Category: Reviews

Maine Travel Maven published a review of The Salt Exchange.

I went with the duck sliders paired with the cioppino; my lunch date chose the brie and the pumpkin-lobster bisque. We substituted orders of house-made truffle chips and caper chips for the plain ole regular variety. The chips arrived first, and I would have munched happily on these all day. The truffle won, but the caper flavor was darn close.

Appetite Portland published a review of Blue Spoon,

I want to love Blue Spoon. Menu items are creative and fairly priced. Produce and meats seem local and fresh. Service is friendly and fast. And yet – more often than not – I’m perplexed and underwhelmed by the culinary execution.

and From Away has published a review of Kon Asian Bistro.

It doesn’t bring us any joy to give a restaurant a negative review…If what you are after, though, is any kind of acceptable take on Chinese, Thai, or Japanese food, or even any kind of self-aware, kitschy “Asian fusion” cuisine, you are going to be sorely disappointed in Kon. It is, quite simply, really bad food.

The Blueberry Files has published a review of Otto/Enzo Pizza.

I was so happy when Otto Pizza came to town. Before their arrival, I didn’t have a good go-to slice bar in town, having been disappointed with Bill’s Pizza and not loving the New York Slice Bar. But Otto changed my pizza life- I love their pizza and want to eat it all the time. OK, I’m exaggerating, but it is the perfect place to stop whenever you’re out with friends on the First Friday Art Walk, out drinking, or just want to have a good, no frills dinner.

The Blueberry Files has published a review of WhaddaPita.

There’s tons of options at Whaddapita! and judging from the delicious little Gyro snack I had there, I’ll be back to sample more of their menu when I need another break from the office.

Colucci’s received 4 stars from the Eat & Run review in today’s Press Herald.

The chicken alfredo is not a regular menu item. It comes and goes at random. But what a great dinner it was. Served with a side salad and dinner roll, the alfredo was creamy, and the broccoli fresh and crunchy. The chicken was hot and tender, and quite moist.

Colucci’s received 4 stars from the Eat & Run review in today’s Press Herald.

The chicken alfredo is not a regular menu item. It comes and goes at random. But what a great dinner it was. Served with a side salad and dinner roll, the alfredo was creamy, and the broccoli fresh and crunchy. The chicken was hot and tender, and quite moist.

Appetite Portland has published a review of Bar Lola.

I love the food. I love the menu structure. I love the complete lack of pretension of owners Guy & Stella Hernandez. In short, I am horribly biased.

So, if you abhor odes – you might as well stop reading now.

But, if you want to know why Bar Lola is one of the best, most consistent and welcoming restaurants in Portland – read on.

Local Sprouts Cafe has received 3 stars from the Taste & Tell review in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.

With changing entrees nightly, Local Sprouts Cafe presents local produce, meat and more with some panache in preparation — dinner can be quite good.

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of WhaddaPita.

Greek food — light, but with rich textures and flavors — lends itself well to the upscale-fast-food concept. The key of course is the quality of the pita, and Whaddapita makes good ones: warm and soft, with some good chew and flavor. They are wrapped around a dignified-sized pile of ingredients, rather than stuffed to bursting.

From Away revisited Otto Pizza and has published a second review.

Make no mistake: Otto certainly knows their way around a pizza oven, and offers creative takes on classic pies. The question for next time will be whether the normally friendly staff will have any patience for requested (obnoxious?) customizations to their specialty pizzas. For next time, we’re getting a red pie, heavy sauce, well-done. If that doesn’t make them too grumpy, we may have a winner on our hands.

For the 11th round of our survey/review of Thai restaurants in Portland we visited Chiang Mai. Until just a few months ago the restaurant had been located on Union Street but moved out and over to Washington Avenue to make room for Havana South. As you can read below our panel of food writers had very divergent experiences at Chiang Mai.
Appetite Portland – read the full review

Hard to put my finger on it. It’s not a tangible thing. But something about the food at Chiang Mai didn’t – well – fit together.

I guess the most apropos word for the experience is – erratic.

From Away – read the full review

I just had the best Tom Khar Kai of my life. And I want to tell you all about it. I shall paint you a word picture. Imagine it: a deep cup of light coconut creamy broth that reveals three or four adorable, plump and buoyed mushrooms, big pieces of white chicken, a few glistening onions, and red pepper flakes studding the soup. It is sweet, savory and spicy, hitting every note gracefully. This is comfort food, soup you want to bathe in, then take out to a nice dinner.

The Blueberry Files – read the full review

So I would return to Chiang Mai Two for lunch, specifically for the beef salad. I would order it with 2 stars of heat to get my blood moving. It seems to be the most (only?) vibrant dish coming out of the new kitchen on the block.

Where is Jenner’s Mind – read the full review

the waiter, it ends up, is the owner and he was really excited to talk to us about the restaurant, local thai food, and even this blogging project. he gave us some coupons for 25% of an entire meal (but which are only good for less than a month) and tried to give me like 10 take out menus, i think to hand out to friends. i’m not gonna give you a menu but i do recommend that you check out chiang mai-two. i have accepted, after 10 or 11 thai restaurant reviews, that there is really very little variation in the vast majority of menus. so instead of judging on originality, i judge on quality. i thought this place was great when it came to taste and quality. in all honesty i think its gonna be our new go-to thai restaurant.

The Portland Phoenix and Portland Press Herald published the only other reviews of Chiang Mai a few months after the restaurant opened at its old location in May 2006.
There are just 2 Thai restaurants left for us before we finish up the series: Sengchai Thai, Siam Orchid. Where we should go next?