Duckfat

Duckfat in Portland, Maine Is a Local Institution | Eater

"Opened in 2005 and inspired by Belgian frites-window service, this Portland, Maine restaurant built its cult following on duck fat–fried, Belgian-style fries; as general manager Trevor Lilly puts it, "really started off with Maine potatoes," and "They remain one of [the restaurant’s] signature ingredients." Founders Nancy Pugh and Rob Evans — who earlier helped put Portland on the food-tourism map with Hugo’s (a farm-to-table, tasting-menu restaurant opened in 1988 that shuttered in 2023) — created a more casual concept of cones of hand-cut frites with a choice of dipping sauce (Heinz or truffle ketchup; garlic aioli; horseradish, spicy, or curry mayo), duck confit or meatloaf panini, and "$5 milkshakes" (actually $4). Pugh and Evans retired in 2024, but their ethos remains: "[They] were always committed to local ingredients," says Lilly, who has been with the restaurant since 2008, "and I think that is part of why people keep coming back." The operation has expanded to include a window-service frites shack (opened in 2018) and a newer food truck, while the intimate Middle Street flagship still offers fries with additional sauces (new since ’05: a Thai chili mayo and a rotating special fry sauce), poutine with local Pineland Farms cheese curd, rabbit rillettes and house-cured labneh, craft sodas, braised chicken, and an Oaxacan-style brisket panini; the bacon panini served in 2005 is now made with house-smoked tasso ham. "Charcuterie is now all over the menu," Lilly notes: "both in terms of the meat production we’re doing for the panini and the very consistent charcuterie menu we have been doing for a while now. Both were a big passion of Rob’s." Staff member Jarvis Witte says the restaurant’s accolades over the past two decades have created high expectations from both the community and growing throngs of tourists. The team emphasizes a community-minded, playful, local-first approach — "Pretty much every table at the Middle Street location, for example, is a communal table. And that also started out as a way to [optimize] space," he says with a laugh, "but we know that people enjoy that [connection]." The window-service outpost also leverages nearby Oxbow Brewing Company to provide "a lot of fun, communal outdoor space. You can order your beer from them and food from us." Looking toward 2025, management says they want to show customers — whether arriving by cruise ship or from up the block — a taste of the Portland they love." - Francky Knapp