Category: Reviews

Chubby Werewolf has continued his excellent coverage of the Blue Rooster guest chef series with a review of the Vinland hot dog.

The surprisingly substantive corn tortilla—the first departure from a standard hot dog bun in the Summer Chef Series—gets points not only for being locally sourced, but also for originality. Bun substitutes can sometimes turn out to be gimmicky failures, but not here. As a vessel for transporting meat and toppings, it was more than up to the task, staying intact right up until the last bite. And while I love my hot dog buns, I’d argue that the tortilla functions better than the regular bun in that it lets the meat itself play a larger role in the sandwich, which is great when you’re using a premium-quality hot dog.

Saveur has posted a eating  tour of some of the author’s favorite Portland destinations.

You could (and should) plan a week-long itinerary around the city’s great restaurants, as many do. But the simple pleasure of selecting ingredients and enjoying them at their freshest shouldn’t be overlooked by visitors; whenever I have friends coming into town, I send them on my favorite Saturday morning grocery itinerary, to make like a local and gather the fixings for a perfect afternoon picnic. Because, after all, the same resources that attracted ambitious chefs to Portland—abundant seafood and an equal abundance of local produce—are available to you and me.

The Golden Dish has reviewed Slab.

Portions are huge. We shared a panzanella salad, more than enough for two.  It was a delicious mix of crusty caraway bread, which was actually too hard to cut using those wooden utensils.  Ultimately we picked it up by hand and dunkedf the bread in the sauce. The salad contained feta cheese, cucumber, an orange-dill sauce, olives and onions.  But it didn’t have the traditional cubes of tomatoes; instead it was slathered in a tomato vinaigrette.  It was very good, though too bready.

Meredith Goad has reviewed Thurston’s for the Press Herald.

There’s a lot to like about Thurston’s, and I’ll probably go back. A decent burger and scoop of custard from a Maine-based restaurant beats fast-food burgers from national chains any day.

Portland is among Wine Enthusiast’s list of America’s 5 New Foodie Cities. The brief listing includes mention of Eventide, Opus Ten and Vinland.

Portland (Maine) is the new Portland (Oregon). Here, a spate of new restaurants join burgeoning coffee and distillation scenes.

Diningsense has reviewed Fore Street,

As a veteran Fore Street customer, I thought I knew what to expect but this meal blew us away. The ingredients were well-sourced as always, but this meal displayed a level of precision that I’ve never seen and so this was my favorite meal of the year to this point. Past favorites were perfectly executed, while new plates confirmed that the kitchen’s creative faculties remain intact.

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Fishermen’s Grill.

I finished my wife’s meal and after spending close to 80 bucks on lunch, we were pretty full. I was happy. The lobster roll wasn’t what I was looking for, but fortunately, that was the outlier of the meal. I really wonder what the issue was as their other food was so good. I loved the diveyness of the place and almost everything about the place was really enjoyable. I would definitely go back, but unless I found out there were some changes to it, I’d avoid the lobster and probably choose something fried.

The Bollard has reviewed El Tipico,

All the main courses (platos principales) come with either the aforementioned yellow rice and black peas or white rice and pinto beans. I recommend the former. I also suggest you wash everything down with a cold beer (my friends and I drank Modelo), though Tipico also offers an enticing selection of natural fruit juices, including passion fruit and tamarindo (made with tamarind). Bring cash for a tip (the credit card machine isn’t set up to process tips), an empty belly and an open mind. You’ll leave a believer.

and the East Ender.

The other entrées, including a smoked brisket hash ($12) and a salmon gravlax plate ($13), were also good, though nothing topped the high bar set by the killer first course. We all left the East Ender happy and full. And really — can you put a price on that? Yes, of course you can. And it’s way less than dinner.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed El Rayo.

El Rayo was great and always is. Their prices are reasonable, their food is delicious, and the service is where it should be. The outdoor area is really fun and with umbrellas at the tables you don’t have to worry about getting scorched by the sun. For added outdoor cooling, the drink menu lists a host of refreshing cocktails. The bands that play there add even more happiness to your Mexican merriment and they don’t play at ear-bleed levels so you can actually converse with others at your table. I recommend El Rayo year round, but if you really want to party, head there on a sunny summer day and enjoy all it has to offer.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has published a first person account of his time as a volunteer on the Uncle Andy’s Restaurant Impossible construction crew and impressions of the South Portland diner from  before and after the renovations.

I made a return trip to Uncle Andy’s shortly after the renovation. I really wanted to see how the place was holding up. I wondered if it was possible that they would just magically turn everything around as there were so many changes made which I’m sure included lots of happenings that I never saw including training of the staff and the like.

Drink-up and Get Happy has published a bar review of The Corner Room,

Overall happy hour at The Corner Room was a great deal. Excellent prices on drinks and delicious, plentiful free food make it a great place to go for any occasion, though if you are going to be a larger group make sure to get there early or you may not have space for you. You’ll leave having enjoyed a great evening without shelling out much cash at all.

Chubby Werewolf has reviewed the latest chef series hot dog at the Blue Rooster,

The baked white beans (you can see a glimpse of them on the right-hand side of the hot dog in the masthead image) was almost like a bean mash. With the mustard, radicchio and the red onions delivering much more assertive flavors, I think that the idea behind the beans was to offer something texturally distinctive. For me, it worked. And, much like last week’s Mac & Cheese dog, the combination of “franks & beans” brought back childhood memories of summertime picnics and family gatherings.

and The Golden Dish has reviewed Thurston’s Wicked Good Burgers.

Ultimately fast-food burgers have a distinctive taste no matter what’s in them. Thurston’s offers a decent burger, great ice cream and a comfortable place in which to have a quick, inexpensive meal.