Category: Reviews

The James Beard Foundation awards released the list of 2017 award nominees today.

Of the 12 Maine semifinalist announce in February, 2 have advanced through the process to become final nominees:

• Best Chef: Northeast – Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley, Eventide Oyster Co.
• Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional – Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Co.

The winners in each category will be announced at the awards ceremony which will take place on May 1st in Chicago.

Related information:

• Award and Nomination Process – learn more about the award nominations process.
• James Beard in Portland – James Beard taught several days of cooking classes in Portland in 1964.

Liquor.com has included the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club in their list of the 263 best cocktail bars around the world.

Portland’s first craft-cocktail bar continues to shine with a deep drinks list that spans from approachable to geeky. There’s the Norseman, a Scandinavian twist on the Old Fashioned that gets a kick from brown-butter-washed aquavit, and the simple Green Eyes, a gin sour sharpened to a keen edge with a healthy splash of Green Chartreuse.

The Bollard has reviewed Isa,

My croque madame ($11), an open-faced sandwich of prosciutto, Swiss cheese and a sunny-side-up egg, was positively otherworldly, with a balance of flavor and texture that was damn near perfect. Even the lightly dressed salad greens on the side were outstanding.

the Press Herald has reviewed DiPietro’s,

The chicken Parmesan sandwich at DiPietro’s is one of my favorites, and I’ve tried many. The chicken is tender with a crisp breading. It comes with a lot of sauce and cheese, melted well, but it’s wrapped in foil so you don’t have to mess up your hands too much.

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Liquid Riot.

Liquid Riot was really good. The only concern I had was that the burger was 16 bucks and I think for that price, it has to be a little more spectacular. It was a solid offering, but even with the fries and awesome mustard, I didn’t quite have the feeling I got what I paid for. Either way, I’ll be back to try some of their other food. It was excellent overall and I found it a fun place to hang for a while.

The Press Herald convened a panel of judges to evaluate and rank Portland-area bagel options.

Southern Maine has more sources for good bagels than ever before. So much so that in October Saveur magazine gave one Maine bagel maker major props, calling the wood-fired sourdough bagel from Forage Market in Lewiston one of the best in the country, “good enough to melt the heart of the most hardened New York bagel snob.”

This explosion of bagel love made us wonder: Which local bakery is producing the best bagel? And what makes a bagel a good bagel, anyway?

Results: Bagels from Scratch Baking came out on top with ones from The Purple House, Maple’s, 158 Pickett Street Cafe, Rosemont and Union Bagel Co. in second through sixth place respectively.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Petite Jacqueline,

Despite a few seasoning hiccups in dishes like the deviled eggs, escargots and beef bourguignon, Petite Jacqueline offers several strong versions of bistro classics. Best among these are dishes like gorgeously seared steak frites and an extraordinary arctic char served with a brown butter-and-toasted almond sauce.

the West End News has published a review of Boda,

In conclusion, Boda possesses in creativity and delicious cuisine what it takes to be successful, and I suspect they’ll be around for an extended stay.

Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Bramhall,

Bramhall has an excellent selection of beers, wines, and spirits so you are sure to find something to please your palate if you aren’t enthused by the happy hour specials. I was tempted off the list by the Four-Five-Six cocktail. It is a mix of Johnnie Walker Black, spiced vanilla honey, Raygun orange bitters and hops bitters. It was easily one of the top cocktails that I have ever had!

The Golden Dish has reviewed Woodford F&B,

Besides the restaurant’s high energy (translate: a noisy room but not in a bad way), the food by chef Courtney Loreg is exceedingly good–very competently prepared classic dishes.

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Bonobo.

One of the aspects of Bonobo’s pizza that makes it special is the wood fire. From the slight pleasant odor in the restaurant, to the mild flavor it adds to the pizza, to the way it cooks evenly and to the right degree, I like what it creates.

Zagat has published an eating guide to Portland.

At this point, it’s no secret that Portland, Maine, is one of the hottest food cities in the country, never mind New England. It’s also well represented (once again) on the latest list of James Beard Award semi-finalists. But for this latest list of travel-worthy spots, we focused on a mix of revered stalwarts, lauded newcomers and lesser-known gems. There are many more we could have included — apologies to still-awesome staples like Duckfat and Miyake — but these are the old and new favorites that are perking our palate right now.

Highlighted in the article are: Central Provisions, Drifters Wife, Elsemere BBQ, Evo Kitchen + Bar, Fore Street, Grace, Portland Hunt and Alpine Club, The Holy Donut, The Honey Paw, Vinland.

The Golden Dish has reviewed Tipo,

My favorite dish was the full-flavored roast chicken, spice rubbed, served with pickled peppers and over creamy polenta. Though not a small plate restaurant per se, all these dishes were sharable and added up to a very nice meal at a reasonable price.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Emilitsa, Izakaya Minato and Bao Bao,

From the comfortable atmosphere, the welcoming staff, and the stunning, incredible, intensely flavorful food, it’s hard to overstate just how good Emilitsa truly is. The entire staff should be really proud of what they are doing. They are most definitely providing a high end brand of happiness to all who are lucky enough to visit.

and Portland Magazine has reviewed Sichuan Kitchen.

Bypassing the limp, greasy fare of pseudo-Chinese takeout joints, Sichuan Kitchen delivers authentic regional cuisine thanks to Shen’s exciting and accessible cooking. Quite exceptionally, flavor is not lost in translation at Sichuan Kitchen.

The Blueberry Files has reviewed Izakaya Minato,

My takeaway is that Izakaya Minato a great hangout spot that’s different enough to feel casually hip, while the food is a good mix of the familiar and novel.

the Press Herald has reviewed the Other Side Deli,

That same attention to detail was evident in the gyro itself. The lamb was tender and slightly sweet. The cucumbers were prodigious and added heft and substance. The yogurt provided a nice cool complement.

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Sichuan Kitchen.

I’d definitely give Sichuan Kitchen another shot. The first one was pretty successful. I might pass on the poached fish unless they cut back on the peppercorns, but otherwise their food is well thought out and somewhat unique to the area. The atmosphere is relatively bland, but the food isn’t. In the end, it was more than good enough for me to plan a return visit.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Schulte & Herr,

Schulte & Herr, a cozy German restaurant in Portland’s West Bayside neighborhood, knows a thing or two about defying expectations. Since opening in 2011, it remains steadfastly without a liquor license. Co-owners Steffi Davin and her husband, chef Brian Davin, instead seem (for the moment, at least) content to pin their success on homey atmosphere and the remarkable quality of their food. Everything pivots around traditional German favorites, from unexpectedly crisp and light pork schnitzel to hearty sauerbraten…

the Press Herald has reviewed Izakaya Minato and The Bearded Lady,

Not Izakaya Minato. And it’s no surprise. You couldn’t come up with a concept that would appeal more to Portlanders right now. Izakaya is a Japanese portmanteau that translates to “stay sake shop,” meaning a place you can buy sake and also drink it. It’s evolved into the Japanese version of a gastropub and, yes, it’s mostly about the food – shareable smallish plates, including salads, soup, sashimi and some hot stuff.

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Salty Sally’s and Elsemere.

The food was good – not fine dining, but high quality, well executed, and mildly inventive. The casual, relaxed atmosphere seemed amply suited for drinks, a meal, or both.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed the Portland Meatball Company,

The salads, like nearly everything I ate at Portland Meatball Company, seemed to have been rushed out of the kitchen, unexamined and, more importantly, untasted. Yet rather than focus on badly needed quality control for the restaurant’s few remaining customers, the kitchen staff wandered distractedly in and out of the desolate dining room throughout both of my visits, until inevitably declaring the restaurant closed more than an hour early.

The golden Dish has reviewed Izakaya Minato,

When we arrived two local restaurateurs I know were leaving and both recommended the pork belly. Spot on. What came out was a hearty bowl of braised pork belly ( buta no kakuni) stewed in mirin and soy—a pan-regional stew of this texturally unctuous meat: sweet, fatty, tender.

and both The Blueberry Files and Peter Peter Portland Eater have reviewed Big Fin Poké.

I often complain about going to Westbrook, not for any particular reason other than Portland-centrism and that I always manage to get lost whenever I attempt to navigate to or through our neighboring city to the west. But add Big Fin Poké to the small, but growing, list of things I’ll happily (ok, begrudgingly) travel to Westbrook for.