Eat Maine has published a review of The Back Bay Grill.
There is a level of service in place at Back Bay Grill that sets the standard for all other restaurants in the state to aspire to. Needs are met a split second before you recognize that you have them by a professional waitstaff, without any pretentiousness. Many would question how a restaurant maintains these standards over such a long period of time.
It’s all in the details.
The Press Herald has published a review of India Palace,
…for lunch, the place is not only affordable, but the incredible attentiveness of the wait staff is comforting too. My water glass was refilled almost as soon as I took a sip.
My order was taken quickly, my soup came within 60 seconds, and my check was brought as soon as my plate was empty.
For a workday lunch, knowing you can get in and out quickly is a comfort as well.
and a bar review of Local 188.
The drinks and food may be high end and high quality for its customers, but Local 188 keeps it relaxed and friendly.
The Golden Dish has published the first of a 3 part series on lunch options in Portland.
In such a barmy, restaurant-crazed metropolis like Portland, lunch is given short shrift—as though it were a forbidden meal from the impecunious fringe. But we’re hardly a city of mere brown baggers–plenty of lunchtime portals offer interestingly good midday meals.
What’s the Soup has published a review of Kamasouptra.
On my recent visit, I was lucky enough to sample several of their very best. I started with their vegan Ribollita, which looks like a rainbow in a bowl. It was a nutritious knock-out! A tomato-based broth loaded with kale, white beans, tomato, carrots, celery, and garlic and finished with a touch of lemon to brighten it up. The soup gets thickened with their scrumptious wheat rolls that they bake on the premises each day. The soup was hearty and satisfying and packed with flavor. I felt like I was getting my daily vegetable requirements all in one bowl.
The Golden Dish has published a review of Saeng Thai House.
We started off with the chicken dumplings. These were nothing less than revelatory. The wonton wrappers encased a delicious, enticing filling of chicken and shrimp and essential spices. I could have made an entire meal out of these. But we didn’t stop there.
The Press Herald has published a review of the Back Cove BBQ & Pizzeria.
I tried the pulled pork plate, which came with the hand-cut beach fries for $9.99. The pulled pork came in a white sub bread, and was full of smoke flavor.
The only complaint I had, if you can call it that, is that the sandwich cried out for some kind of sauce. The meat was fine on its own; I just prefer sauce. Perhaps there’s some at the counter that you can request. Luckily, I had some at home.
John Golden at The Golden Dish has endorsed the Speckled Ax as his pick for the best coffee in Portland.
Coffee purist Matt Bolinder brews the best coffee in town. Holding court at his Congress Street shop, the Speckled Ax–otherwise known as Matt’s Wood Roasted Organic Coffee—this is where the coffee magic begins.
Travel and Leisure has named Miyake to their list of the Best Sushi Restaurants in the US.
Lobster may come to mind first when you think of Maine. But at Miyake, an elegant restaurant in downtown Portland, chef and owner Masa Miyake serves some of the best sushi along the Atlantic. His menu focuses on local catches: there’s sweet Maine shrimp laced with a spicy mayo and avocado, mini sardines, and even sea urchin roe harvested just up the coast. And yes, there is lobster on the menu, but it’s probably prepared in ways you’ve never tasted.
Earlier this year Bon Appetit had named Miyake one of the 10 best new sushi restaurants in the country.
The Golden Dish has published the first review of the new Buck’s Naked BBQ on Wharf Street,
The ribs with the optional peach glaze were excellent—extremely tender and meaty with rich flavors of smoke and spice. The chicken was moist, with a perfect smoke ring of red around the meat sheathed in a beautiful mahogany hued skin.
and Dispatch has published a review of Nosh.
Needless to say, there wasn’t much conversation at our dinner table that night….and it wasn’t because I don’t like my coworker…but because my mouth was too happy to open for anything other than Nosh’s delicious food. I would recommend Nosh to the allergy conscious, burger fanatics, and people who have no idea what they want to eat; because they have everything. Thumbs up!
Instant Portland has published a review of the Salt Cellar.
But, what with Portland being a foodie town, it is the wall of finishing salts that most will come to try, and it does not disapoint. Carefully labled with suggested uses (and sometimes warnings — you should, for example, believe the note on the Ghost Pepper salt that says that it is HOT), the salts are lined up like works of art in an orderly display, spotlighted, each with a tester so you can shake a few flakes into your palm and sample them. (There is also a thoughfully placed water bubbler nearby, should you find yourself a little oversalted.) It is the samples that turn this from just a display into a sort of a playground.