Review of Other Side Diner

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 Portland Guides

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

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.

Review of Bird & Co.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Bird & Co..

Since it opened in early March, the casual neighborhood restaurant has been serving eclectic tacos and cocktails like the bittersweet, Mezcal-powered Oaxacan ($10) to exceptionally boisterous crowds of diners. Not all of chef Wills Dowd’s tortilla-swaddled experiments succeed, but among a dozen or so options, the menu has a few standouts: Tender carnitas, smoky grilled chicken, soft chunks of deep-fried avocado, and even sweet-savory poké are all very good options. And if you get the opportunity and the season is right, take one of the sidewalk tables overlooking Deering Avenue – the traffic at Woodfords Corner may be loud, but almost anything is quieter than Bird & Co.’s dining room.

Reviews: Royale Lunch Bar, Flood’s

The Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Andrew Ross has reviewed Royale Lunch Bar, as has 11-year old guest critic Charlotte McDonald, and

Open since April, Royale Lunch Bar in Portland’s Old Port serves a menu of sandwiches, salads and snacks impressionistically modeled after French-Canadian (and in the case of some dishes, Montreal) cuisine. On the whole, the menu works, especially dishes that make use of executive chef Joe Farr’s smoking skills.

Press Herald has reviewed Flood’s.

My friend decided on the $10 False Prophet (bourbon, rhubarb and cinnamon, with a gorgeous rhubarb garnish). We could taste all three components as we sipped it, with a slight (in a good way) aftertaste of cinnamon. I chose the $10 Dangerous Sister (plum, basil, bay, lemon and a Japanese vodka-like liquor called shochu). It was light, refreshing, subtle and smooth, but unfortunately came in what another friend of mine would refer to as a child’s portion.

WSJ insider’s Guide to Portland

The Wall Street Journal has published an “An Incomparable Insider’s Guide” to Portland tapping into the local knowledge of artist Will Sears, chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti, designer Jill McGowan, and author Richard Russo.

James Beard award-winning restaurants line cobblestone streets, breweries turn out serious suds and the lobster roll is in a constant state of upscale reinvention. Portland, Maine, is a food-lover’s fantasyland, but the culture goes well beyond the plate.

Smokin’ Sausage Showdown

Mainer (formerly The Bollard) has published their 7th Annual Smokin’ Sausage Showdown.

Barbeque fans, have we got a meaty treat for you! This summer’s Smokin’ Sausage Showdown was the biggest, toughest, meatiest, juiciest competition yet! For past Showdowns, we drafted competitors from butcher shops in Greater Portland, occasionally venturing down to Biddeford (Hoglund’s) or out to Windham (Hoggy’s) in search of fresh meat. Last year we were blown away by the uncured franks from Wee Bit Farm, up in Hancock County, sold at the Portland Food Co-op, but we’ve generally stuck to sausages made within The Bollard’s circulation area.

CNN’s Best Beer Cities

CNN Travel has included Portland on their list of the world’s Best Beer Cities.

As the US city with the most breweries per capita, Portland, Maine is at the top of every beer lover’s must-visit list. To sample a bunch of Maine beers in one go-round, stop at Novare Res in the Old Port neighborhood. From pioneers like Allagash to new standards like Bissell Brothers, Maine Beer Co., and Liquid Riot, the bar’s rotating taps won’t disappoint.