The Portland Phoenix has reviewed of Hunt & Alpine,

There are plenty of stiff drinks served in lowballs. We liked the Toronto, blending spicy rye whiskey with several bitters, which was all hot-heat and sharp flavor. Other drinks mellow and tug the liquors with fresh juices — like the Ward Eight, which dissipated the whiskey heat with the sweetness of orange and a kick of sharp lemon, or an Italian Greyhound that tasted like a grapefruit sprinkled with salt and sugar.

and Feed the Monster has reviewed The Porthole and Fore Street,

There is a reason Fore Street is perennially one of the hardest reservations in town. Because they take the best ingredients and let them shine in winning presentations without huge pretension or unnecessary accompaniments.

and The Golden Dish has reviewed Petite Jacqueline where he tried some of the dishes being introduced onto the menu by the new chef, Frederic Eliot.

We then enjoyed two first-course dishes–sweetbreads and a luxurioiusly silken carrot soup. The sweetbreads were coated in flour, deep fried and served with clams in a composed pan sauce of clam liquor, capers, butter and shallots. The sweetbreads were stunningly velvety within under a crackling outer skin and accompanied by clams in the shell and that delicious sauce.

Map & Menu has shared their 10 favorite Portland brunch dishes.

What we came up with is 10 great brunches to start any lazy Sunday in Portland or the first brunch dishes to try when you’re visiting town. These dishes are standards at each of the restaurants, and are almost always available.

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

The Press Herald has published a bar review of The Inn on Peaks Island.

It’s not yet 5 o’clock and the bar seats are filled with regulars. Some cradle a heavy clay mug in one hand, others nurse pints of beers or house cocktails. Plates of food – haddock sandwiches, burgers, bowls of chili – faithfully make their way out of the kitchen. The space is cozy and familiar and the servers know almost everyone by name.

Tandem Coffee is a finalist in the 2014 Good Food Awards competition for their Aylele Yirgacheffe coffee.

Coffee finalists were selected because they had,

…exemplary flavor – sweet, clean, well developed body, balanced acidity and phenomenal aromatics. To qualify for entry, roasters and coffee farmers must emphasize fairness and transparency from seed to cup. This year’s entry criteria seeks to accommodate the enormous cultural diversity of coffee production…

The final awards be announced on January 16th.