The Press Herald has published a bar review of the Port of Call.
The Port of Call Lounge at Holiday Inn by the Bay might not be the coolest place to hang out for a drink, but that’s just it – why does every bar need to be the next best thing? Sometimes the irony of a kitschy bar is all the cool you need. Brace yourself for somewhat of a dull atmosphere but with fine service and solid drink options.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of the Sea Glass restaurant at the Inn by the Sea.
For stylish seaside dining in one of Maine’s premier inn resorts, Sea Glass offers a menu of admirable dishes that are well prepared. The wine list is extensive and offers superb choices in all price ranges. Best dishes include gaucho steak, mushroom tart, roast chicken under a brick and any of the desserts by pastry chef Karen Voter.
Fettle Vegan has published a review of The Holy Donut.
Opened for about a year and a half, The Holy Donut began as one woman’s mission to create a better-for-you, traditional style donut with tons of flavor. Leigh Kellis teamed up with her Dad to start producing what I now know as vegan donut gold after longing for far too long for delicious donuts near where she lived.
The latest episode of Booze, Fish & Coffee includes a review of visiting food truck Cafe Crepe.
New to the area, this food truck is the real deal. Lauren certainly knows how to make a crêpe that rivals those in France–hers are light and perfectly cooked. As for ingredients, she isn’t playing around here. Tons of variety, and you can get both sweet and savory crêpes — for the savory, there’s one with baked brie, another with mozzarella, spinach and pesto, and another with goat cheese and caramelized onions with balsamic reduction.
For more on Cafe Crepe visit their Facebook page.
Map & Menu has published a brief (beautifully illustrated) review of Piccolo.
Photo Credit: Map & Menu
The Golden Dish has written about a recent meal at the SMCC Culinary Arts Center where students prepare and serve meals to the public as part of their education.
The choice of starter offerings included either clam chowder or house-cured gravlax. My guest chose the soup and I opted for the salmon. The chowder was too thick for his tastes, without much clam flavor. My salmon, however, was beautifully cured (nicely citrusy) and accompanied by perfectly diced egg yolk, onions and capers. There was herbed cream cheese (very tasty) to spread on crostini. This was a good dish.
Eat Maine has published a review of Salvage BBQ,
With multiple sauces, plenty of peppers, and easily mixable sides, Salvage has a menu that can be customized for your tastes. A dash of hot sauce here, an extra pickle there, and soon you’ll be swapping your Maine-made IPA for some Kentucky bourbon and pretending your latitude is much, much lower. End the meal with a slice of peach pie, and you’ll completely forget the coming snow.
and Drink Up and Get Happy has published a review of Elsmere,
Overall Elsmere BBQ and Wood Grill is great place to get out of the busy downtown Portland and enjoy great brews and excellent food all in a warm, welcoming space supporting local businessmen and the local farms they source from.
and the Press Herald has published a bar review of The Grill Room.
The ambiance is warm and somewhat cavernous – exposed brick walls throughout the restaurant and dim lighting – and the service is upbeat, prompt, and knowledgeable. There might be a wait for a table, but the food is delivered exceptionally fast. It’d be easy to spend a decent amount of money at the Grill Room, but thankfully for happy hour, it’s also possible to spend under $10 for a drink and a snack – and there’s usually not a wait for a seat at the bar.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has published a review of the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club.
We finished up and paid. I walked out happy. Portland Hunt and Alpine Club is a great new choice in Portland for a drink after work with some apps or a pre-dinner visit any time. I believe that in a city saturated with restaurants that have bars, a bar that has a smallish restaurant but is focused on drinks is the type of place that can add something to the culture…
The Bollard has published a review of Little Bigs.
The sign out front advertises “Delicious Hand Foods to Go.” Inside you’ll find an ever-changing variety of pastries, from turnovers to homemade pop-tarts, as well as plenty of savory treats you can eat and still feel reasonably good about yourself. The bacon and cheese “egg pie” (you’d probably call it a quiche, and you’d be right) is a nearly perfect breakfast food, right down to its crispy, salty potato crust. At lunchtime you can get hearty hand-pies and pastries stuffed with ingredients like steak and root vegetables or spinach, artichoke and goat cheese.
The Blueberry Files has written about her visit to Bresca and the Honey Bee,
We were most looking forward to desserts at the Snack Shack since Krista’s desserts at Bresca were always amazing. She told me she was looking forward to the slower pace of the fall to focus on desserts, in particular pastry. I had a hard time narrowing down my choices, since there were several tiers of pies, cookies, and tarts. (I wanted all of the fruit tarts.)
and The Golden Dish has written about a recent visit to Scratch.
The drill on a Sunday morning is unmistakable. Parking along Willard Square during the bagel hour is difficult. Then once you’re inside and have been lucky enough to get your stash of bagels (they sell out in minutes), your next hurdle is to wait on line, often 20 people deep–to check out. Worse yet is arriving to find empty bagel bins, only to wait for the next batch out of the oven.