Edible Obsessions has published a review of Artemisia Cafe.
So, when you’re looking for a spot to pop out to brunch this weekend, consider forgoing the usual haunts and take a trip to my neighborhood and stop in to Artemesia Cafe and, for the love of God, someone try the Sausage and Biscuits.
Today’s Press Herald includes a Eat & Run review of Borealis Bistro,
The panini comes on your choice of bread, and you’ll have a large variety of choices, because all the bread is made right on the premises. The sandwich we tried consisted of a couple of slices of rosemary bread filled with real scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese (your choice of cheese) and sausage links (meat costs extra) that had been sliced in half and grilled. The sandwich stayed piping hot all the way to the office, and was large enough to share.
and a What Ales You column about the honey-based beers for sale at The Honey Exchange.
The favorite honey beer among my tasters — and they varied over the past month from a crowd of seven to just me — was Brooklyn Local 2, a strong, dark Belgian ale with 9 percent alcohol that cost about $8.50 for a 750-milliliter bottle.
The honey was just a background in this fruity, spicy and complex beer with a wonderfully thick body. The Belgian dark candy sugar combines with the wildflower honey. Seven people tasted this one, and they all loved it.
Word surfaced today of several new businesses under construction:
The Bollard has published a survey of neighborhood bars.
Let’s start out at Mama’s Crowbar (189 Congress St.), a little hole in the wall about a block above Washington Ave. It’s a mother-and-daughter-run joint that specializes in American craft beers. Common tap selections include stouts and ales from the likes of Allagash, Dogfish Head, and Oxbow, the brewery in Newcastle established last year. You won’t find liquor at Mama’s, but you will find nearly three dozen bottled and canned beer options priced between $3 and $7. PBR is not among them, because Mama doesn’t approve of their high fructose corn syrup.
In the latest entry on Immigrant Kitchens Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Russian ravioli from Yulia Converse (read the recipe and see the photos).
My friend’s family only eats meat that he hunts: duck, venison, and moose. Because prime cuts on these animals are so few, ground meat is usually what the family has to work with. I guess I was feeling sorry for them. What’s for dinner? Chili. What’s for dinner? Sausage. What’s for dinner? Chili. What’s for dinner? Sausage. After my latest cooking lesson in an immigrant’s kitchen, I wanted to bust down that family’s door and rescue them, crying, “How about some Russian ravioli?”
The Maine Restaurant Association has named David Turin their Chef of the Year.
The Press Herald polled “local chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, food bloggers [including yours truly] and all sorts of people obsessed with food and dining” on their favorite food related apps and have published the results in today’s paper. As the author Meredith Goad points out, the responses “ranged from popular apps such as Urbanspoon and OpenTable to some that you’ve probably never heard of before.”
Instant Portland has published a review of Bakery on the Hill.
I was going through shops in the East End, and at ever single one, I had the same conversation. “Have you checked out Bakery on the Hill yet? It’s amazing.”
When your neighbors consistently talk you up so highly, what can a poor blogger do but follow their advice.
From Away has published a review of Roma Pizza.
Owner Luca Pizzuti delivers perfectly on the fundamentals of the plain cheese slice, and then, because he can, expands the orbit of his pizza-making prowess to include more exotic toppings and ingredients that each dazzle and delight, all in a thickly-accented singsong that is enough to keep his customers smiling. It’s an honest-to-goodness slice bar, with plenty of piping hot, creative, carefully-made pizzas, ready at almost any time of day. Stop by without agenda, take a seat, and let Luca feed you with whatever is just out of the oven, and whatever he thinks is best. It’s an afternoon well-spent, and is Old Port pizza not to be missed.
A group calling itself the Portland Pie Council is planning an event on January 23rd to celebrate National Pie Day. The gala promises a fun line-up of activities:
The 3rd Annual Pie and Art Gala is scheduled to take place January 23, 5:30 until “everyone is too sated to continue” at the Mayo Street Art Center. Tickets are $3 per person and attendees are encouraged to bring pies of their own to enter into the competition.
Also as part of the Portland celebration of National Pie Day, Ned Swain at the prompting of the Portland Pie Council is offering to dress all day in a pie costume if the public is willing to make $500 in pledges for the Preble Street Resource Center.