Kon Asian Bistro received 2 stars from a review in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.
Dinner at Kon Asian Bistro had its many ups and down on a recent Saturday night visit to this flashy Westbrook [sic] dining establishment. While the setting is gaudily opulent, the food is woefully mediocre. Instead of cooking one type of Asian cuisine well, the kitchen sends out run-of-the-mill Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian dishes.
Kon Asian Bistro received 2 stars in today’s review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Dinner at Kon Asian Bistro had its many ups and down on a recent Saturday night visit to this flashy Westbrook [sic] dining establishment. While the setting is gaudily opulent, the food is woefully mediocre. Instead of cooking one type of Asian cuisine well, the kitchen sends out run-of-the-mill Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian dishes.
I Love Portland Maine has published an interview with Chris Beth, owner of Ohno Cafe.
What inspires your menu, and do you have any personal favorites from over the years?
Chris: Again, I am lucky to have inherited an amazing menu. But the old saying is true: “if it ain’t broke, dont fix it.” In five years we have only added 2 menu items., and none of the other menu items have been removed. Ohno has very loyal customers and it seems as though every person has a sandwich they can identify with. So, the weekly specials is what gives us a change to get creative and make something different. Most of those are born by what we feel like eating that week or items that have been really successful in the past. The #1 is as close as what we have to a “signature sandwich.” My personal favorite is pretty simple #4 which consists of salmon which is super fresh and smoked right here in town at Browne Trading.
Portland is in the running to be named America’s Favorite Food Cities, according to a report from Maine a la Carte.
You can play your part in getting our city at the top of the list by going to the F&W and voting for Portland in their online poll.
Food & Wine invites food lovers to rank top American cities on more than 50 characteristics—from which city has the best chefs or most vibrant ethnic food scene, to which city has the best or worst service. The most stunning results will be revealed in the September 2014 print issue of Food & Wine.
John Golden writes of “culinary rapture” in his new review of Vinland.
The cocktail menu was another otherworldly trip into the unknown where the height of improbabilities became strikingly real. The spirits were local like the Barr Hill Gin gimlet made with condensed yogurt whey and white pine syrup. Or the Negroni with more locally distilled gin topped by house-made garnet red bitter spirits and Vinland sweet-beet vermouth. These were starry-eyed drinks even the most ascendant mixologist could love.
The Bowdoin Orient has reviewed The Holy Donut.
We tried everything. We could taste the trademark potato—which is boiled, riced and added to flour dough—in all of the flavors and discovered that fried potatoes are delicious in any form.
The chocolate sea-salt, a customer favorite, is definitely worth the drive to Portland. It was satisfyingly rich with a light texture and the sea salt in the glaze provided a savory contrast to the chocolate.
The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Empire,
These virtues carry over to other parts of the menu. The duck bun features crunchy, fatty meat folded into a pale white, springy-spongy, steamed bun. The bun’s perfectly neutral flavor left the tang of hoisin and slight bite of scallion unobscured. Another dish featured broad rice noodles with just the right soft texture. Kale and bean sprouts added some crunch and chew, and the sauce hinted at garlic and black bean. A sharper garlic flavor animated a dish of just-charred green beans, which kept a touch of crunch.
and the Kennebec Journal bloggers George and Linda Smith have reviewed Flatbread,
I am very glad I stepped out of my pizza comfort zone because my pizza was delicious. It included homemade nitrate-free, maple-fennel sausage with organic sulfate, sundried tomatoes, carmelized organic onions, whole- milk mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, all baked on organic bread dough with homemade garlic oil and organic herbs. I felt like I was on the culinary edge of haut cuisine! The onions provided a nice hint of sweetness.
The folks at Flipkey, a division of the travel site Trip Advisor, have included Bite into Maine in their list of places to go “where legendary sandwiches are being served.”
As the third mobile restaurant on our America’s Best Sandwiches list, the lobster rolls of Bite into Maine are hard to beat. Found not far from Portland Head Light, Maine’s premiere lighthouse, this truck serves an at-home take on the lobster roll with classic mayonnaise as well as some twisted versions involving curry or even chipotle.
This winter season, Bite into Maine has been dishing up their lobster rolls at the Sunday River Ski Resort. Look for them at the North Peak Lodge.
According to Eater Maine, a new bar called Arcadia National Bar (facebook, twitter) is the early stages of development in Portland.
Today’s Press Herald includes a review of Tandoor Bread Bakery (the name may have changed to Tenur Bread and Restaurant)
Tucked in a blink-and-you-miss-it locale on Forest Avenue in Portland is Tenur Bread and Restaurant, which has been open for a couple of years now. I had gone soon after it opened but somehow managed to forget just how incredible the bread is.
a bar review of Silly’s with a Twist,
Silly’s with a Twist, connected by a walkway to the original Silly’s, is lively and welcoming with a full bar and the same menu as Silly’s next door. The kitschy decor and festive drink and food options will make you chuckle, but you’ll feel right at home almost instantly, as the friendly service is unmatched. Silly’s with a Twist is good for smaller groups.
and articles about GrandyOats in Brownfield and Biscuits & Co. in Biddeford.