El Rayo Review

Soooo..You Really Like Cats has reviewed El Rayo.

Their bright colors and fun, upbeat atmosphere pairs well with the light and savory food they serve. I can’t wait to head over to El Rayo when it’s below zero, snowy, and miserable outside because the restaurant is guaranteed to immediately warm my soul.

Grace Reviews Start to Roll In

Just a couple days after it opened, the reviews for Grace are starting to roll in.  Both The Blueberry Files,

I am excited to welcome a great new restaurant in a beautiful space to Portland, especially because of it’s close proximity to my house! Between the two bars, there is plenty of bar space, ensuring that even as Grace grows in popularity, there will be a spot for my elbows and me to stop by and have a drink.

and About Town from the Portland Phoenix have published today.

Starters were really strong – even the lettuce in the salad seemed special, and the scallops tartare and fried clams (from the bar menu) were like none we had ever tried. The mains were also really great – the duck with quinoa, fingerling potatoes, and hibiscus-ginger jelly was among the best duck I’ve ever eaten. (And the only one I can think of that I’d class better had crispier skin and different sides.)

Vegetarian El Rayo Review

Diet for a Small City has published a review of El Rayo from a vegetarian’s perspective.

The menu included a good number of vegetarian choices.  I was disappointed to see, however, that most vegetarian options lacked protein; by this, I mean that few to none of the vegetarian entrees featured beans and/or rice.  For example, the one vegetarian burrito is described as: “Grilled portabello mushrooms, caramelized onions & poblano peppers with salsa.”  This sounds delicious, but these ingredients force health-conscious vegetarians to order side dishes.

El Rayo Review

Food for Thought has reviewed El Rayo Taqueria.

Still, what’s served at El Rayo is done fairly well and the preparations have authentic flavorings…Perhaps, in time, they’ll get their footing and expand, with a sit-down dining room…and serve full meals with the sort of Mexican fare that we’re not used to, true regional Mexican cooking.

Standard Baking in Bon Apetit

Scones from Standard Baking are the subject of a review in the July issue of Bon Apetit. (via the weekly round-up in Psst!) For those of you who want to bake your own they’ve also published Standard’s recipe for the Blueberry Oatmeal Scones.

The scone was lightly crunchy on the outside, and the inside was moist and densely woven, freckled with tiny Maine blueberries. I took a bite. The texture was ideal: a bit like an old-fashioned biscuit, but more substantial. The oats were barely discernible, but they gave the crumb a gentle, homey flakiness. I should also tell you that the scone was perfectly sweetened—which is to say, barely sweet at all.