2013 Phoenix Best of Portland Readership Poll

| Posted in Uncategorized

The Portland Phoenix announced the winners of their 2013 Best of Portland readership poll last night.

Here’s a representative sampling that I noted down while watching the presentation: Scratch won Best Bagel (I think that the first time in the history of the event that someone beat out Mr. Bagel), Novare won Best Beer Bar and Gritty’s won Best Brewpub, Emilitsa won Best Ethnic Restaurant, El Rayo won Best Mexican/Latin Restaurant, Rob Evans won Best Chef, Paciarino won Best Italian Restaurant, Allagash won Best Brewery, Grace won for both Best Romantic Dining Spot and Best Decor, etc. There are about 100 categories in all so be sure to check the Phoenix website for the complete list.

Personally I was thrilled to win in the Best Food Blog category. Many thanks to all of you who voted for Portland Food Map!

Reviews of Kushiya Benkay & The Front Room

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Kushiya Benkay.

But just as it is common for a Japanese family to engage in a Buddhist ritual in the morning and a Shinto ritual in the afternoon, and not worry about conflicting doctrines in the least, Kushiya Benkay manages to engage in a bit of trendiness and a bit of silliness, without becoming trendy or silly. In fact at Kushiya Benkay the essentials of Japanese dining — warm service, a handsome space, and simple cuisine — blend together modestly and seamlessly.

The Press Herald has published a bar review of The Front Room.
I don’t know what other evenings at The Front Room look like, but even if you can only go on a busy Friday or weekend evening, be patient with the wait time. It’s worth it. I can say this firsthand in regard to the drinks, and reiterate what others have told me in regard to the food.

Closed and Closing: Bakery on the Hill & Sea Grass Bistro

| Posted in Closings

The Munjoy Hill News interviewed owner Stephanie Smith about her decision to close Bakery on the Hill.

Smith lives in Bridgeton and she found the almost three hour round trip commute not possible to do anymore.  Also, her daughter Alexandra, became engaged to an attorney in New York City following her move back to Maine.  Her expertise as a pastry cook in New York City was vital to the operation. Both of those factors weighed heavily in Smith’s decision.

Maine a la Carte reports that chef/owner Stephanie Brown has decided to close the Sea Grass Bistro in Yarmouth.

Brown told me in an e-mail that she has decided to accept an offer to become executive chef at the Woodlands Club in Falmouth, “an opportunity that found me, I was not looking for it!”

“There was an offer on the table I could not refuse,” she explained. “I have been in the club arena before and loved it.

Review of In’finiti

| Posted in Reviews

Wines; Tasted! has published a review of In’finiti.

Infiniti raises the bar and you should check it out.  Check it out before this summer when the patio opens and it will get really crazy.  Plus they’re open for lunch all afternoon so you have the opportunity to get in there before it gets busy and appreciate the space.  They’ve built themselves some big shoes and are now going to have to figure out how to fill them, but so far it’s promising and I’m expecting impressive things.

Food Truck News: Good Shepeherd Food Bank

| Posted in General News

Today’s Press Herald Food & Dining section includes an article on the new Good Shepherd Food Bank food truck.

The food bank will probably spend the entire next year testing out ideas for how best to use its truck, said Kristen Miale, president of the organization. First and foremost, she said, the truck will be tagging along with Good Shepherd’s food mobile, which is a kind of roving food pantry that distributes fresh produce and other foods to underserved areas of the state and neighborhoods with low-income housing.

The food truck recently had it’s debut at the GSFB annual gala with a chefs Rob Evans, Wilfred Beriau and Karl Deuben cooking up “cheeseburger hand pies and other appetizers”.

Black Fly Stout & Mo

| Posted in Beer

The Beer Babe has posted reviews of Gritty’s Black Fly Stout and Maine Beer Co.’s Mo.

In a glass it pours out a yellow to orange color, with a very foamy head that sticks around for quite some time. It’s one of those pretty beers that you just want to admire after pouring. However, just admiring it wouldn’t do it justice. The aroma is fruity and flowery hops, with a really light backbone of malt coming through, too. MO does not have the grassy or particularly bitter hop aromas, but instead presents a fresh snappy assertion of hops.

Review of Gather

| Posted in Reviews

mm_gatherMap & Menu has published a review of Gather.

Throughout our meal, we couldn’t help talking about how amazing a place like Gather would be in our own neighborhood and how clearly envious we were that Yarmouth gets to play home to this tasty gem. I’m already looking forward to our next meal at Gather, and all of the exclamation marks I’ll be able to use on the subsequent review!

Photo Credit: Map & Menu