Portland’s hard-won identity as a food city is here to stay An abundance of local food, eager diners and ambitious chefs built the city's restaurant scene, and they're not going anywhere. Share Bernard Cabrera of Portland warms his hands by a fire in the Oxbow beer garden in Portland on a Friday evening in early February. He and his wife, Jennifer Wolcott, were enjoying dinner at the brewery. They love Portland's food scene and are hopeful it will survive the pandemic. "I have faith, seeing the entrepreneurial spirit in this town, and the creativity, and the incredible talent of the chefs here," Wolcutt said. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer