramen is pork belly in a chicken and pork broth.  The Kimchee Beef ramen was, as expected, spicy.  The chunk of beef was so tender that it easily pulled apart with chop sticks.
The beer menu has a least a dozen local selections.  The wine menu was limited with 3 reds and 3 whites.  But the options were satisfactory.  The service varied.  One day we went the service was excellent.  The next time we could not get a second beer from our server.
We really liked the atmosphere. The décor, the music.  With all the steaming in the kitchen the place can get quite warm so be prepared.  Speaking of warm, in the warmer months there are tables outside. 
In summary, delicious Japanese food, beautifully presented.

Brussels sprouts in a fish sauce vinaigrette

Shrimp gyoza

Our ratings scale
Atmosphere: 5
Staff: 3
Drinks: 4
Mount Gay rum: Yes
Food: 5
Parking: 4

Local 188

http://www.local188.com

We have all been to Local 188 in the past and really enjoyed our meals. We enjoyed it so much that paella became a favorite meal. We decided to stop by after LFK for more drinks and some food. Local 188 is a warm and inviting place. The couches and chairs are arranged such that you feel like your home. The staff is welcoming and friendly. They were very patient while we mixed and matched beer selections for our samplers. Great selection of beer. All the usual local suspects: Bunker, Bissell, Rising Tide and Allagash. The wine list is just as good. Wide selection from all the major regions.

We have the Chicken Pinchos which on skewers and marinated in coriander, citrus and garlic.

We also had the flatbread with roasted hummus. The flatbread was really big and had a healthy dollop of hummus.

Our ratings scale
Atmosphere: 5
Staff:  5
Drinks: 4
Mount Gay rum: Yes
Food: 4
Parking: 5