I’m Jake Newman. The Portland Logbook is my love letter to this city: the food worth hunting down, the history that refuses to die, the corners you only find if you’re paying attention.

Before the Logo, There Was the Heart

Most people associate a big red heart with Valentine’s Day.

In Portland, it means something else.

If you’ve been in Portland long enough, the heart stops registering as only a Valentine’s thing. Friends and family visit and get confused when it’s mid-October and there are still hearts around the city. They assume it’s seasonal. Or decorative. Or something that just never got taken down.

It’s not.

You start noticing them everywhere. Taped to a door. A parking meter. A shop window you were just walking past. There’s no sign explaining it and no one there to tell you what it means. You just recognize it.

Sometime deep in the night, on a random day in February, paper hearts show up all over the city. It’s something people used to call the Valentine Phantom.

You don’t hear about it ahead of time. You just wake up and they’re there. Over the years, people started to expect them. Then look forward to them.

Once you start paying attention, you see the heart everywhere. In windows. On signs. Painted onto walls. Sometimes clean. Sometimes sloppy. Sometimes clearly cut out on a kitchen table.

Every February, the city wakes up and the hearts are back.

At some point, the heart stopped being about Valentine’s Day at all. It just became something people here recognize without thinking about it too much.

You can see that in places that have nothing to do with the holiday. Look at Hearts of Pine. A local team choosing the heart as part of its identity, not as a joke or a romantic thing, but because it already made sense. They didn’t need to explain it. People here already understood it.

Before Portland had a logo. Before it tried to brand itself. Before anyone told you how you were supposed to feel about this place, there was just a heart.

The Valentine Phantom, explained

The Best Thing I’ve Eaten in a While Came From a Bathhouse

There’s food at The Washington Baths.

Now, that’s not usually why people go. They go for the sauna. The cold plunge. The hot tub. They go to slow things down. Eating is an afterthought.

But here I was. Still warm. A little loose. The kind of tired only a brutally hot sauna can give you. I ran into people I knew. Friends. Familiar faces. That part didn’t feel surprising. Nothing feels more Portland than ending up somewhere new and realizing half the room already knows each other.

But eating at a bathhouse… that’s new.

Then I took a bite.

I ordered the yellow dal. It came over rice with fried sesame seeds, labneh, and pickled red onions. I’ve had dal plenty of times. I’ve made it myself. This one stopped me.

I don’t know how much of it was the dal and how much of it was everything else, but it was the best thing I’d eaten in weeks. Savory. Earthy. Nutty. A little acid. Every bite felt right. I licked the bowl clean.

I’ve gone back and ordered the same bowl more than once. I’ve heard there are other great things too, but if you go, get the dal. Trust me.

Go get the dal

THIS WEEKS CONDITIONS
☀️ SUNRISE: 6:47 AM
🌅 SUNSET: 5:05 PM
🌊 SEA TEMP: 37.4 °F (Casco Bay,)
✨ Local Favorite Shop of the Week: Sødt - Nordic Candy Store
✨ Local Artist of the Week: Sarah Steedman

Portside Real Estate Group

🏡 I write The Portland Logbook, and I also help people buy and sell homes in Portland.

If a move is on your mind, I’m always happy to help you think it through.

Work With Jake

Let’s figure this out

A few people have been asking about the Logbook party. Nothing formal. Just a night to get people in the same room who read this and care about the city.

The space I was planning to use is definitely too small. So now I’m at the point where I either need to find a bigger place or ticket it so the numbers don’t get out of hand. If you have thoughts or ideas, I’m all ears.

If you know a good space that could work, hit reply and tell me.

🐾 Adoptable Buddies of the Week! 🐾

🐶 Crumpet – 4 yrs
Big, sweet, and glued to her favorite person. Loves walks, couches, and being near you at all times. Great with kids 8+, wants to be the only dog at home. If you want a loyal shadow with a huge heart, Crumpet is it.

🐱 Baby – 4 yrs
Shy at first, soft and gentle once she settles. Has lived with a dog before and just needs a calm, patient home to bloom. A quiet little sweetheart waiting for her person.

🐶 Gus – 2 yrs
A gentle giant who loves birds, woods walks, and stealing the best spot on the couch. Good with kids and other dogs, just likes slow, friendly introductions. Big body, very soft soul.

🐕 Interested? Check them out here

If the link doesn’t open anymore, it means they’ve already been adopted!