Whether you need to catch a plane, see a concert, or spring for that extra-special dining experience, all signs point to Portland. However, while we are lucky to have Maine’s largest city nearby, the urban experience for many Bowdoin students is limited to Portland’s outskirts and commercial downtown area. Fortunately, newcomer Ten Ten Pié is a worthy destination off Portland’s tourist-beaten path.
Just a short walk from the city’s well-known waterfront, East Bayside is a residential neighborhood where multi-generational Mainers, recent immigrants and established refugee populations live side by side.
Co-owners Markos Miller and Atsuko Fujimoto embrace the melding of cultures in their East Bayside shop, offering everything from creative lunch specials to cuisine-combining baked goods, and even a solid selection of imported grocery items.
My visit to Ten Ten Pié started as a mission to find a certain pastry recommended to me by coffee shop connoisseur Raisa Tolchinsky ’17. As I entered the shop, the alluring smell of baked goods led me straight past a wall of international groceries and a case of lunch delicacies, directly up to the bakery counter.
Inside, I found the pastry I was looking for—an almond croissant baked with matcha (green tea powder)—alongside imaginative baked goods like miso macarons, a Chinese sausage croissant, and German flammekuchen (flatbread).
These cross-cultural combinations might seem outlandish, but they are at home in a bakery whose owners met by chance, numerous times, in different places all over the world.
After devouring the croissant, which combined sweet almond filling with savory matcha depth, I took a moment to look around. The sparse seating, wide selection of goods and reasonable prices add to the unique appeal of Ten Ten Pié. The owners prioritize quality food over trendiness. In an era when hip décor, twee gimmicks and overwrought menu typography seem to be the norm, Ten Ten provides a refreshing departure.
Perhaps its East Bayside location contributes to Ten Ten’s no-frills approach. Unlike nearby Munjoy Hill, Bayside has yet to experience the full-fledged gentrification that has characterized Portland in the past decade.
As one of Portland’s lowest-income neighborhoods, Bayside is one of the last frontiers for expensive residential development, but construction has just begun on luxury condos nearby. For the time being, however, Ten Ten Pié succeeds in connecting with its neighbors by offering undeniable value.
It is clear that Miller and Fujimoto have created their own ideal neighborhood market and hope to share their passions with East Bayside. Their expertly curated grocery selection, from Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise to masa flour corn tortillas, figure artfully in their lunch items and baked goods.
“We are inspired by great flavors from around the world and ethnic markets,” Miller said. “We just find the best stuff and mix it up.”