Category: Reviews

The Observer has published an eating guide to Maine.

Over the last decade, Maine has transformed from a quiet coastal retreat to a culinary powerhouse, luring food enthusiasts with the promise of oceanic delights and forest-foraged treasures. Its geography reads like a chef’s wish list: rugged coastlines teeming with seafood, pristine forests hiding wild edibles and fertile farmland bursting with fresh produce. From the iconic Maine lobster to the coveted Damariscotta oysters, the state’s cold, clean waters serve up nature’s finest.

The article highlights: Bite into Maine, White Barn Inn, Primo Restaurant, Havana, Mr. Tuna, Highroller Lobster Co., Earth at Hidden Pond, The Alna Store, Aragosta, The Lost Kitchen, Long Grain, Bombay Mahal, Oxbow Beer Garden, Leeward, Eventide Oyster Co., Crown Jewel, and Chez Rosa.

The Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Asian Combo in Biddeford.

Pan-Asian restaurants can be hit-or-miss, often over the course of the same meal. Biddeford’s Asian Combo, a casual, counter-service restaurant on Pool Street that opened in October, is no exception. What’s different here is that, among slapdash fresh rolls with off-putting radicchio and lackluster crispy pad thai, are a few first-rate dishes.

The New York Times has featured Portland in the latest of their 36 Hours travel articles.

From the fishing piers and wharves lined up like piano keys along Commercial Street to the ocean views and historic Queen Anne-style homes atop Munjoy Hill, Portland offers a lot for visitors to take in. And then there is the food. Maine’s largest city has long been nationally known as a top food destination, and just this year two Portland bakers won James Beard Awards…

The article highlights: Cong Tu Bot, Ugly Duckling, Il Leone, Luke’s Lobster, Bar Futo, Hot Suppa, Bite into Maine, Oxbow, Anoche, Rabelais, Onggi, Strata, Terlingua, Izakaya Minato, The Shop, and the recent Beard Award wins by Atsuko Fujimoto and Zu Bakery.

The NYT 36 Hours column has previously written about Portland in both 2010 and 2016.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of the Little Tap House.

Highlights among the menu’s new items include sous-vided sirloin with vividly herbal garlic-scape chimichurri; roasted asparagus with prosciutto chips and Sauce Choron; and risotto with locally sourced chestnut mushrooms. For those who want a comfortable and convenient place to drink, Little Tap House still has 14 active tap lines that it fills with beers and ciders from Maine, plus a few from New Hampshire and Vermont. If you visit, don’t skip pastry chef Allie Wanek’s desserts, especially the sweet-and-savory maple pot-de-crème topped with candied walnuts and stewed plums.

Congratulations to ZU Bakery and its owner Barak Olins on being named a 2024 James Beard Awards winner in the Outstanding Bakery category. Zu Bakery was a nominee in the category along with bakeries from California, Oregon and New York. Olins initially launched Zu Bakery in 2000 and opened its present day West End location in November 2022.

For more information: Watch this instagram story for a look at Zu Bakery and the work Olins and his team do, and read this interview with Olins from earlier this year.

There were four nominees from Maine this year which were selected from 10 chef and restaurant semifinalist in the 2024 James Beard Foundation Awards season. For more information on Maine’s Beard Awards history, see this complete list of award winners, nominees and semifinalists.

Congratulations to Atsuko Fujimoto from Norimoto Bakery on being named a 2024 James Beard Awards winner in the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker category. Fujimoto was a nominee in the category along with bakers and pastry chefs from Washington DC, Illinois, Arizona and Florida. Fujimoto has been a baker in Portland for 20 years. She launched Norimoto in 2019 and opened her bakery on Stevens Ave in October 2021.

For more information: Read this interview with Fujimoto from 2020 and see this instagram story from her South Portland bakery.

There were four nominees from Maine this year which were selected from 10 chef and restaurant semifinalist in the 2024 James Beard Foundation Awards season. For more information on Maine’s Beard Awards history, see this complete list of award winners, nominees and semifinalists.

The team at Eat Drink Lucky has assembled a list of 70+ “Must Eat” dishes at Portland area restaurants.

The list includes options like the Soup Dumplings at Empire, Ox Tail Cheese Fries at Yardie Ting, and Loaded Biscuit at Tandem. See the full list on the EDL website.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a 4 star review of A&C Soda Shop.

Boozy milkshakes and floats lend the menu an adult appeal (although all of the ice cream-based treats can also be ordered without alcohol). So do the salads – a Delicata squash version through the cold months, and now that the weather has turned, an oozy, creamy burrata version with a superb charred-lemon vinaigrette. But here, just as at co-owner Joe Fournier’s other A&C (the grocery that closed in 2021), it’s all about sandwiches.

The June/July issue of Bon Appetit includes an article about lobster rolls in the Portland area.

It doesn’t get more Maine than a lobster roll. And Portland, a maritime hub and center of the state’s dining scene, is where you’ll find the highest concentration of excellence. Whether you grab-and-go from a no-frills food truck or sit down at a fancy restaurant on the waterfront, enjoying a lobster roll (or two while you’re here is a must-have experience.

The article features the lobster rolls or roll-adjacent dishes at High Roller, Two Lights, Twelve, J’s Oyster, Eventide, Bite Into Maine, Regards and SoPo Seafood.

The article isn’t available on their website yet.