Category: Reviews

Food & Wine has included Biddeford in its list of America’s Next Great Food Cities.

It’s an exciting time for food in America. The culinary landscape in cities big and small around the country has matured exponentially in the past two decades, a shift that has been thrilling to experience and to taste. The immense challenges of the last two years in particular have seen many chefs, restaurateurs, and makers leave bigger urban centers and return to their smaller home cities. This returning talent, plus a new generation of entrepreneurs, are spurring a burst of creativity, innovation and deliciousness in under-the-radar destinations all over the country. It is these destinations that make up Food & Wine’s inaugural list of the next great food cities: the seven most exciting big cities, plus four smaller towns with populations less than 60,000 that have big food scenes.

Called out in the article are: Magnus on Water, Night Moves, Jackrabbit, Elda, Rabelais, Palace, Lorne Wine.

The James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for this year’s Beard Awards. 10 semifinalists were from Maine this year, of those 5 are nominees and contenders for an award when the winners are announced in June:

• Best New Restaurant – Leeward
• Outstanding Baker – Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery
• Best Chef: Northeast – Vien Dobui, Công Tử Bột; Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food & Beverage; Damian Sansonetti, Chaval

The award winners will be announced on Monday June 13th at an event taking place in Chicago.

Related information:

• Maine Award Winners, Nominees and Semifinalists – a complete digest, 2008 – 2022.
• Award and Nomination Process – learn more about the award nominations process.
• James Beard in Portland – James Beard taught several days of cooking classes in Portland in 1964.

Food & Wine has recognized Little Woodfords in their list of the Best Coffee Shops in Every State.

Opened elsewhere in 2017 but now very much at home on this busy corner, the pint-sized, fiercely queer Little Woodfords has had an outsized impact in coffee-mad Portland; owned by city council member Andrew Zarro and husband TJ, the shop features coffees from some of the best roasters in New England, keeps a rotating menu of astrology sign-themed drinks, and isn’t afraid to stick its neck out for their workers, for their beliefs, and for Portland. There are a lot of coffee shops in town, this feels like the one where you’re most likely to find someone organizing a revolution.

The February issue of Down East magazine includes a list of the 30 Maine Pizzas You Have To Try.

Maine, she says, was “ripe for the mouthwatering version versus the same old version,” as a decade-plus of proliferating pizzerias has proven. These days, Mainers can find authentic Neapolitan on the midcoast and Jersey-style thin crust down east and arugula on the toppings menu from Portland to Augusta to Fort Kent, not to mention plenty of throwback parlors that have withstood the test of time. Maine’s pizza scene is booming. Here’s where to get a slice of the action.

The list includes several Portland pizzerias: Radici, Lazzari, Monte’s, Portland Pie, Slab, Micucci’s, and Coals.

The 2022 list of semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards has been released. There are 10 semifinal nominees from Maine:

• Best New Restaurant – Leeward
• Outstanding Pastry Chef – Kate Fisher Hamm from Leeward
• Outstanding Baker – Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery
• Outstanding Hospitality – Bao Bao Dumpling House
• Outstanding Bar Program – The Jewel Box
• Best Chef: Northeast – Bowman Brown, Elda/Jackrabbit; Vien Dobui, Công Tử Bột; Ben Jackson, Magnus on Water; Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food and Beverage; Damian Sansonetti, Chaval

The final list of nominees will be released March 16th, and the awards ceremony will take place on Monday June 13th in Chicago.

Related information:

• Maine Award Winners, Nominees and Semifinalists – a complete digest, 2008 – 2022.
• Award and Nomination Process – learn more about the award nominations process.
• James Beard in Portland – James Beard taught several days of cooking classes in Portland in 1964.

The Blueberry Files has published a first look at Regards.

The menu was described to us during the Friday night preview as “L.A.-meets-Maine” and has a strong seafood focus with a big selection of tequila and mezcal. The menu definitely belies the cold temperatures we’ve had in Maine lately, but still felt hearty enough to enjoy on a January evening.

Regards is set to open Tuesday night at 5 pm.

Congratulations to the four Maine food producers that are 2022 Good Food Awards winners:

• Beer – Wolfe’s Neck IPA from Maine Beer Co.
• Chocolate – Vanilla Crème Brûlée from Bixby Chocolate
• Fish – Ready-Cut Kelp from Atlantic Sea Farms
• Preserves – Strawberry Preserves from Josh Pond

Ten Maine food producers were finalists in the 2022 awards program. They were selected from 1,966 entries from 42 states plus D.C. .

Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Andrew Ross has shared his list of favorite food experiences of 2021.

Whatever else I think about this inconstant, mercurial year, I can’t deny that it delivered more than its share of culinary bright spots. Here’s hoping 2022 brings us plenty more.