Category: Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Crown Jewel, and

Consider a dish of “fried green things;” flash-fried seasonal green vegetables with apricot harissa and roasted almonds — pound for pound one of the tastiest things in recent memory. Vegetables also shine in chef Rocky Hunter’s carrot lox, a fun take on faux-food substituting ribbons of cured heirloom carrots for smoked salmon, garnished liberally with rye crumbs and everything bagel seasoning. It’s playful, imaginative and — most importantly — actually delicious, showing aptitude and purpose that speak to Hunter’s personal vegan leanings.

The Bollard has reviewed Union.

Though technically too young to be a millennial, my daughter’s friend has a thing for avocado toast, and Union’s version ($14) did not disappoint. The fluffy “shaved” hard-boiled egg, creamy ricotta salata and peppery radish provided a welcome variety of textures and flavors, but it was the tart, salty, preserved lemon emulsion that elevated this dish to a higher plane. Likewise, my wife’s smoked salmon ($17) started with a familiar mix of flavors and transformed into something new. Served on square slices of pumpernickel toast, the combination of shaved egg, pickled onions, briny capers, petite greens and “everything spice” was absolutely delicious, and anything but traditional.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Crown Jewel,

I would have shared my amazement that a kitchen helmed by a vegan was so deft at putting out seafood and meat dishes like savory hake with chorizo, hamburgers with sweet onion jam and – best of all – crisp, delicate oyster sliders. Hunter’s produce-forward dishes are frequently just as good, especially tomato concasse with corn pudding, blackberry gastrique and Parmesan. They, as well as the shaved ices that pastry chef Angela Cochran tops with homemade syrups and macerated fruit, taste like a distillation of summer. Exactly the right menu for a destination restaurant where every meal feels like a vacation.

the Portland Phoenix has reviewed Forage Market and Rose Foods,

An opportunity to examine just how far we have traveled down this path comes in the form of two bagel places opened in Portland in the last year — Rose Foods and Forage. These local bagels — fundamentally just plain doughy zeros (like us) — have managed to earn national acclaim. How have they done it? Substance? Taste? Style?

the Portland Press Herald has reviewed Bob’s Clam Hut.

Finally, at a time when restaurants in Portland are struggling to find good help, I have to give a big shout out to Bob’s for the great service. When I forgot to ask the tablet I signed for a receipt, one employee went out of his way to help me. He had not learned how to perform this task yet on the point-of-sale system, but he worked with it until he was able to print out my receipt. I saw another employee go out of her way to help customers coming in the door, and a third came around and picked up trays from customers who were done with their meals, even though throwing out trash and putting up trays is supposed to be self service. Hey Bob, there’s a big restaurant labor shortage in this town, and you are very lucky to have these people.

The Portland Phoenix and Peter Peter Portland Eater have reviewed Bob’s Clam Hut,

The litmus test exists in the form of “Clams 2-ways,” which loads an oval paper plate with equal heaping portions of their signature Bob’s and Lillian’s clams. The Lillian’s clams are distinctly lighter and almost creamy in texture, with the flour dredged Bob’s being on the crunchier, more traditional side. Tasted blindly, I found the latter to be the more satisfying of the two. It’s not exactly a steal at $25, but padded with fries and coleslaw, it’s more than enough for two people to share.

The Blueberry Files has reviewed Crown Jewel,

The summer lettuces salad ($12) might have been my favorite—a take on a Caesar, with fried white anchovies, fried lemon wheels, and crispy pieces of fried Parm. With a lemon-y dressing and lots of black pepper, this salad had tons of flavor.

Portland Magazine has reviewed Lio,

Turning to hot dishes, olive-oil poached Maine Halibut is a delicate revelation ($17). The tender fillet sits atop puréed potato and fennel laced with bits of crabmeat, forming an island in a glass bowl pooled with shellfish broth. The dish is subtle, yet the clean, fresh flavors are clear and concentrated.

The Golden Dish has reviewed Forage Market,

At Forage, the bagels are so good because they cure for several days before the boiling process and then the the ultimate burnishing in a wood-fired oven. The outer crust is particularly noteworthy with its blistered finish from the intense oven temperature fired from the embers of wood in the oven.

the Portland Press Herald has reviewed Sagamore, and

The results were mixed: the gimlet and the mint julep were fabulous, the Blue Dress was pretty good…the daiquiri was sour, the McKinley’s Delight was bitter, and the Manhattan arrived cloudy and tasting like the bitters had been added like one might add Tabasco sauce to scrambled eggs. We didn’t have to wait long for service, but the bartenders remained far more interested in chatting with each other than in engaging with their customers.

the Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Buxton Common.

Before last week, if you had told me that the best biscuits north of the Mason-Dixon Line were in Buxton, I might have laughed at you. But one very solid meal at The Buxton Common later, I’m fully on-board.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Pizzarino.

I was really impressed with the salad and thought the pizza was good enough to add to my rotation, especially if I wasn’t looking for just a massive pie and nothing else. My only hope would be that service would speed up slightly, though it wasn’t that bad considering I was there on their sixth day. Head there soon and check out a pizza place that’s Italian through and through. Pizzarino adds another to Portland’s list of pizza eateries that have a style all their own.

Congratulations to Drifters Wife on being named to the Bon Appétit list of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants of 2018.

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Lio,

Not to be missed at Lio, either, are the house-made pastas and thoughtfully constructed desserts. A dish of pappardelle with duck confit, artichoke, tarragon, Kalamata panko and lemon would make an excellent solo dinner. Follow it up with a dessert of Moscato Zabaglione — an Italian take on the French sabayon with poached peach, blueberry basil sorbet and elderflower — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find something to complain about.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Solo Italiano, and

I was quite impressed every step of the way. You can’t go wrong with the pesto, so I highly recommend that, but I enjoyed everything we ordered. Solo Italiano is definitely worthy of a visit and I recommend trying as many items as you can handle, or maybe even more.

The Golden Dish has reviewed Drifters Wife.

We snacked on a bowl of pickles, which was the best dish; but I like anything sweet, and these pickles would win first prize at a county fair. Another dish of mushrooms was splendid as was an entrée of scallops in a tomato broth and a half chicken with buttery braised cabbage and plums. The leg and breast were so big it might have come from a condor. But it was earthy and tasty, a bit dry perhaps and the plums should have added more sweetness.

Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appétit has named Portland the 2018 Restaurant City of the Year,

For starters, it’s the sheer number of outstanding openings—from a tiny pastry shop that serves knockout Roman pizza to a Jewish-style deli that ranks up there with New York and L.A.’s best. And while you can still get an Instagram-worthy lobster roll and a dozen local oysters, you’re missing out if you skip the killer pho spot or the guy selling hand rolls out of a Yeti cooler.

Little Giant and Drifters Wife are both mentioned in a recent GQ article about the new generation in American bars that have,

updated the nostalgic references from Prohibition times to the louche playfulness of the ’70s and ’80s. (Think midcentury leather benches, overgrown plants, tons of neon, and rococo garnishes.) Formats are changing, too: Whole concepts are built around one kind of liquor or fermented beverage, meaning you can get an accessible, intoxicating crash course on rum in a single night. But the best part is the less uptight attitude. The expectation that you’ve memorized your periodic table of mixology is totally gone. Bartenders are eager to share their specialized knowledge. Curiosity is all you need. (That and a well-established tolerance.) Plus, bar food is better than it’s ever been. So why even bother with dinner? Pick a spot on this list and spend your entire evening there.

Bon Appétit has included Rose Foods and the new Drifters Wife among the 50 nominees for their America’s Best New Restaurants 2018 list.

BA will publish their final list of the Hot 10 on August 14th.