Portland Maine, home to 65,000 souls, is small by city standards. Unassuming and in lacking traffic jams — its name usurped by a upstart municipality in the Pacific Northwest — Portland often is dismissed or ignored by the nation’s other urban centers.

Over the last 10 years, however, this little northeastern haven by the sea has quietly and persistently become a giant in food circles. Now, in the October 2009 issue of Bon Appetit, Portland’s cover has officially been blown. The venerable publication named Portland “America’s Foodiest Small Town.”

Inspired by this new moniker, I have decided to document the delights of this city’s restaurants and food stores (not that that is an altogether original idea — check out the other Portland Food Blogs in my blogroll.) I might even mention other wonderful Maine locales along the way. Come along with me as I take you on a journey through this culinary “big city in a small skin.”