2023 Beard Awards Semifinalists

This year’s list of restaurant and chef semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards was just released. There are 11 semifinal nominees from Maine:

Additionally, chef David Vargas is a semifinalist in the Outstanding Chef category for his restaurant Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Vargas also owns Ore Nell’s BBQ which is located on Badger Island in Kittery, Maine.

The final list of nominees will be released March 29th, and the awards ceremony will take place on Monday June 5th in Chicago.

Related information:

75 Best and 15 Essential

The Press Herald has published their list of the Best 75 places to eat and drink in Greater Portland. The list is assembled by restaurant critic Andrew Ross. The top 10 section includes: Cafe Louis, Cong Tu Bot, Elda/Jackrabbit, Fore Street, The Garrison, The Honey Paw, Isa, Judy Gibson, Norimoto Bakery, and Nura.

Eater Boston has released their list of 15 Essential Restaurants in Portland which includes: Jing Yan, Cong Tu Bot, Izakaya Minato, Eventide, Fore Street Schulte & Herr, Central Provisions, Evo, Leeward, Miyake, Asmara, Boda, El Corazon, Bao Bao and Chaval.

Bar Futo

The Blueberry Files has published a first look post about Bar Futo.

While there’s an extensive selection of sake, we started with some signature cocktails—my husband had the delicious Calpikachu, a rum and chartreuse concoction ($13) with a foam made from a Japanese strawberry soda, while I loved the Sakura sour ($13), a mix of pisco and cherry blossom with an egg white topper. 

Gold for Chocolate

Five chocolates produced by the West End chocolatier Chocolats Passion (websitefacebookinstagram) have medaled at the Academy of Chocolate awards competition in London.

We are thrilled to announce that FIVE of our chocolates have won medals at the world’s most prestigious competition! We are one of only four US chocolatiers to win, and brought home half of the US medals. We are so proud of our chocolates that won silver, Miso Sesame and Pistachio Raspberry and bronze, Pineapple Black Pepper, Calamansi Almond, and the Coffee Toffee mendiant!

Best of 2022

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes restaurant critic Andrew Ross’s list of his favorite food experiences from 2022.

But now that I’ve been compiling my own inventories of yearly favorites for the better part of two decades, I’ve started to look forward to paging through my photos and re-reading my notes. The process evokes some of my happiest memories of the previous 12 months. I am lucky to be able to share them with you, and judging by the messages that appear in my inbox after this column comes out every year, I know you appreciate them, too.

Maine Bagels

The latest edition of Mainer includes an evaluation of many of the local bagel options in the Portland area.

Bagels are kind of like pizza, in that both inspire passionate debate. Multiple cities claim to have the best style, and like pizza, even a mediocre bagel is still OK if you hide it under enough toppings.

To my taste, the perfect bagel starts with a contrast of textures. The outside should be crunchy but not tough; the inside chewy, well risen, and slightly dense. Toppings should complement the subtle, sweet maltiness of the bagel without overpowering it. 

Forage came in first place. Check the article to see how your favorite bagels rated.

Review of Mr. Tuna

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed of the Mr. Tuna restaurant in the Public Market House.

If you’re a fan of Mr. Tuna and you haven’t been to the Monument Square location inside the Portland Public Market, drop what you’re doing. The restaurant’s menu is medium-sized and includes some of Southern Maine’s best sushi, including tightly rolled, thoughtfully composed maki like spicy scallop and Maine crab; hamachi with marinated shishito peppers ($11 for six pieces); and smoky-sweet, pineapple-topped Blackbeard’s Delight. Consistency and execution are phenomenal at Mr. Tuna, which allows them to pull off high-wire dishes like Edo-style yellowtail nigiri, simple salmon belly, and luxuriously creamy sea urchin. For a casual restaurant in a shared building, the quality of food at Mr. Tuna is unparalleled. Don’t miss out.

Reviews: Broken Arrow, Mi Sen

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed of Broken Arrow, and

The frequently updated menu showcases local ingredients and strikes a harmonious balance between comforting dishes like charred-allium smashed potatoes, roasted carrots with tahini, and polenta with wild-boar ragu (echoing the taxidermized boar that glowers bucktoothed over the bar), as well as more refined plates like a memorable tuna crudo with “deviled egg” aioli and sweet corn risotto topped with a quick-pickle-like local tomato salsa that is one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. The dining room is loud and dark, but excellent food and welcoming service make the tradeoff worthwhile.

the Mainer has reviewed of Mi Sen.

The menu and décor haven’t changed much in the last decade, and I love that. I know exactly what to expect and have rarely been disappointed with anything I’ve ordered.

Esquire’s Best New: Twelve

Esquire magazine has named Twelve to their 2022 list of the Best New Restaurants in America.

Though it may be true that Eleven Madison Park is the performative Xanadu of a mad man, it is also one hell of a talent incubator. Before he moved to Maine – his wife, Selena, is a Mainer — Colin Wyatt was the executive sous there. Now he’s one upped EMP at Twelve, located in a reconstituted 150-year old brick storehouse at the water’s edge in Portland, ME. The technique is still there — Wyatt makes particularly good use of ferments and yeast — but Maine is the focus and there’s a New England modesty that prefers showing to telling. There are only twelve items on the prix fixe but Wyatt makes good use of his new home. The state shows up in the colors. The bright orange of sweet potato Parker house rolls mimic the foliage; the pumpkin-seeded butter that accompanies them recalls the fields. And goddamn if his soigne lobster roll — an entire half lobster impossibly folded into a small very buttery laminated dough — doesn’t turn the volume of the old Maine banger up to twelve.

Review of Butcher Burger

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Butcher Burger.

Most menu items are underwhelming, like a dry chicken sandwich and gloppy Caesar salad. Somehow, the eponymous Butcher Burgers manage to be the worst thing on the menu. Tough and overcooked, the bacon-and-beef blend in every patty I tried over two recent visits was gray and desiccated – which led me to a Carrie Bradshaw moment where I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is ‘butcher’ in the name supposed to be a verb?”