Jeff Howe and Ann Brandt of Portland dine in the Margarita Garden at Terlingua in November 2022. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Leslie Bridgers

I was all about eating outside in the cold during the first year of the pandemic. Aside from it breaking up the monotony of work and couch, the act of cutting into a steak while wearing winter gloves was a way to lean into the weirdness of what life had become and bring some levity to it.

Those standing propane heaters were ubiquitous around Portland, with restaurants transforming slices of sidewalk and parking spaces into makeshift patios. Now, I can see a pile of those heaters huddled in the back of the once all-season outdoor space at Woodford F&B, where I spent a good chunk of my stimulus checks when I couldn’t bear the thought of cooking another meal.

But some restaurants are continuing to make use of the equipment necessitated by social-distancing rules, which has made me wonder, who is still eating outside in winter and why?

Portland Japanese restaurant Yosaku just winterized its deck last year, when there were still a lot of customers requesting outdoor dining in all seasons to avoid illness. Owner Rattanak Tray said that, while he still hears that in summer, it’s been higher-temperature days this winter that have drawn the most customers out onto the deck.

“It seems they sit outside to enjoy the warmer weather, rather than fear of sickness,” he said.

In the Kennebunkport area, there appears to be a competition on for cutest outdoor dining setup, with Batson River Brewing, The Boathouse Restaurant and Kennebunkport Inn’s The Burleigh all offering the option of eating in private, heated outbuildings, modeled after ice fishing shacks, lighthouses and ski gondolas, respectively.

Colleen Blair has eaten in all of them.

The outdoor dining gondolas at The Burleigh in Kennebunkport. Photo courtesy of Colleen Blair

“It’s a nice experience and a nice way to enjoy the winter when so much of what you’re doing is indoors,” said Blair, who loves to be outside and, in summer, always jumps at an opportunity to dine al fresco.

Blair and her husband come up to Kennebunkport from Boston for weekend trips in all seasons. This month, on an early Valentine’s Day getaway, they had a late lunch at The Boathouse, ordering cocktail specials and food to share in the privacy of their very own lighthouse overlooking the water. Equipped with a heater and blankets, it was warm enough for them to take off their coats.

A travel content creator as a hobby, Blair included a photo of the structure, with its bright red door and evergreen wreath, in a reel of images from her time in town that she posted on social media.

“The outdoor experiences are certainly Instagrammable,” she said.

Sure enough, these spots are all tagged in posts and reels of date nights and girls’ dinners on the accounts of influencers and average people alike.

While Blair said it’s not a bad idea to bring an extra blanket with you when dining outside in winter, it’s usually not necessary. A recommendation she did have, however, was to make a reservation ahead of time.

That’s certainly the case at the Cambria Hotel’s Alto Terrace Bar + Kitchen and the Portland Harbor Hotel’s Harbor Bistro + Terrace, at least on weekends, when customers consistently book up the see-through plastic igloos decked out with Bluetooth speakers and board games.

A dining igloo at Alto Terrace Bar + Kitchen in the Cambria Hotel in Portland. Photo courtesy of Alto Terrace Bar + Kitchen

“The guests have also noted that they like that they can bundle up with the individual heaters and many blankets provided in each igloo, as they’re surrounded by the outdoor Maine winter,” said Jenn Pendexter, area director of sales and marketing at Colwen Hotels, the management company for both.

Reservations are also a good idea for dinner at Washington Avenue restaurant Terlingua, if you want to secure a spot on the deck, where a table was set for eight people coming in on Monday last week. General Manager Greg Wright said the restaurant gets requests for its outdoor seating every day, year-round.

“I don’t think anybody has a deck like we have in Portland,” he said.

Among those diners are people looking for privacy and space and those who are immunocompromised and concerned for their health — and appreciative of the option Terlingua provides.

“There are still people who want nothing to do with inside,” he said. “We still see a lot of masks.”

The corral at Portland restaurant Terlingua — with plastic walls, heaters and heated seat cushions — fills up on Friday and Saturday nights in winter. Photo by Leslie Bridgers

On Friday and Saturday nights, Terlingua also will fill up its “corral,” a covered outdoor area with plastic walls, heaters and heated seat cushions.

Two-thirds of the restaurant’s 150 seats are in its outdoor areas, Wright said, so they not only accommodate people who want to sit outside but also create more room for fans of its Texas-style barbecue and Mexican-inspired menu items.

Standing out on the toasty deck last week brought back warm memories of a meal I had there four years ago last month (according to my Resy history). Who knows how much difference it made, COVID-wise, sitting in an outdoor space enclosed enough to be that comfortable, but I remember enjoying myself and, even now that I’ve reverted to indoor dining, can see the appeal of feeling like you’re eating outside in winter.

As I type this from my home office, where I work half of my hybrid work schedule, I’m reminded to appreciate the positive things the pandemic forced out of us and, every once in a while, eat in a lighthouse — because you can now.