Voting Started in the Portland Phoenix Poll

The nominations process is complete and it’s now time to cast your ballot in the Portland Phoenix Best of Portland Readership Poll. There are a plethora of Food and Drink categories (Bagels, Bars, Barbecue, Beer Selection, Brewpubs, Brunch, etc) to vote on as well as sections for City Life, Arts and Entertainment, and Shopping.

Edible Obsessions, From Away, Mister Meatball, Portland Food Map and the Spiced Plate are all contenders in the Food Blog category.

If the 2012 polls follows the same schedule as past years then the final results will be made public in April at the Port City Music Hall.

Review of Sabor Latino

Portland Magazine has published a review of Sabor Latino.

Everything here tastes as if you’re feasting in a private, welcoming home, so expectations may not be met if you arrive looking for ubiquitous Tex-Mex flavors. The Burrito Supreme ($6.99) is chock-full of tender chunks of beef, beans, cheese, and gorgeous guacamole. Wrapped in an exquisitely browned, light, and tasty flour tortilla, the Chicken Quesadilla ($9.50) lingers in your mind long after that first bite. The fresh cheese deepens the sensation, along with the tender chicken. The Salvadorian sour cream’s richness adds to the whole experience.

Review of Hot Suppa & Valentine’s Day Stories

Joe Ricchio has written a dinner review of Hot Suppa for the Maine magazine blog.

The barbeque platter is the first entree to arrive, piled up with hickory-smoked pork ribs and pulled pork, as well as mesquite-smoked brisket. The meat immediately falls of the rib bones, and the best way I can describe the meltingly tender pulled pork and brisket is to call it “meat candy.” A plethora of sides include braised collard greens to aid digestion, tender sweet potato fries, and two wedges of crispy skillet corn bread, slathered with a liberal dollop of whipped butter melting down the sides.

And in his alter ego as the on-air personality for Food Coma TV, Joe has compiled a Valentine’s Day video of Portland “waiters and waitresses to shar[ing] their least favorite, experiences waiting on couples“.

Under Construction: Blue Lobster Urban Winery

Today’s Press Herald includes an update on the Blue Lobster Urban Winery which is under construction on India Street.

Christopher Gamble and Karen Rasmussen plan to operate their microwinery and wine bar out of a 2,400-square-foot space at 61 India St. It would be Portland’s, and possibly Maine’s, first “urban winery,” where grapes are crushed and fermented.

“People (in urban areas) are realizing that they have a customer base at their front door,” Gamble said. “If you can make wine in the city, why not?”

Gamble said his business plan calls for grapes to be imported from California vineyards to his winery in Portland, where they will be de-stemmed, crushed and fermented before the wine is put into oak barrels to age.

Reviews: Styxx & Terra Cotta Pasta

The Press Herald has published reviews of Styxx,

I tried both my friend’s drinks, and the Spree did indeed taste like the candy, but the Grape Crush tasted more like grape Dimetapp to me than the soda. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a huge fan of fruity drinks, so that skews my impression.

and Terra Cotta Pasta.

I chose the sweet potato-butternut squash ravioli, which came tossed with dried cranberries and candied nuts. There was a light covering of a white sauce, which I assume was probably their maple-cream sauce. If you haven’t tried this yet, you are missing something really delicious.

Immigrant Kitchens: Burek

In the latest entry on Immigrant Kitchens Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Burek from Sanja Bukarac (read the recipe and see the photos).

Once the top of the burek was crispy and golden brown, she served slices on small plates and glasses of kefir with spoons in them. She instructed me to take a bite of the burek and then a spoonful of plain kefir. I was hesitant. Plain kefir? Straight? It was delicious! So this is what plain kefir was made for! Since the pressure is on this week for love, I might suggest making burek and remembering as we eat it: if we are with loved ones and not being shot at, life is good. And if you’re looking for love, it can’t hurt to visit the dentist.

Samuels vs Restaurant.com

Today’s Portland Daily Sun reports on a restaurant coupon deal at Samuel’s went awry.

“They were only supposed to sell one certificate per person per month, and not for three bucks. I hardly do any advertising, and this seemed like a good idea to get new people to try the place, but it was a mess. They sold them for like a dollar each or something on Christmas Eve, and I had one week where the same guy came in every night with a $25 certificate. My Restaurant.com sales rep guy, Jerry, is from Portsmouth, and he told me they weren’t monitoring who was buying them or how many they were selling. It was supposed to be, ‘We’re selling this amount of certificates for this certain price,’ but they went nuts and I can’t afford to do it.”