5 Best Breakfast Sandwiches

Dispatch has published their list of the 5 Best Breakfast Sandwiches in Portland.

I love a good sit down brunch with the rest of ‘em. But let’s great real: this is Amurrrica. And in Amurrrica, we can’t always spend three hours slurping down mimosas when there’s a list of important Monday morning things we’ve got to do at the office. You know, like write about the best breakfast sandwiches in Portland. So here are my top five favorite places to pop in on my way to work for a bacon, egg, and cheese on the go.

Personally, I’d add the breakfast sandwiches at Aurora Provisions to their list.

What are your favorite spots for a breakfast sandwich in Portland?

 

Review of Zen

The Golden Dish (newly relocated to the Press Herald from Down East) has published a review of Zen Chinese Bistro.

After many visits over the last several months, Zen has become my de facto dining spot when I have a yen for Chinese food. It’s slightly more expensive than places like Panda Garden along the Brighton Ave. strip.  And it’s so much better.   

Let me be clear, though,  the cooking is not necessarily cutting edge or crafty. There’s no fusion gimmickry or sleight-of-hand flavors in surreptitious guises. Instead it’s good solid renditions of the genre, using quality local ingredients prepared with care.

Reviews of Micucci and Bonobo, Portland Beer Week

Today’s Press Herald includes a review of Micucci’s,

I’m already a regular customer of Micucci’s, especially the bakery/cafe part, where Stephen Lanzalotta’s Sicilian slab pizza is doled out to a long line of salivating customers jockeying for position. Lanzalotta’s pizza makes all the pleasure centers in your brain light up like a pinball machine until you want to cry for your mama.

as well as a bar review of Bonobo,

The pizza is the real star of this bar, with a thin crust and creative toppings to satisfy adventurous taste buds. The pies measure about 13 inches and come with a promise that no nitrates, hormones or antibiotics were used in the meats.

and a report from last week’s Portland Beer Week.

Brunch Review of Petite Jacqueline

Following up on their lunch review from earlier this Fall, Map & Menu has published a brunch review of Petite Jacqueline.

Meredith ordered a Croque Madam (a gourmet ham and cheese, with ham, gruyere, mornay, and fried egg) to follow – it was fantastic, as I think I stole at least half of it right off her plate. I decided to try the Hachage Agneau (braise lamb hash with two poached eggs, homefries, hollandaise, and toast), and couldn’t have been happier than my selection.

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

Breakfast FAQ & Silly’s with a Twist

This month’s edition of The Bollard includes a Portland breakfast FAQ,

“I just want a regular breakfast at a regular diner. Is that OK with you, Mr. Fancy Brunch Guy?”
Go to Steve and Renee’s (500 Washington Ave., Portland). You won’t find a better basic breakfast. The prices are low, and there is no friendlier service anywhere, period. And that’s a fact.

a bar review of Silly’s with a Twist,

In keeping with the more-is-more philosophy at Silly’s, the drink menu is four pages long. A fair amount of real estate is devoted to shakes, which can be made with ice cream and milk from cows, rice or soy. They also serve shakes with booze, like the Ragin’ Ruby (made with ruby port), Twist & Stout (contains Guinness) and the more traditional Mudslide. I tried the Sherry Baby ($7.50), which is made with Sandeman Amontillado. The fruits of the medium-dry Spanish sherry came through nicely and complemented the ice cream well.

Reviews of Amigo’s & Vaughan Street

The Press Herald has published a review of Vaughan Street Variety,

First, the positives: The breakfast sandwich was very good, and for $2.50, it felt like a bargain. I ordered it on an English muffin, which was lightly toasted. The egg was cooked thoroughly, without a runny yolk. The bacon was crisp and plentiful, and the white American cheese was drippy and gooey. It came tightly wrapped in tinfoil, and emitted steam when I unfolded it back home. Perfect.

as well as a bar review of Amigo’s and a report from last weekend’s Maine Brewers Festival.

Eventide in the Wall Street Journal

Eventide was called out as one of the nation’s Outstanding Oyster Bars by the Wall Street Journal.

Since opening this summer, this bright, inviting spot has quickly established itself as the pearl of Portland’s Old Port. Grab a seat at the bar hewn from cement and Maine granite, nosh on house-made pickles and a cup of chowder, and browse the selection of oysters arrayed on crushed ice: 18 enticing varieties, nine from Maine and nine “from away.” Don’t neglect the top-notch cocktails, like the surprising and simple celery gimlet.

Reviews of Paciarino and Eventide

Diningsense has published a review of Paciarino,

This was another pleasing meal at Paciarino and with the Groupon, the bill was incredibly low. The dessert notwithstanding, there was nothing different about this meal vis a vis past ones—and this is exactly what I look for in a restaurant at this price point. The execution on the ravioli is consistently excellent, the prices are very reasonable, and the restaurant operates almost like a machine…

and The Blueberry Files has published a review of Eventide.

The food is deconstructed, small bites giving way to full flavor when taken together. It makes you think, this is what they’re talking about, those glossy magazines that gush over hip new places in cities that you’ve never visited, places you can’t afford.

First Review of Flores

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Flores.

The Flores version of chicharron (basically fried pork rinds) includes lots of juicy meat along with the crunchy skin. Their meatiness turns a salad of chicharron with yucca, cabbage, and tomato into something like a meal. The big pieces of yucca (cassava root, sort of resembling potato in texture) are boiled instead of fried. Salvadorans like to fry the tortilla in their tacos. But if you want to really appreciate the house-made tortillas at Flores it’s better to get your tacos soft. Fresh tortillas are too hard to find in Maine, and Flores offers a nice thick, hand-slapped version made from corn. Warm, sweet, and a touch greasy, they are pretty terrific.