Down East has reviewed Empire Chinese Kitchen,
Wok-fried dumplings arrive with dipping sauce on a rectangular pottery platter; batter-fried honey walnut shrimp with citrusy yuzu mayo soon follow. There may be a brief scramble to see who can liberate their chopsticks from their paper liner first, and then the frenzy begins. What next? Perhaps one of the Cantonese classics: wonton soup or delicate steamed char sui (pork buns). An order of the heavenly baby bok choi simply tossed in the wok with a little garlic, ginger, and oyster sauce will make you never look at a green vegetable the same way again.
the Portland Phoenix has reviewed Oscar’s New American,
Just about every dish had great little touches, like the sharp and crunchy little fried capers on the deviled eggs, perched next to garlic chips that had been soaked in milk and fried. And even the one unrelentingly rich and creamy dish we tried, braised pork cheeks over those same manchego grits, was balanced and layered. A rioja reduction brought just a touch of sweet to the appealingly funky grits and tender meat.
and both The Golden Dish has reviewed Casa Fiesta.
When you don’t want to have a more rarefied Mexican meal at places like Zapoteca, or good tacos at Taco Trio in South Portland, then go to Casa Fiesta where the complexities of this sort of sensory pleasure won’t clutter your better food sense.
