Category: Reviews

WE: Wine Lover’s Guide to Maine

| Posted in Reviews

Wine Enthusiast has published a Wine Lover’s Guide to Maine. The article also includes recommendations on where to stay and eat.

Wine-centric mentions in the article include:  Friends & Family, Maine & Loire, Lorne, Vessel & Vine, Leeward, Helm, Regards, Wayside, George + Leon’s, Table Bar, In a Silent Way, Black Sheep Wine Shop, Blue Hill Wine Shop, Oyster River Wine Growers, and Nina June.

Maine wine lovers (and those planning a visit) should also add Portland Wine Week to their calenders which this year is taking place June 10 – 16.

8 Good Food Awards Finalists from Maine

| Posted in Reviews

The Good Food Foundation has released the list of Finalists for their 2024 awards program. Eight Maine food producers are on the Finalists list:

  • Allagash for their beer Surf House
  • Maine Beer Company for their beer Woods & Waters
  • Short Creek Farm for their Poblano Salami
  • Bixby Chocolate for their Organic Haiti 70% Dark Chocolate Bar
  • 44 North for their Honduras – Honey Process COMSA coffee
  • Coffee by Design for their Costa Rica Danilo Salazar Finca San Cristobal Natural coffee
  • Speckled Axe for their Guatemala La Bonita and Costa Rica La Guaca Natural coffees

The list of award winners will be announced by the foundation on April 29th at a ceremony in Portland, Oregon. See their Rules & Regulations and FAQ pages for more information on the awards program.

Looking Back at 2023 and Forward to 2024

| Posted in Under Construction, Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a look at twelve bars and restaurants that are set to open next year.

But the batch of new restaurants coming in 2024 helps take the sting out of the losses and will enrich a drinking and dining scene that already feels like a treasure trove. We can look forward to big, bold bars going into Thompson’s Point and Bayside; new brewpubs and daytime cafes in Biddeford; old faves like Brea Lu relaunching in new Westbrook digs; fine dining in far-flung locales; and New York-style slices in the Old Port. If all goes according to plans, expect Cambodian express takeout, a chicken sandwich palace and a cheesesteak mecca.

It also includes restaurant critic Andrew Ross’s picks for the Best of 2023.

4 Star Review of Quanto Basta

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 4 star review of Quanto Basta.

Pizza toppings are locally inspired and seasonal, but the true star of each pie is the airy, chewy sourdough crust. When it’s baked to blistered perfection (as it usually is), English’s pizzas are superb. Don’t miss the bright, savory, olive-and-lemon-peel-topped Limone or the remarkably light Pizza Rossa, a vegan pie with an herby, sweet, raw tomato base. Appetizers like raw vegetables with bagna cauda, and lean bresaola topped with greens tossed in an insanely tasty preserved lemon vinaigrette are also worth ordering, especially with a glass of wine from the moderately priced, all-Italian list.

Owner Betsy English launched the Quanto Basta food truck in 2021. The Quanto Basta restaurant is located at 249 Congress Street and opened in July which is when the photos above were taken.

Chocolats Passion Wins 6 Medals

| Posted in Reviews

Chocolats Passion (website, facebook, instagram) has won six medals from the 2023 Academy of Chocolate competition in London:

  • A gold medal for their Yuzu Nougat
  • Four silver medals for their Blueberry Corn, Passion Fruit Vanilla, Prickly Pear Mango and Peppermint
  • A bronze medal for their Lime Habanero

A total of six US-based chocolatiers won 16 medals in 2023.

Chocolats Passion recently moved into a new larger space at 175 Spring Street in the West End.

George + Leon’s Review, Freeport Restaurants

| Posted in General News, Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of George + Leon’s.

But George & Leon’s (named for Abbey’s dog and his young son, respectively) has emerged from adversity with a renewed respect for its team and better, more consistent food served at appropriate temperatures. If you visit, order a glass of natural wine to go with your traditional Super Beef sandwich, a softball-sized monster of a sandwich packed with pink beef, James River BBQ sauce, and white American cheese. Get it as a “4-way,” if you enjoy crisp onion rings. If you’re not in the mood for beef, the homemade chicken finger sub and the umami-overloaded, brown-butter-and-mushroom sub are also top-notch options.

The paper also takes an in-depth look at the Freeport restaurant scene and the factors holding it back from further growth.

While restaurateurs seem drawn like moths these days to the bright heat of the Greater Portland food scene, many in the town of Freeport feel underserved by the comparatively lackluster dining choices, especially for a sit-down meal.

Review of The Garrison

| Posted in Reviews

The Bollard has published a review of The Garrison.

OK, now you can breathe. Just kidding! Enter the Squash Ravioli ($25), the surprise hit of the night. With cinnamon pasta dough, ras el hanout (North African spice mix) and Italian sausage broth, we wondered how Chef Christian could possibly pull these parts together. He did, of course, once again masterfully combining Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. A perfect bite including every component then gave the dish a curry profile that left us happily bewildered, yet again. 

Review of Sacred Profane

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Sacred Profane in Biddeford.

…Dark lager with lots of foam is a great match for the veggie-friendly, poutine-esque mushroom stroganoff. If you want something lighter, with more crisp acidity, go for pale lager, especially paired with a dish like the snappy Austrian-style pork-and-veal hot dog served with Morse’s sauerkraut, finely diced shallots and fiery Dusseldorf mustard ($10). If you really want to witness the power of foam, try the Allen’s and Milk, a chocolatey, sabayon-reminiscent dessert beverage. You’ll never think about beer the same way again.

Chef Marilou Ranta, Maine Street Bistro, Brickyard Hollow

| Posted in Reviews, Beer, People, Profiles

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article about Marilou Ranta who is the chef and owner of The Quarry in Monson. The Restaurant won the James Beard award for Outstanding Hospitality in 2023.

In the dining room, there are unforced smiles all around. Regulars get big bear hugs. Newcomers get hugs, too. “She’s a great hugger,” said Martha Lerman, a hug recipient who was dining at The Quarry for her first time on a Thursday evening in mid-September. Ranta was especially delighted to meet a Filipino couple who had driven from Massachusetts to check out The Quarry. Word about the 5-year-old restaurant “in the boonies,” as Ranta puts it, is getting around.

The Sunday Telegram also includes a 3½ star review of Maine Street Bistro in Brunswick,

Lean into Maine Street Bistro’s French menu and you’ll be rewarded. Co-owners and co-chefs John Holm and Brandon Franklin built their impressive skillsets of classic French techniques separately, but together in Brunswick, they’ve come up with a largely traditional menu that holds promise.

and an article about the rapid expansion of Brickyard Hollow Brewing which has added five locations in the last 12 months.

As Moll and his partner were first launching Brickyard Hollow in 2018, they realized the significance of the winter carnival photo. “We were trying to create a craft brewery that was a gathering place for this little community, and that picture really helped present that,” Moll said.