Review of Dutch’s

The Golden Dish has reviewed Dutch’s.

Lucy’s time with Tartine might account for the exquisiteness of her breads and pastries.  Layers of butter define their incredible croissants or the brioche dough for the sandwich rolls.  The all-butter fruit Danish would remind you of one from a Parisian patisserie. Speaking of butter, they make their own, taking pasteurized local cream, mixing it with buttermilk to form a culture until it cures several days later into a rich high-fat spread that they use on everything.

Review of The Good Table

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth.

The best of The Good Table is old-fashioned, hearty fare – from nicely grilled beef burgers with fried onions to moist and flavorful fish and chips with cole slaw. Start with a pail of fresh mussels served in a broth infused with butter and garlic. Move onto a rich standard such as rib eye steak with horseradish cream, or a lighter, Greek-style baked fish. All the food here is comforting – and filling.

First Review of Ebb & Flow

The Golden Dish has published a first look review of Ebb & Flow,

The “mezzes” are delightful and perhaps my favorite part of the menu and offer such other choices as taramasalata (whipped roe and almond milk) and fire roasted eggplant, which are served with the wonderful pita. And choose one of the hearty appetizers or skip that course and go straight to other main dishes like tomato-based braised lamb shank with pistachios or chicken roasted in the wood oven.  Then you easily enjoy the simplicity of the fine cooking–sometimes a relief from  the fine madness elsewhere.

Review of Tandem Bakery

Vrai-lean-uh has reviewed Tandem Bakery on Congress Street.

Every time I go I order a new thing that is more fantastic than the last. The poppyseed grapefruit bundt cake was spectacular. The jalapeno cheddar biscuits are perfectly tender and soft with just the touch of crispy edges. I mostly hate scones, but these ones are light and buttery and come in flavors like plum rosemary. The chocolate chip cookies are somehow both sophisticated and nostalgic. The sticky bun, guys. It’s so good.

Reviews: Maps Cafe and The Thirsty Pig

Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Maps Cafe,

The vibe is almost like 70’s basement home bar mixed with your neighborhood pub.  It’s comfortable and friendly.  The owners are always in house, serving up drinks or grilling sandwiches. They have a great selection of albums and are often playing them on the turntable.  Our favorite feature is the jukebox tucked in the corner.  It’s free to play any song on it and the owners rotate the selection so there is often a new song to rediscover.

and the Press Herald has reviewed The Thirsty Pig.

The Thirsty Pig in Portland’s Old Port neighborhood is serious about local craft beer, but not in an off-putting, pretentious way. The staff is friendly and talkative, and the atmosphere encourages a laid-back crowd. Owner Allison Stevens has made it her mission to offer great tasting craft beer and handmade sausages at an affordable price.

Review of Taqueria Tequila

The Press Herald has reviewed Taqueria Tequila.

I was impressed.

In addition to the plentiful and excellent fresh food, I appreciated the friendly and efficient service.

I’m not smart enough to know if this is authentic Mexican food, but I believe it is. It’s certainly more tasty and interesting than many of the other choices that we have around here. I’ll be back, and next time I’m getting a beer.

Review of Ruski’s

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Ruski’s.

Ruski’s prices are very reasonable, their pours are strong, and their atmosphere is definitively dive. This place is fun for any time of day, week, or year and since they are open both early AND late, you can test that for yourself. I envision this as a go-to hangout in the event my wife isn’t around for a weekend, though I couldn’t see myself spending more than eight or ten hours at a time there. That would be overboard.

Review of Schulte & Herr

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Schulte & Herr.

Most fundamentally it is nice that they manage to preserve what is comforting in German cuisine while giving it unexpected brightness. So a salad of smoked trout and potato does not chase flavor with an aggressive dressing or by over-smoking the fish, but instead uses peppery arugula, spicy shards of radish, and tart-sweet pickled beets to enliven things. Even potato pancakes are almost light—under the thin layer of gorgeous brown crunch is a whipped up fluff. The dish is best ordered with salmon, cured in house with notes of citrus and pepper suffusing its creamy texture.