Figa received 4½ stars from today’s Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
The chef at Figa had me in the palms of her capable hands within two bites of the eggplant Napoleon ($6), one night’s appetizer special. Humble eggplant had been transformed into discs of creamy tenderness and lacy, crisp edges as slightly browned goat cheese chimed in with sour and tangy richness.
From Away has published another in their series of sandwich reviews, this time around they visited Brea Lu Cafe for a grilled cheese,
This was, overall, a solid diner-style grilled cheese sandwich, with a few flavorful extras, and somewhat higher-quality ingredients than you would expect from a typical diner. While I can’t see going out of my way to return for takeout, it seems like a perfectly pleasant place to kill an hour for a quick lunch out…particularly if we have other errands that take us to Forrest Avenue.
While they’re on the site, fans of Pai Men’s might want to check out From Away’s post on reverse engineering the famous Pai Men pork buns.
Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes! has published a review of Tulips Cupcakery.
The best mini-cupcake was definitely the Pumpkin with Maple Cream Cheese. The cake was moist and the frosting was a perfect compliment to the cake. The flavor and the amount of frosting didn’t overwhelm the cake.
Sabieng received 3 stars from the Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Thai classics are Sabieng’s stock in trade, from sweet-sour pad Thai to brilliantly flavored Tom Kha Ga. If the duck wasn’t all it could have been, the stir-fried shrimp with cashews made a very good dinner indeed.
Sleeping Hedgehog has published a review of Rabelais.
If you’re a fan of Charles de Lint and his fiction as many of us here are, you might well recall Mr. Truepenny’s Book Emporium and Gallery, a magical bookstore if ever there was one. Truly magical bookstores in the more mundane world are rare but I found one a few years back — Rabelais Books.
Today’s Press Herald includes a review of the South Portland branch of DiPietro’s,
For $8.65 — the price of one lunch at many sandwich shops and restaurants — I got a dinner-sized portion of spaghetti and meatballs with grated cheese, plus a loaded ham Italian sandwich.
And both were great.
and an article about food safety issues at Portland Shellfish,
Jeffrey Holden, president and founder of Portland Shellfish, said Wednesday that the 35-year-old company has made sanitation improvements at its crab processing facility on Dartmouth Street in South Portland and its lobster and shrimp facility on Waldron Way in Portland.
This week’s Portland Phoenix includes a commentary on socio-economic class and the grocery cart,
I often like peeking in people’s carts at grocery stores — my maiden voyage into Trader Joe’s a couple months ago was no exception. I found myself thinking that most of the patrons (myself included) had quite a lot of processed food items in their carts. These are people who by and large would never be caught in Wal-Mart buying some off-brand frozen burritos yet in the right and proper setting, buying such things is a sign of how hip you are.
and a selection of 11 eats to try in 2011,
While new restaurants intrigue food critics and patrons alike, it’s the tried-and-true, the places that have established themselves as mainstays in Portland, that shouldn’t be forgotten in all the hype. Here’s a list of places not to be missed this year. It won’t make you thinner, fitter, or wealthier, just a lot more satisfied…
Korea House received 4 stars from the Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Spicy, vibrant dishes offer Mainers a fine opportunity to eat like a Korean, choosing from dishes that are utterly authentic.
Appetite Portland has published a review of Gorgeous Gelato.
My advice? Get thee to the newly opened Gorgeous Gelato (434 Fore Street) and celebrate this balmy bliss with a creamy cold mound of sheer joy. I stopped in yesterday and tasted my way through half a dozen flavors (the proprietor will happily hand you mini spoonfuls to try) and each one was better than the next.
Portland Magazine has published a review of The Salt Exchange.
The small-plate (3 to 5 make a complete dinner) menu choices are sensational, imaginative, and affordably priced. The Hudson Valley Foie Gras Terrine ($17) has real wow factor, served with cherries, pistachios, and savory black pepper confections–truly a memorable experience. Ditto for the skillfully crafted pork terrine ($5) served with whole-grain mustard and shaved beef tongue ($9) highlighted with a soy-caramel-ginger vinaigrette.