The 10 eateries looked up most often during the month of September were:
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of The Corner Room.
While the warm antipasti draw the eye, we had the best experience with the cold ones. Octopus and potato, for example, had more round slices of tender seafood than potato. It was dressed lightly with oil, lemon, cilantro, and crunchy red onion. In the eggplant caponata, often served as a mushy dip, the chunks of eggplant maintained a bit of chew. With the sugar and cocoa in the sauce it took on a figgy flavor and the aroma of clove.
Portland in a Snap has a report on the changes underway at Styxx.
One of the most notable changes the new owners have made is the addition of a tapas menu, with pub standards priced at $5 or $7. Happy hour runs from 4-7 pm Monday-Friday and comes with $4 martinis, $3 well drinks and $1 drafts. Those drafts include Allagash White, Sam Adams, Stella, Shipyard Pumpkinhead and Bud Light.
The Munjoy Hill News has published an update on the sale of the Hilltop Coffee Shop.
“There are 3 or 4 local people seriously interested in buying the property and the business,” said [owner Luke] MacFadyen late this afternoon at the Shop. Several are in the restaurant business already and several are not,” he added. But so far no one has made an offer on the property which is listed at $450,00 with Jim Landry.
A Blog About Beer has a report on the anticipated October 19th launch of Allagash’s Vagabond Ale.
Now the exciting part. Just like with Garamel, Allagash is releasing Vagabond on a VERY limited basis. The beer — of which there are only 500 bottles — will be available ONLY at the Brewery (on Industrial Way in Portland) and ONLY from 9am to 6pm on Monday, October 19th. There is a 2 bottles per person limit and each bottle will cost $10.
Today’s Portland Daily Sun has published an update on the closing of the White Heart: the bar is for sale but it hasn’t changed hands yet. The paper quotes owner Tony Hodge saying, “We have two or three interested parties”.
Today’s Sun also has a brief profile on Blue Mango Foods. Blue Mango produces a very popular veggie burger that’s available at Hannaford, Whole Foods and is on the menu at several area restaurants. According to the article, they have “a couple of new products in development, including a gluten-free burger”.
Allagash Tripel came in second place (out of 58 entries) in the Belgian-Style Abbey Ale category (#66) at last week’s Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
Portland Food Heads has published a brunch review of Artemisia.
I’ve eaten here enough times to say that you aren’t always going to come out satisfied. However, that is pretty typical of just about every restaurant in the country, and if you can get over the risk of taking a small gamble, you’re likely to be rewarded with what is usually a delicious meal at Artemisia.
Diet for a Small City has published a review of Pom’s Thai Taste.
The Vegetable Delight was a perfect meal. The vegetables had been cooked to a crisp bite; not a single limp pepper appeared on my plate. The garlic sauce was savory and sweet and nicely complemented the brown rice served alongside my meal. Afterward, I felt energized and satisfied. I felt I had consumed a fairly healthy meal.
There are three events on Monday: Portland Schooner is offering a sail to and lobster bake on Cow Island during the day, and tonight Stephen Lanzalotta’s weekly Piatto per Tutti cooking class and the weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place at Bull Feeney’s. On Tuesday, the next Wine Flight 5k Training Run is taking place, the destination is Cinque Terre. A class on freezing and drying food preservation is scheduled for Wednesday and on Thursday Alison LePage is teaching a class on vegetable fermentation. There’s a wine tasting scheduled on Friday at the West End Grocery for Devenish Wines. The Salt Exchange is running their weekly wine and canapes event on Wednesday. Portland’s weekly Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Last but not least on Sunday Cultivating Community is holding their annual locavore dining event—the 20 Mile Meal. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.