The Golden Dish has published a review of Pai Men Miyake.
Among the many starters the squash dumplings are my favorite. They seem to float like fluffy cumulous puffs with staying power–as delicate as the best type of gnocchi but loaded with flavor. They’re cloaked with rinkosan vinegar, brown butter, and cauliflower lending an otherworldly aftertaste that remains with you quite delightfully.
From Away has published a MRW review of Vignola.
Malcolm chose the almond tort topped with a delicate scoop of gelato, which was also simply good. None of what we had was particularly innovative or arresting or explosive, but we savored every bite. Vignola makes the food your grandmother would make, if she wasn’t so busy watching Dancing with the Stars and reading biographies of Katharine Hepburn. I really like it there, for reasons I have yet to understand. And we will go back again soon.
Yordprom Coffee Company received 4½ stars from the Eat & Run review in the Thursday edition of the Press Herald.
The Thai coconut broth was light and lemony, and had just a touch of heat — enough to give you a little kick after you’ve swallowed a spoonful. The sliced chicken in the soup was a tad overcooked, but the onions and scallions were perfect.
I also tried the Spicy Chicken Curry ($7.95), which arrived beautifully presented in a large white bowl. “This is very hot,” the server warned me, and I’m not sure if he was talking about the temperature (like the soup, it was steaming) or the spiciness, or both.
Chubby Werewolf has published a review of East Ender.
So where does the East Ender “Eastburger” stand in the pantheon of great burgers? Well, it wasn’t a home run. At least, not for me. But it was certainly a good burger and one which I’m inclined to try again sometime soon. I do think the bacon is likely to be better the next time around, and I’d love to see the bun get a little smaller (and the caraway seeds nixed altogether).
On the heels of the survey of Chinese buffets published last week in The Bollard comes a broad-based look at 8 Chinese restaurants in the Greater Portland area by From Away. From Away has published an omnibus review of Jan Mee, Lang’s Express, Oriental Table, Panda Garden,and Valley Chinese Cuisine in Portland as well as Chia Sen in Scarborough, and both Super Great Wall Buffet and Imperial China in South Portland.
Here’s what it’s taken me eight restaurants and a little over 5,500 words to figure out: The overall Chinese food situation in Portland is not good. After testing all the restaurants that lead in popular opinion, we couldn’t find one to recommend across-the-board. Some restaurants did one or two things well, while severely botching others, and some restaurants couldn’t seem to get anything right. Our suggestions for where to go for Chinese depend entirely on what you like, and if were forced to pick favorites, among a huge batch of very, very similar food, they would go as follows…
Vin et Grub has published a review of Bresca.
It goes without saying that my meal at Bresca was by far the best meal I’ve ever had. It redefined eating and reaffirmed my passion. I’ve always felt that my expectations are a bit lofty, but Bresca met each and everyone of them. The only thing I can think to compare Bresca to is a Chanel Purse. It’s classic and it’s a luxury item. Indulging is well worth the price and the wait, especially because spots fill up two weeks in advance. I certainly recommend taking a trip to Bresca- especially when you feel like spoiling yourself rotten and changing your perspective on the food you eat.
The Golden Dish has published a review of Otto Pizza.
The offending wedge that I got was tepid and tired. There wasn’t much bacon or scallion flavor but the lumpy addition of potatoes (which sounds like a really bad pairing anyway) stayed with me all day like a chunk stuck somewhere in my digestive tract…Maybe it’s unfair to judge Otto’s on one slice of pizza at one visit. But, like I said, that slice should have been better.
The Bollard visited the Super Great Wall Buffet, Lang’s Express, Jan Mee, Asia Restaurant in South Portland and Tin Tin Buffet as part of a tour of local Chinese buffets.
Walking into an all-you-can-eat Chinese place is like walking into an adult bookstore. You feel the same sort of self-conscious shame, particularly if you are dining alone. You don’t make eye contact with the hostess as you say, “Yes, one for the buffet, please.” She knows why you’re there, you know why you’re there: to stuff yourself to the point of immobility.
The March issue of The Bollard also includes (all in one article) some thoughts on bread as a luxury item, a recipe for Poke and an experimental poetic anecdote.
For March the O-Rama review group returned to that emblem of American fast food, the hamburger–this time with a twist. Seven food bloggers visited a mix of Portland’s fine dining establishments to find out how well white table clothes and burgers mix.
Appetite Portland – Walter’s
Called the 2P2 Burger (no, I didn’t ask why and I’m apparently not clever enough to figure it out), this joyously constructed and luxuriously generous sandwich filled me up fast and left me happily humming. I jotted a few notes before I collapsed into a blissed-out fugue state.… read the full review
Chris2fer – Frog and Turtle
The burger was awesome. First off, the bun was grilled lightly brown. It was buttery and crispy and soft. The bacon was deliriously crispy. And there were 3 whole pieces! The Gruyère was melted and drippy and savory. The onions were brown and sweet. And the burger? It was cooked perfectly medium rare. Pink in the middle. Mmmm.… read the full review
Edible Obsessions – District
House cured bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato confit and the ever popular brioche bun combined with a huge 1 1/2 inch thick patty cooked to a beautiful–just slightly over rare–medium temperature and a whopping side of fries. I assume, because so much of what District offers on it’s menu is house made and local, that the beef was ground on site and traveled less than 100 miles to get to their door. Beautifully marbled meat made for an interesting time of trying to out pace the juices that ran down my chin. Though, I must admit, it was a bit odd to be wiping it away with a crisp linen napkin instead of a throw away paper one. But, it was worth the effort as the burger was beautifully seasoned and satisfying.…read the full review
From Away – Five Fifty-Five
The first thing you notice about the burger, is the thick slice of Gruyere that positively enrobes the burger in earthy deliciousness. The brioche bun is a very soft, buttery, braided roll, almost like a slightly more dense croissant. While delicious, the bottom half tends to fall under the weight and juiciness of the burger itself, after the first few bites. It all but disappears into a gratifying wash of butter flavor and hot, running beef blood. The top half stays strong, continuing to provide structure as you keep eating.…read the full review
Soooo . . You Really Like Cats, Don’t You – Back Bay Grill
The house made patty was a semi-coarse grind, just slightly crumbly as I bit in. The patty was seasoned simply, but nicely, and the most enjoyable part about the patty was the subtle sweetness of the beef that can really only be tasted if correctly cooked. The brioche bun was a wonderful, evenly proportioned pairing – the bread was deliciously buttery and crisp from the cast iron skillet. The shredded romaine offered a tangy crunch with every bite.…read the full review
Vrai-lean-uh – The Grill Room
The burger is really good. It is a thick, juice-running-down-your-hand type of burger. It comes on a relatively unobtrusive, soft, squarish bun, so you’re not battling a mouthful of bread to get to the meat. The cheese was fully melted and relatively subtle. The tomato tapanade and roasted red onions enhance the burger taste without being intrusive, and the toppings and cheese are distributed evenly across the burger. My only complaint was that it was difficult to impossible to fit into my mouth in a single bite, but I also don’t think I can subtract points for a thick burger.…read the full review
Where is Jenner’s Mind – David’s
large thick angus beef patty was perfectly cooked at medium rare. the double bacon is really a double wide sliced of bacon. it was unsurprisingly delicious as bacon tends to be. it was served with cheddar cheese, ice burg lettuce, thin slices of red onions, and sad looking tomatoes. the truffle fries with truffle ketchup were each very good but together, the truffle flavor was overwhelming.
overall the burger was good.…read the full review
I can’t claim to have tried all of the gourmet burgers in town, but among those I have Caiola’s is certainly my favorite.
Is there a fine dining restaurant in Portland who’s burger you think is especially stellar? If so, post a comment and tell us where to find it and what you like about it.
The new South Indian restaurant in South Portland, Aroma, has received 4 stars from the Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Wonderful spices cloak the tender lamb, chicken, fresh shrimp and delectable eggplant on the fascinating menu at Aroma; with its tender fresh bread and perfect desserts, this is a restaurant worth trying again and again.
While it’s the first review for Aroma it’s the last one from Nancy English. English has been writing restaurant reviews for the Maine Sunday Telegram since 2005. Her predecessor was C.Z. Kramer. According to the article, Nancy Heiser will be taking on responsibilities as the Sunday Telegram restaurant critic moving forward.
There are so many things I learned writing this column, as I chose menu items I’d never heard of and never tasted. Since the kitchens of Maine are inventing new things all the time, we all can encounter new things worth tasting. We are so lucky.
My readers’ curiosity has inspired me, and their expectations have kept me on my toes. Thank you all so much for reading about so many of the meals I have eaten since 2005.
The Golden Dish has published a review of Boda.
What Boda offers—beautifully—is very authentic street-vendor food, satays being one of their specialties, and typical dishes of home-style cooking. If this is considered their everyday fare, then take me to the haute cuisine table too!
From Away has published a review of the Ham Italian at Colucci’s.
Colucci’s layers on slightly more ham than some other places, but it doesn’t overpower the long slices of pickle, onion, and green pepper, who all do their part to lend crunch and freshness to the sandwich, with the olives kicking in a slight bitterness, right when you need them. The tomatoes could have been better, but that may just be the time of year. Best of all, Colucci’s isn’t shy with the salt and pepper shaker, which goes even further to amp up the habit-forming qualities of this sandwich.