Immigrant Kitchens: Swedish Cured Salmon

Lindsay Sterling from Immigrant Kitchens learned how to make Swedish Cured Salmon from Eva Morrill. See the photos and read the recipe and back story behind this dish.

“But you can’t get fresh fish anywhere in Portland on Monday,” The Swede said. We were having a scheduling conflict. She had offered to teach me (and you, dear readers) how to make her favorite dish from Sweden, cured salmon with mustard vinaigrette and potatoes au gratin. Think! What strings did I have in the world? “What if,” I proposed, “I show up at your house at 10:00am Monday with the most alive salmon in Portland?” She laughed.

Beer at Trader Joe's

The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald reviews the beer selection at Trader Joe’s.

In the three weeks that the Portland store has been open, I have not yet drunk everything on the store’s shelves, but I have tried enough to know that there is something to please everybody — and probably enough to displease everybody.

For comparison see this earlier review of the beer at TJ’s by Brews and Books.

Beer at Trader Joe’s

The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald reviews the beer selection at Trader Joe’s.

In the three weeks that the Portland store has been open, I have not yet drunk everything on the store’s shelves, but I have tried enough to know that there is something to please everybody — and probably enough to displease everybody.

For comparison see this earlier review of the beer at TJ’s by Brews and Books.

Advice from Joe

Joe Ricchio has written a piece for Find.Eat.Drink. packed with advice on “How To Enhance Your Dining Experience“.

Go Late – If you want to dine at a more leisurely pace and time is not of the essence, make reservations for the later seating.
Most restaurants book at least two turns every night, so if you’re going to dine early than you’ll need to be considerate of customers who have reservations on the second turn. The second turn is much more relaxed, though please note that if you’re the last ones left in the dining room and half of the staff has gone home, it’s time to leave.

Under Construction: Otto Pizza

Mainebiz has published a report on the new location of Otto Pizza under construction at the old North Star in the East end.

The new Otto Pizza at 225 Congress St. will have a bar and a sit-down dining room with 95 to 100 seats. Allen says they’ll hire up to eight additional staff. They already have a crew of 17 employees at the other Otto location.

The menu will also expand, slightly, with a salad and a dessert, and they’ll serve beer and wine. “It’s a little more of a grown-up place,” Allen says. “There’s more elbow room.”

Trader Joe's vs Whole Foods vs Local Markets

A new post from Food for Thought has looks the local food options available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and independent stores like Rosemont and Harbor Fish.

Ultimately locally good food abound at neighborhood markets.  At Rosemont today I saw that they carry the dairy products from Bisson’s, which I’ve mentioned here many times.  They’re the old line Topsham butcher shop whose grass fed beef comes from their own cows grazing across the road and the dairy products from the herd.  Try Bisson’s raw-cream butter and the thickest raw heavy cream now sold at Rosemont.  Other local goodies at Rosemont include Serendipity Farms pastured chickens and ducks, and throughout the winter they’ll be carrying local spinach and chard.

Trader Joe’s vs Whole Foods vs Local Markets

A new post from Food for Thought has looks the local food options available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and independent stores like Rosemont and Harbor Fish.

Ultimately locally good food abound at neighborhood markets.  At Rosemont today I saw that they carry the dairy products from Bisson’s, which I’ve mentioned here many times.  They’re the old line Topsham butcher shop whose grass fed beef comes from their own cows grazing across the road and the dairy products from the herd.  Try Bisson’s raw-cream butter and the thickest raw heavy cream now sold at Rosemont.  Other local goodies at Rosemont include Serendipity Farms pastured chickens and ducks, and throughout the winter they’ll be carrying local spinach and chard.

Thai-o-rama: Sengchai Thai

For the last round of our survey/review of Thai restaurants in Portland we visited Sengchai Thai which is located on Forest Ave in the same building as Haknuman Meanchey and just down the road from Mekhong Thai.
Appetite Portlandread the full review

I left feeling cozy and satisfied, but I think that was mostly due to the company and the odd, bubbly service. The food was pretty good. Servicable Thai.

Edible Obsessions repeated her approach from round 1 with a visual presentation of her eating notes – see the full review
From Awayread the full review

As for us, we were underwhelmed, as much as we didn’t want to be. When our delightful, aforementioned waitress brought a free round of steamy, yummy curry puffs, we were heartened. Alas, it all went downhill from there.

The Blueberry Filesread the full review

Larb Gai is described as ‘ground chicken tossed with lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh lime juice, red onions, mint and Thai spices and sauce.’ And it was delicious. I ordered two stars, which was just the right amount of spice. There was crunchy toasted rice, great lemongrass flavor, and lots of fresh mint. The flavors melded together so nicely, and it was saucy, not dry. And while the menu said it would come on a bed of lettuce, my dish instead came with

Where is Jenner’s Mindread the full review

so as you can tell, this was yet another mediocre thai meal. if you are in the area and you are really craving thai, by all means stop into sengchai thai and you will get a predictable meal of thai standards. but by no means go out of your way to dine at this restaurant.

The Maine Sunday Telegram published the one prior review of Sengchai Thai and in 2004 the reviewer wrote,”It was as if we had found the Thai version of an old-fashioned, trustworthy diner where the food was remarkably inexpensive but generously served and delicious.” You can see their menu online at sengchaithai.synthasite.com.
The group plans on putting together a retrospective look back at the last year of eating Thai with some overall recommendations on where to eat Thai in Portland. Watch for it next week.