Map & Menu’s Best of 2013

Salvage-BBQ
Map & Menu has published a list of their favorite meals from 2013.

The food scene in Portland outdid itself once again last year with plenty of new openings and the continued excellence of many of the city’s existing establishments. And while we tried our best to continue eating our way through town, keeping up proved to be a very tough undertaking. It’d be almost impossible to list all of our favorites, but from our meals of the past year, here are a few of the memorable ones that stood out to the two of us.

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

Review of C-Squared

Booze, Fish & Coffee has reviewed the C-Squared restaurant at the new Westin.

C2 at The Westin Portland Harborview, Portland, ME — Do you know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby. You can’t bring this kind of food here and hope to compete with the amazing restaurants in this town. While not truly horrible, C2 is just kind of…meh. We’re in Portland, Maine, a wondrous playground of dynamite local seafood and world-class farm-to-table choices, not to mention a craft beer scene that’s exploding right now. But at C2, you’d never know it. The menu is uninspired, a collection of ho-hum offerings that are perhaps a step above the national chain restaurants, but not much above.

Under Construction: Coffee by Design

Coffee by Design is delaying the opening of their new East Bayside cafe until March according to a report from the Bangor Daily News.

Coffee pilgrims will have to wait a few more months to see what a futuristic java joint looks like. Portland roaster Coffee By Design has delayed the opening of its new Diamond Street cafe until March.

“We have fixtures still being built, product selections to finalize, folks traveling to coffee farms for harvest,” said owner Mary Allen Lindemann.

Reviews of Mainely Wraps and Boda

The Press Herald has published a bar review of Boda,

Most of the house cocktails are $8 and all but the Winter Manhattan are under $10. In keeping with an authentic Thai “street food” theme, the drink menu seems to use a variety of traditional Thai spices and ingredients and you get the sense that the drink menu was created with humor and ease.

and a review of the new Mainely Wraps on Fore Street.

There are a lot of places to grab lunch in the Old Port. Some are ho-hum, others are great but maybe serve a little bit more than what you want for just a quick lunch.

Mainely Wraps lies in the happy middle, offering delicious, creative sandwiches fast and at reasonable prices.

Vena’s Fizz House

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Vena’s Fizz House.

Inside this multilevel space on the corner — happy hour, drink specials and concoctions like Maine fire — ghost pepper-infused maple syrup, apple cider syrup, seltzer, maple bitters and fire and damnation bitters — are artistically executed. So much so that you don’t miss the hard stuff.

“It makes you feel like you are having a cocktail even though you are not,” said Johanna, who runs the fizz house with her husband Steve Corman. “You get the whole sensory experience.”

Winter Farmers Market

Today’s Press Herald includes an article by Avery Yale Kamila on the new Winter Farmers Market in East Bayside.

She attributes the increased sales to the fact that shoppers can purchase baked goods and prepared foods from the food hub tenants.

“It’s more social,” said Pignatello, an herbalist who also runs the Swallowtail Farm Cottage Apothecary in the food hub. “People can still get their really high-quality farm food and have a coffee and buy a bagel. Everyone benefits – the (food hub) businesses and the farmers alike.”