Category: Reviews

The West End News visited 15 different established to write-up this review and rating of pizza on the peninsula.

Newcomer Coals Pizza on Preble Street rose to the top of their list.

These large, amorphous, gorgeous-to-the-eye pies were flavored to perfection, and simply scrumptious. These were the thinnest crusts we’d ever experienced on a pizza…. so much so that they were simply an extension of the pie itself: inseparable from the whole, and delightfully wafer-thin crispy. We didn’t need it, but freshly grated cheese plus oregano were also offered for on top. At $15.00 a piece, these pizzas were a steal. I’ve been talking about Coal’s ever since our meal.

Chaval’s Lobster Fideos were featured in the recent edition of Wine Enthusiast.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Gather.

Since we last reviewed it, the restaurant has broadened its culinary focus under the rubric of what chef Colin Kelly calls “New American” cooking, a change that has not always worked to its advantage. On the whole, Mexican and Asian dishes such as lobster ramen and fish tacos are not among the restaurant’s strongest. However, Gather’s pizza – especially the cauliflower and mushroom pie, oozing with mascarpone – remain excellent. Under Dylan Suagee, its bar program, including a menu of respectable craft cocktails and a succinct, fruit-forward, mostly New World wine list, has become reason alone for a visit.

Sweet Avieve’s Food Blog has published a review of N To Tail.

If you are seeking a fun and interactive meal, N to Tail is an opportunity not to be missed. Serving lunch and dinner from a fusion menu upstairs, you do have to wait until 5pm for the BBQ section to be open, however it is absolutely worth it!

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Other Side Diner.

At their new endeavor, Other Side Diner, which opened this April, the couple have adopted the same approach in building a menu of simple, high-quality lunch-and-breakfast dishes made from mostly local ingredients. Sandwiches are excellent — everything from egg salad layered with runny-yolked hard boiled eggs; a savory grilled chicken club made with juicy breast meat and thick-cut peameal bacon; to a shrimp salad BLT slathered with lemon-garlic mayo. It’s also hard to go wrong with breakfast dishes like Greek-yogurt enriched pancakes that stand up to drizzles of Maine maple syrup or spoonfuls of lowbush blueberry compote, or best of all: a spinach-and-cheese omelette executed nearly flawlessly and served with crisp-tender hash browns. All 35 of their seats deserve to be filled every day.

Conde Nast Traveler has published a set of articles about Portland that highlight their picks for the:

• 10 Best Lobster Rolls
• 15 Best Restaurants
• 15 Best Bars
• 10 Best Brunches
• 10 Best Coffee Shops

CN Traveler ha also published an article about Maine Food for Thought tours,

Sarah and Bryce Hack, the married couple behind the tour, are consummate professionals who know their Maine food—not to mention all the ways Maine’s complex food system, its agricultural policy, farm-to-table ethos, economic challenges, and historic dedication to high-quality foods yields the creative dishes Portland restaurants are known for. Their delivery is eloquent and fascinating, organized and well-rehearsed.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Bird & Co..

Since it opened in early March, the casual neighborhood restaurant has been serving eclectic tacos and cocktails like the bittersweet, Mezcal-powered Oaxacan ($10) to exceptionally boisterous crowds of diners. Not all of chef Wills Dowd’s tortilla-swaddled experiments succeed, but among a dozen or so options, the menu has a few standouts: Tender carnitas, smoky grilled chicken, soft chunks of deep-fried avocado, and even sweet-savory poké are all very good options. And if you get the opportunity and the season is right, take one of the sidewalk tables overlooking Deering Avenue – the traffic at Woodfords Corner may be loud, but almost anything is quieter than Bird & Co.’s dining room.

The Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Andrew Ross has reviewed Royale Lunch Bar, as has 11-year old guest critic Charlotte McDonald, and

Open since April, Royale Lunch Bar in Portland’s Old Port serves a menu of sandwiches, salads and snacks impressionistically modeled after French-Canadian (and in the case of some dishes, Montreal) cuisine. On the whole, the menu works, especially dishes that make use of executive chef Joe Farr’s smoking skills.

Press Herald has reviewed Flood’s.

My friend decided on the $10 False Prophet (bourbon, rhubarb and cinnamon, with a gorgeous rhubarb garnish). We could taste all three components as we sipped it, with a slight (in a good way) aftertaste of cinnamon. I chose the $10 Dangerous Sister (plum, basil, bay, lemon and a Japanese vodka-like liquor called shochu). It was light, refreshing, subtle and smooth, but unfortunately came in what another friend of mine would refer to as a child’s portion.

The Wall Street Journal has published an “An Incomparable Insider’s Guide” to Portland tapping into the local knowledge of artist Will Sears, chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti, designer Jill McGowan, and author Richard Russo.

James Beard award-winning restaurants line cobblestone streets, breweries turn out serious suds and the lobster roll is in a constant state of upscale reinvention. Portland, Maine, is a food-lover’s fantasyland, but the culture goes well beyond the plate.

Down East has reviewed Crown Jewel.

A couple of dishes per person is plenty. First to arrive was a bowl of crispy brussels sprouts, kale, and fiddleheads tossed with a sweet and spicy apricot harissa. The carrot “lox” comprised long, thin strips of cured rainbow carrots arranged in an artful tangle and topped with dill, rye-bread crumbs, and crème fraîche.