Kon Asian Bistro received 2 stars in today’s review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Dinner at Kon Asian Bistro had its many ups and down on a recent Saturday night visit to this flashy Westbrook [sic] dining establishment. While the setting is gaudily opulent, the food is woefully mediocre. Instead of cooking one type of Asian cuisine well, the kitchen sends out run-of-the-mill Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Indian dishes.
John Golden writes of “culinary rapture” in his new review of Vinland.
The cocktail menu was another otherworldly trip into the unknown where the height of improbabilities became strikingly real. The spirits were local like the Barr Hill Gin gimlet made with condensed yogurt whey and white pine syrup. Or the Negroni with more locally distilled gin topped by house-made garnet red bitter spirits and Vinland sweet-beet vermouth. These were starry-eyed drinks even the most ascendant mixologist could love.
The Bowdoin Orient has reviewed The Holy Donut.
We tried everything. We could taste the trademark potato—which is boiled, riced and added to flour dough—in all of the flavors and discovered that fried potatoes are delicious in any form.
The chocolate sea-salt, a customer favorite, is definitely worth the drive to Portland. It was satisfyingly rich with a light texture and the sea salt in the glaze provided a savory contrast to the chocolate.
The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Empire,
These virtues carry over to other parts of the menu. The duck bun features crunchy, fatty meat folded into a pale white, springy-spongy, steamed bun. The bun’s perfectly neutral flavor left the tang of hoisin and slight bite of scallion unobscured. Another dish featured broad rice noodles with just the right soft texture. Kale and bean sprouts added some crunch and chew, and the sauce hinted at garlic and black bean. A sharper garlic flavor animated a dish of just-charred green beans, which kept a touch of crunch.
and the Kennebec Journal bloggers George and Linda Smith have reviewed Flatbread,
I am very glad I stepped out of my pizza comfort zone because my pizza was delicious. It included homemade nitrate-free, maple-fennel sausage with organic sulfate, sundried tomatoes, carmelized organic onions, whole- milk mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, all baked on organic bread dough with homemade garlic oil and organic herbs. I felt like I was on the culinary edge of haut cuisine! The onions provided a nice hint of sweetness.
The folks at Flipkey, a division of the travel site Trip Advisor, have included Bite into Maine in their list of places to go “where legendary sandwiches are being served.”
As the third mobile restaurant on our America’s Best Sandwiches list, the lobster rolls of Bite into Maine are hard to beat. Found not far from Portland Head Light, Maine’s premiere lighthouse, this truck serves an at-home take on the lobster roll with classic mayonnaise as well as some twisted versions involving curry or even chipotle.
This winter season, Bite into Maine has been dishing up their lobster rolls at the Sunday River Ski Resort. Look for them at the North Peak Lodge.
Today’s Press Herald includes a review of Tandoor Bread Bakery (the name may have changed to Tenur Bread and Restaurant)
Tucked in a blink-and-you-miss-it locale on Forest Avenue in Portland is Tenur Bread and Restaurant, which has been open for a couple of years now. I had gone soon after it opened but somehow managed to forget just how incredible the bread is.
a bar review of Silly’s with a Twist,
Silly’s with a Twist, connected by a walkway to the original Silly’s, is lively and welcoming with a full bar and the same menu as Silly’s next door. The kitschy decor and festive drink and food options will make you chuckle, but you’ll feel right at home almost instantly, as the friendly service is unmatched. Silly’s with a Twist is good for smaller groups.
and articles about GrandyOats in Brownfield and Biscuits & Co. in Biddeford.
Booze, Fish & Coffee and The Blueberry Files have posted a review of their opening night visits to Miyake Diner.
This week Bo and Brian popped in to the brand-spanking new Miyake Diner on opening night. This cozy izakaya spot is like the All-Star Game of Portland cuisine: Masa Miyake is the man in charge, with the Small Axe guys Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy also in the kitchen, and Joe Ricchio tending bar. We’ve been practically camping out on Spring Street, waiting for this place to open, and it was most definitely worth the wait. Rest assured: you’ll leave this place extremely comforted. Don’t miss the okonomiyake (scallion pancake – be sure to get both scallops and bacon) or the whelk in anchovy butter. [BFC]
If you’ve had any of Chef Miyake and crew’s food, you know that quality is not an issue here. Everything we had was very good. Instead, the food is surprising. The firm, tender octopus with crunchy onions in savory broth. Eggplant and eel pared together. Springy scallops and smoky bacon with sharp pickled ginger. The complex, unexpected flavors of the curry. [TBF]
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Casa Novello in Westbrook.
A combination trattoria and pizzeria, the restaurant is one of those old-school bastions of Italian-American cooking that serves up huge portions of mediocre cooking. Specialty pizzas and certain pasta dishes like lasagna and meatballs and spaghetti are popular and decently prepared. Entrees like chicken Marsala can be satisfying. Portion size makes up for a lack of finesse. Still, the atmosphere is congenial and the wait staff friendly and competent. Casa Novello offers a relaxed setting for moderately price fare.
Today’s paper also includes an article about recent changes to restaurant tipping policy driven by changes in tax law.
Like most other restaurants in Maine, DiMillo’s On the Water in Portland says it will no longer charge automatic gratuities for most large groups now that a change in the federal income tax code has closed a long-standing loophole.
The Kennebec Journal has reviewed Grace.
The components of the dishes here are not just sides on the plate. They raise the dish to another level. With the first bite, I knew immediately that this was the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. The meat was tender and moist while the seasoned coating made it delectable. George sampled it as well and declared the same thing.
Tandem Coffee was an award winner at the 2014 Good Food Awards for their Aylele Yirgacheffe coffee.
You can see a photo of co-owner Will Pratt with the award on Instagram, and a list of the competing coffee finalists on the GFA website.
For more information on the judging process see this article from Sprudge.
For a complete list of winners see the GFA website.
Update: For additional reporting on Tandem’s win see the article from the Bangor Daily News.