The 10 eateries looked up most often during the month of June were:
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.
This past weekend’s Sunday Magazine in The Boston Globe featured a list of “50 Food Finds”. Included in the list were Allagash, Eve’s, Browne Trading, Standard, Hugo’s, and Five Fifty-Five. Black Dinah Chocolate from Isle au Haut, the Robinhood Free Meeting House in Georgetown and When Pigs Fly in York also made the cut.
Also in The Globe’s food section is an article about Linda Bean’s new venture, Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll. Bean recently worked with the West End Neighborhood Association to create the 61-foot lobster roll at this year’s Old Port Festival.
Nancy English, author of Chow Maine and the restaurant critic for the Maine Sunday Telegram, will be appearing on the morning radio show Morning Living this Thursday.
Satellite radio listeners can tune in to “The Dish” on Morning Living to hear me talk about Maine’s wonderful restaurants and more. I will be a guest on Morning Living July 2 at 8:30 a.m., broadcast by Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112 on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network and channel 157 on XM Satellite Radio.
El Rayo received 5 stars in a new review from Chris2fer.
We decided that this was our new favorite Mexican eatery. It has a charming neighborhood feel, but a little hipstery. Not bad hipster, good hipster. The food though – the food is amazing. Very fresh, very healthy, very tasty, very different. We loved it.
As you can see from this photo the Maine Bean Cafe is doing some renovation before opening in the old Portland Coffee Roasters space on Commercial Street.
The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is at Bull Feeney’s tonight, and on Tuesday the next Wine Flight 5k Training run is taking place at the Portland Observatory for a special Tower of Chocolate tasting. On Thursday there’s a wine and oyster event at Vignola. There are wine tastings scheduled Thursday at Aurora Provisions, Friday at the West End Grocery, and Saturday at Leroux Kitchen. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
Food for Thought has reviewed El Rayo Taqueria.
Still, what’s served at El Rayo is done fairly well and the preparations have authentic flavorings…Perhaps, in time, they’ll get their footing and expand, with a sit-down dining room…and serve full meals with the sort of Mexican fare that we’re not used to, true regional Mexican cooking.
The Public Mark House main entrance is blocked off while they install an elevator (you can still get in through the temporary entrances on either side). This part of the ongoing construction project to expand the market to the second floor which will be home to a number of small shops and cafes. They hope to have construction completed by mid-July.
The Portland Daily Sun has an update on the status of the Cactus Club. Four months ago the City Council revoked the bar’s liquor license but it’s still operating during the appeals process.
Portland Police, who recommended in February that the council not reissue the bar’s liquor license, said 64 disturbances took place inside or in the immediate vicinity of Cactus Club in 2008, including 19 fights, a shooting, and a bizarre incident where a sport-utility vehicle drove into the side of the building. In addition, the bar was found guilty of two liquor license violations.