Dining in Portland, ME on Labor Day Weekend... Too late to reserve a table?

[swisloc]

my fiance and i are going to be in Portland over labor day weekend. we decided to head up to Maine for the week following labor day, and were fairly surprised to find many hotels booked a month in advance. Now i'm concerned this will be the case with restaurants as well. Is it too late to get a table for labor day weekend at any of the following spots?

Fore Street
555
Evangeline
Cinque Terre

We are looking for a really good but casual dress dinner, do these places fit the bill? Not sure how fancy any of these places are; how would they compare to restaurants in NYC?

any thoughts would be appreciated.

[swisloc]

so niether 555 or Fore Street had tables available at reasonable times on saturday the 30th, so i went ahead and made reservations at both of them for sunday the 31st, as i can't make up my mind... i realize that Fore Street has had a bit of a rough patch lately on these boards, and it seems 555 has overtaken it. Should i just hit up 555? Is the tasting menu at 555 really as affordable as it says on the website (55 bucks)?

I reserved a table at Evangeline for saturday, so i guess i'll get a decent sampling either way...

[JenBoes]

If I remember correctly, Fore Street keeps some open tables for early diners. If this is still the case, you may be able to get in there without a reservation.

[irwin]

Fore Streets open sitting is a joke! They tell you this to make you feel better and to try to eat at 5:30, but if you show up at 6:30 or 7 pm plan to wait at least one hour..............

[mainemal]

Prices will be comparable at 555, Fore St., and Cinque Terra; Evangeline a little less. 555 is probably top of the heap. In case reservations are scarce, you may want to consider any of the following:
Bresca
Back Bay Grill
Caiola's
All delicious, and not quite as dear as the top 3.

[EastRocker]

well there is a real easy way to find out, call and try to make a reservation.
Last time I was there we ate at 555 and Fore St. we didn't have a reservation for Fore St. but we got there early and after 20 minutes or so we got a spot at the bar. both restaurant were great but in my opinion 555 is better.

[swisloc]

how do the prices compare between these places?