The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Ramen Suzukiya.
Suzukiya is a tiny, family-owned Japanese noodle shop with enormously satisfying ramen bowls filled with house-made noodles, slices of pork or tofu, and fresh vegetables. The menu may be limited (you can order one of four noodle bowls and two accompanying mini-rice bowls) but the flavors are impressive and those noodles profoundly comforting…
The Bollard has reviewed Terlingua and Slab.
Slab successfully transforms traditional brunch ingredients into imaginative new dishes with bold flavors. There are at least a half dozen other menu items I want to try. The next time I’m torn between craving the familiar and the unexpected, I know exactly where I’m going.
The Press Herald has published a review of Tomaso’s and a bar review of Oxbow.
Tomaso’s Canteen is a short walk from just about anywhere in downtown Portland and I encourage people to color outside their pre-established lunch lines and give it a whirl. Don’t be in a huge hurry so you can sit back and relax.
The Golden Dish has reviewed both Bayou Kitchen and Bao Bao.
The homies were perfectly delicious red-skinned potatoes given a nice crisping on the flat top. Two poached eggs were just right, with firm whites and runny yolks. I chose Bayou’s cornbread as my toast selection. It was so light that the bread nearly crumbled in my hand.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Samuel’s.
We finished eating and paid our bill which I believe was somewhere around $40 buck before tip. It wasn’t pricey, but the food didn’t distinguish itself in selection or quality. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad and was pretty much what one would expect from a neighborhood location outside of Portland.
Portland magazine has reviewed Roustabout.
Fritto Misto ($13), billed as an appetizer, is a heaping plate full of goodness. Octopus, calamari, mussels, and veggies are fried to golden brown in a light batter and accompanied by smoked-pepper aioli with just the right kick.
The current issue of Portland also includes their annual look at ahead at some of the coming year’s restaurant openings and food events.
The Press Herald has reviewed Tomaso’s Canteen,
Sangillo’s closing was a loss for the community, and Tomaso’s definitely doesn’t replace it. But in some ways that’s great. You’ll still find the affordable drinks and “beer and shot” menu, but now the space is verging on gastropub territory, with its amazing food, specialty drinks and relaxed vibe. The location is hole-in-the-wall enough to feel like a secret, but it’s right off Middle Street.
and Pat’s Meat Market & Groceria Cafe.
I also tried the chicken vegetable soup ($4.95), with shredded chunks of chicken and a rich, bright yellow stock that I found later was made at the market. It had mushrooms, carrots and pieces of turnip. It was very hot, making it a good traveling soup. So next time I want a soup to go, I’ll get some at Pat’s and I’ll be confident it will stay warm. Some of the other soups on the rotating list include beef and bean chili, cream of asparagus, curry chicken and rice, and clam and haddock chowder.
Run for Breakfast has reviewed Bayou Kitchen.
The regular menu has many delicious options for both breakfast and lunch (Bayou serves breakfast and lunch only) and every one I have had has been fantastic. From prior visits I recommend trying the Veggie Homie Plate (home fries smothered with veggies and cheese), the Breakfast Sandwich (traditional style, but for a real treat, order is with the Andouille sausage), or El Rancho Verde omelet (a medley of Cajun and southwest flavor). If you are in the mood, Bayou Kitchen’s French Toast and pancakes are large and perfectly cooked.
The Golden Dish has posted a brunch review of Roustabout.
What you will get is a carefully thought out menu. Don’t look, then, for other typical dishes like sausage gravy over biscuits or cracklings of bacon rashers with eggs over easy. This is, after all, brunch, the combination of morning and noontime leisurely dining where a little bit of this and that suffice.
Star Chefs has highlighted Tempo Dulu bartender Trevin Hutchins’s drink the Jakarta as one of their Top 5 Cocktails of 2015.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed El Rayo.
Standard menu items are more reliable than the specials here, so stick with familiar favorites like fried plantains served with a piquant chipotle mayonnaise. (That mayo is so good, it’s reason enough to order the appetizer.) Then dig into a bowl of guacamole with one of El Rayo’s thin, lightly salted tortilla chips: The guac is fresh, brightened with key lime juice, and pleasantly peppery, and you’ll plow through the crispy chips in no time. You can move on to empanadas and burritos served with rice and beans, or a quesadilla crisped on the griddle, but the tacos at El Rayo (it is a “taqueria” after all) stand out. Don’t miss the barbecued pulled pork taco served with cole slaw, crumbly cotija cheese and a red onion escabeche: It’s a meaty, sticky, messy winner.
The Portland Phoenix has reviewed the Portland Patisserie,
These desserts are lovely for a bit of shared decadence at the patisserie’s traditional small white tables. Or you can fill the table up with larger plates for crepes, soups, salads and sandwiches. The crepes are expertly done in the traditional style, with their handsome brown wedge topped by a jagged crown of crisp and chewy cheese. A crepe made with duck, gruyere, onion and stonefruit was built like the tricolor. At the point of the wedge the cheese mingled with the tart and sweet of the fruit. Where it widened the richer flavors of a chewy duck confit and tender caramelized onion dominated. The top was all terrific salty cheese.
and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Tomaso’s Canteen.
We ate and ate, stopping only to take short breaths and stare lovingly at our food. Eventually, it was nearly gone and we were filled to the brim. I reminisced about the past hour and realized that while I was well fed, the meter where I parked wasn’t. I asked for the bill and hoped that there wasn’t another one on my car. Our total came to a mere 31 bucks before tip. We didn’t have any drinks, but we had lots of food. It was all very good, and that app…that app was simply gorgeous. We were both smiling and raved about Tomaso’s Canteen as a great place to go and not spend all our cash while still getting top notch pub grub.
The Honey Paw was included in the Gear Patrol list of the 25 Best New Restaurants in America.
What to Order: Fry bread with uni butter; fried wings with coconut, lemongrass, tamarind and Thai bird chili; Vietnamese pork meatball soup with glass noodle, smoked pork broth, mortadella, roast pork and Thai bird sambal; fish head curry made with local cod, sweet potato, pickled okra, cashew, fresh turmeric, tomatillo sambal and jasmine rice.