The Press Herald has published a bar review of Caiola’s.
Caiola’s is a cozy neighborhood restaurant with a compact eight-seat bar. Good for pairs or groups under four, this West End eatery focuses its drink menu on wine, but also offers a long list of cocktails and good beer selections. The food menu is first-rate, with relatively inexpensive and generously portioned appetizer choices. Most nights the bar will be occupied by regulars.
Mesa Verde has gone out of business, reports the Bangor Daily News.
A long-time Congress Street Mexican restaurant closed its doors this week in an abrupt manner.
According to the city’s Public Health Division website, Mesa Verde failed two food safety inspections since June, including one on Jan. 17. The report documents a litany of problems from fruit flies in the kitchen to food not properly refrigerated.
Update: the Press Herald published an article on Friday about Mesa Verde closing.
The Portland Daily Sun has published the first of a 2-part series on take-out tipping.
Varying industry sources on the Web say the percentage should be anywhere from the change in your pocket to treating the transaction as if it were a dine-in experience. I typically do 10 to 20 percent for food packaged or delivered and $1 for coffee. As always, tipping is your call. Chances are slim someone will violate your food if you don’t tip, but your service next time will be even better if you do.
Flanagan’s Table has announced some additions to the line-up of chef tasting dinners taking place this year:
The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Kamasouptra.
In The Maine Mall’s bustling food court, Kamasouptra sticks out like a sore, independent thumb.
Named after the ancient Indian treatise on sensuality, the Portland soup company is doing its best to arouse your palate.
The 207 Foodie has reviewed Silly’s.
Bottom Line: Silly’s may be exactly that…Silly! However, nobody ever said silly was a bad thing, and when you can pull off great food with a fun vibe, it works…Breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner: they serve it all. Take your pick…Silly’s will not disappoint.
Industry groups oppose a bill that would let cities and towns handle more of the load of performing restaurant inspections, according to a report in today’s Press Herald.
The Maine Restaurant Association, the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Tourism Association opposed the bill during a public hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees the restaurant inspection program. The industry groups said they fear the bill would confuse restaurant owners with inconsistent rules.
Booze, Fish & Coffee has posted an interview with Tao’s chef/owner Cara Stadler. Among other topics, they discuss Stadler’s plans to launch a Chinese dumpling shop in Portland later this year (late night hours, full bar, likely launching in late spring/early summer). Stadler also provides a rundown of some of her favorite eating destinations in Portland.
Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the dinner chef Shannon Bard prepared last night at the Beard House.
An hour and a half before her sold-out “Mexico meets Maine” dinner on Monday night, the ebullient chef, in the kitchen since 8 a.m., admitted she had been too wrapped up in preparation to fully take in her surroundings – the very same kitchen where not only the great Beard himself had cooked, but also nearly every luminary in the culinary world.
Wines; Tasted! has reviewed Vinland.
Bottom line for me is that David is an idealistic and passionate guy with some lofty goals. I’ve had some really good food at Vinland and as the restaurant refines what they do it should keep improving. David’s put himself out there and sacrificed a lot to open Vinland, like all chef owners do. I feel that when someone believes in something that strongly and invests so much of themselves into it, they deserve a fair open minded chance. Chef owners as a rare entrepreneurial breed and I respect them all very much. Vinland and it’s philosophy is a great addition to Portland’s fantastic food culture and it’s something you should go and make up your own mind about.