Loading... click any image on the right to see it in the viewer above. rollover the image with your mouse to see a larger view.

More photos:

More Videos: Cafe playpen

Loading...

THE NORTH STAR MUSIC CAFÉ is Munjoy Hill’s coffee-shop-cum-bar; the word “bar” falling somewhere messily in-between the Italian and the English understanding. By day, the airy café serves up light lunches and hot drinks. Try the Hercules sandwich (local Applegate Farm prosciutto, brie, organic greens, and apricot preserves on a baguette—$7.50), and point your friend to the Hydra (greens with red onions and a scoop of balsamic tuna salad—$4/$6.50). Or, better yet, really flash your local feathers and order a Phoenix (greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, and Sunset Acres herbed goat cheese—$4/$6.50; also, the mythic bird emblazoned on the Portland city crest—a downtown historically harried by fires, rising four times from ashes).

But when day wanes and curtains draw, The North Star’s stage officially opens. The barista has been humming for hours, but now musicians transplant their guitars from couches to a rough-hewn platform and plug in their amps. Patrons trade teas for wine and convene for the evening’s show: acoustic Maine Songwriters' open mic night, Emily Dickinson set to alternative rock, or Flatline (the only all-age goth/industrial/rock/metal dance night in Maine—surprise!).

Another distinguishing feature of this Janus-faced café is the eclectic gathering of even its daytime regulars. As Mac-users rap out their laptop edits, they break to observe the approach of small—but well-dressed—people over their thick, squared glasses. A sizeable nook just past the bar acts as a well-stocked playpen, big enough to house leather seating for play-date-hungry moms; the idea became part of the owner’s mission after helping to watch her nephew and finding no venue that suited both parties’ sense of fun. North Star’s multidimensional, multigenerational space—café or bar? office or nursery? (some might not bother to argue a difference)—has managed to both create and fill a special niche on Portland’s East End.

HOURS: Monday-Wednesday 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Thursday-Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. FREE WI-FI. (207) 699.2994.