Category: Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Vignola Cinque Terre.

Located in the heart of Portland’s Old Port, this ultra-stylish Italian spot is one of the finest restaurants in the city, from the hand-made thin-crust pizzas, artisanal pasta and antipasti of all stripes to the delectable entrees and desserts. There’s an extensive list of fine Italian wines, too. Standout dishes include fritto misto, potato gnocchi with four-cheese sauce, and hand-cut thick-style spaghetti in a ragu of San Marzano tomatoes and house-made pancetta.

Fore Street clocked in at #12 (behind Maressa and ahead of Joel Robuchon) on the Business Insider list of the Best Restaurants in America (via Press Herald).

The Golden Dish has published a review of the Chinese menu items available at Boone’s.

But what you don’t expect to find there is some of the best Chinese food in Portland. It’s certainly on a par with the much larger Chinese menu offered by Empire Chinese. But here–amongst all the American staples of exceedingly well prepared seafood and shellfish, and the favorites like fried clams, lobster rolls, burgers, chowders—is a very brief list of four wok dishes prepared by Smith’s sous chef, Sean Doherty, a long-time member of his team.

The Portland Phoenix has published the results of their 2014 readership poll. Check out all the results here: Food & Drink, City Life, Arts & Entertainment, Shopping, Editor’s Picks.

Portland Food Map won the Food Blog category. May thanks to all of you who voted for the site.

Hugo’s tops the Opinionated About Dining Farm-to-Table list for the New England region.

A new BDN blog called Out of the Oven has been posting a series of bakery reviews. Their most recent review is of Union Bagel Co,

As we lingered for a few minutes at their counter space and enjoyed our bagels, we noticed that nearly every customer that came in was addressed by name. That familiarity from the staff speaks volumes to me. That tells me that their customers come often enough to have built a relationship with the people working there. That’s good food and good feelings under one roof!

Earlier reviews were of Standard Baking, Rosemont and Katie Made.

Eating Portland Alive has published a report from the May 4th Star Wars dinner at Piccolo,

This was one of the most fun, creative, and delicious dining experiences I’ve ever had. It was truly as memorable as the beloved trilogy it was paying tribute to and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for next year’s celebration. The Force is strong with this pair of culinary Jedi, so get your butts in hyperdrive and pay them a visit!

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Mi Sen,

Asian noodle soup has unrivaled capacity to efficiently deliver richness, complexity of flavor, variety of texture, and satisfying infusions of umami. At Mi Sen they deliver it in deep white bowls of a dignified size. The best was the num sai — a chicken broth soup, which we ordered with flat rice noodles. The broth had a light, bright quality, and the fat little wontons were not too heavy. Ground chicken clung to the tender noodles, while green beans, sprouts, and crispy wonton added some crunch.

and The Golden Dish has reviewed Fore Street.

While the greater world of fine dining gets more complex, where chefs are like mad scientists reinventing a universal culinaryscape, Portland’s inimitable Fore Street restaurant works within a scope it created years ago and refines it daily.