Category: Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Maiz.

On the whole, the food impresses. Kitchen manager/co-owner Niky Watler’s staff has been able to exploit the extra square footage, allowing for an expanded (completely gluten-free) menu, including appetizers like crusty, cheesy pan de bono and simple, deep-fried corn empanadas filled with sweet threads of pulled pork. Maiz’s arepas – especially the Basico with chicken and the pork-and-chicken Upgrade – are also a good bet, although if you’re not a fan of eating all your fillings in sequence, you’ll want to do a little manipulation of the griddled corn pocket before you eat.

The Washington Post has published A Local’s Guide to Portland, Maine.

Some may call it the “other Portland,” but to Mainers, this is the big city. With its highly regarded restaurants, abundant craft breweries, and world-class artists and writers, Portland is a hot spot of American creativity. And while the locals love these attractions, it’s the cozy feel and sense of community that truly make it home. Portlanders have their bartenders, their coffee shops and their booksellers, but they also love welcoming new people as much as they like seeing a familiar face.

Mainer has published a review of Terlingua.

Some mornings are made for lingering over a rich brunch and a Bloody Mary, and maybe, before the snow flies, I’ll have time for that again. Meanwhile, when I want a hearty breakfast in a hurry, Terlingua will be perched at the top of my list.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Flood’s.

The same holds true on the food side of the menu, where many beautifully executed old-school bar staples cozy up to contemporary, seasonal and locally sourced dishes. Among the more modern dishes, the heirloom salad with house-made ricotta and skinny eggplants roasted together with Jimmy Nardello peppers are a delight. But the real story at Flood’s is the gooey, retro-styled cheeseburger patty it slides into a seeded potato bun baked mere feet away at Tandem Bakery across the street, as well as a simple dish of lush chocolate pudding and salted chocolate shortbread. Not too sweet and intensely chocolatey, it might well be chocolate pudding’s Platonic ideal.

The West End News visited 15 different established to write-up this review and rating of pizza on the peninsula.

Newcomer Coals Pizza on Preble Street rose to the top of their list.

These large, amorphous, gorgeous-to-the-eye pies were flavored to perfection, and simply scrumptious. These were the thinnest crusts we’d ever experienced on a pizza…. so much so that they were simply an extension of the pie itself: inseparable from the whole, and delightfully wafer-thin crispy. We didn’t need it, but freshly grated cheese plus oregano were also offered for on top. At $15.00 a piece, these pizzas were a steal. I’ve been talking about Coal’s ever since our meal.

Chaval’s Lobster Fideos were featured in the recent edition of Wine Enthusiast.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Gather.

Since we last reviewed it, the restaurant has broadened its culinary focus under the rubric of what chef Colin Kelly calls “New American” cooking, a change that has not always worked to its advantage. On the whole, Mexican and Asian dishes such as lobster ramen and fish tacos are not among the restaurant’s strongest. However, Gather’s pizza – especially the cauliflower and mushroom pie, oozing with mascarpone – remain excellent. Under Dylan Suagee, its bar program, including a menu of respectable craft cocktails and a succinct, fruit-forward, mostly New World wine list, has become reason alone for a visit.

Sweet Avieve’s Food Blog has published a review of N To Tail.

If you are seeking a fun and interactive meal, N to Tail is an opportunity not to be missed. Serving lunch and dinner from a fusion menu upstairs, you do have to wait until 5pm for the BBQ section to be open, however it is absolutely worth it!

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Other Side Diner.

At their new endeavor, Other Side Diner, which opened this April, the couple have adopted the same approach in building a menu of simple, high-quality lunch-and-breakfast dishes made from mostly local ingredients. Sandwiches are excellent — everything from egg salad layered with runny-yolked hard boiled eggs; a savory grilled chicken club made with juicy breast meat and thick-cut peameal bacon; to a shrimp salad BLT slathered with lemon-garlic mayo. It’s also hard to go wrong with breakfast dishes like Greek-yogurt enriched pancakes that stand up to drizzles of Maine maple syrup or spoonfuls of lowbush blueberry compote, or best of all: a spinach-and-cheese omelette executed nearly flawlessly and served with crisp-tender hash browns. All 35 of their seats deserve to be filled every day.

Conde Nast Traveler has published a set of articles about Portland that highlight their picks for the:

• 10 Best Lobster Rolls
• 15 Best Restaurants
• 15 Best Bars
• 10 Best Brunches
• 10 Best Coffee Shops

CN Traveler ha also published an article about Maine Food for Thought tours,

Sarah and Bryce Hack, the married couple behind the tour, are consummate professionals who know their Maine food—not to mention all the ways Maine’s complex food system, its agricultural policy, farm-to-table ethos, economic challenges, and historic dedication to high-quality foods yields the creative dishes Portland restaurants are known for. Their delivery is eloquent and fascinating, organized and well-rehearsed.