Category: Reviews

Food for Thought has published a review of The Salt Exchange.

A list of Small Bites begins the menu choices. Such little delicious devils as Maine fish prepared 3 ways or fresh salt cod with confit bell pepper and lemon aioli are taste revelations, beautifully arranged on the plate with extravagant flavors that entice and delight. My choice of Whole Milk Ricotta Gnocchi consisted of three oval morsels as light as spring air. Bad renditions of gnocchi tend to be heavy as hockey pucks. These were perfect. I wanted to wrap them up and take a carton of them home for reckless pleasure.

Colucci’s Hilltop Market received 3½ stars from today’s Eat & Run column in the Press Herald.

The meatball sub had plump, moist meatballs. They were a little spicy, but not too much. The marinara sauce was tangy, and the melted cheese was soft and gooey, not stringy. The rolls for both sandwiches were the kind I love. They were the big, thick, soft and slightly chewy sub rolls you seem to find at local Portland places. They aren’t the harder, crustier sub rolls you get at chains.

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Grace.

Dinner at Grace will set you back, especially as vegetable sides, like crunchy green beans frosted with a bit of sugar, are ordered separately. But Methodist theology preaches that grace, and its heavenly rewards, is only available for those who give themselves over completely. If you give yourself over to Grace Restaurant for a splurge some evening, the rewards are worth it.

Bon Appétit continues their reporting on Portland with short pieces on the seafood, bakeries and breweries here as well as a look at the 2009 runners-up for America’s Foodiest Small Town.

Great bakery towns: Paris, obviously; San Francisco, too; and, of course, New York. But Portland, Maine? It may sound like hyperbole, but one flaky croissant from Standard Baking Company and I guarantee you’ll believe it, too. Portland (and everyone I asked had no explanation as to why) has a startling number of first-rate spots for baguettes, muffins, and other baked goods.

Bon Appétit blogger Andrew Knowlton rolled out his second day of coverage for Portland. In today’s post he lists off his “Essential Portland Maine Itinerary“. 30 local business from diners to fine dining made the list.

Duckfat received a score of 7.5 out of 10 in a review from Portland Food Heads.

Sometimes disappointing, sometimes overwhelmingly hearty and fulfilling, I still turn to Duckfat again and again for a quick bite in Portland. Rob Evans has expressed interest in turning the restaurant into a small franchise, with plans to open up numerous Duckfats throughout New England. No matter your feeling on franchising, I can’t imagine a concept like this failing – even if they set one up in the middle of the cold Vermont woods. In fact, I’d imagine it’d be pretty cozy.

Kon Asian Bistro has received 3½ stars from this weeks Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

The spectacle of Buddha lost in meditation at the head of a pool makes Kon Asian Bistro intriguing from the moment you walk in. Choose well from the menu and your enjoyment will be sustained, but avoid the shrimp and escolar sashimi.

The Farmer’s Table received an overall grade of C+ from The Breakfast Club.

overall, my experience at the farmer’s table was highly disappointing. people who come to portland for the first time may be blinded by the great scenery on the picturesque commercial street and be more accepting of a barely mediocre brunch, but if this restaurant wants to make it through the winter with us mainers, they really need to step it up…a lot.