Rabelais Books and its owner Don Lindgren have been recognized in this year’s Saveur 100, a list of the magazine’s 100 favorite favorite foods, people, places, and things of 2020.
Category: Reviews
Thrillist: Where to Eat in Portland
Portland resident and food writer Mindy Fox has assembled an eating guide to Portland for Thrillist.
Portland, Maine’s city motto is “Resurgam,” which is latin for “I shall rise again.” These are words we all need right now as we navigate the challenges of COVID-19, and a phrase that especially resonates with the city’s resolute restaurant owners and their intrepid crews. Lucky for us diners, Portland has maintained a vibrant dining scene, with creative restaurateurs who are providing astoundingly creative and delicious fare under more pressure than ever, while keeping safety top-of-mind.
Whether you call the city home or are just visiting, it’s easy to support local spots by ordering takeout or dining outdoors. Here is our salute to Portland’s best new restaurants, including brave stars from 2020, as well as faves from the past five years.
The article features: Belleville, Chaval, Island Creek Oysters, Izakaya Minato, Judy Gibson, Leeward, Mami, Mr. Tuna, Radici, Ramona’s, Rose Foods, Scales, Solo Italiano, The Honey Paw, Woodford F&B.
Fodor’s Travel
Fodor’s Travel has published an article about Portland, This Small City Makes Booze You’ve Never Even Heard Of.
But, this foodie darling of a destination offers more than just scrumptious bites for travelers. Maine’s largest city is also home to a vibrant and growing beverage scene, complete with a nationally-renowned craft beer pioneer, a creative rhubarb winery, fermented goodness at a kombucherie, a unique artisan gin operation, and so much more. Read on to learn about the quirk and innovation in some extra special Portland beverages.
Review of Leeward
The Blueberry Files has published a first look review of Leeward.
The chicken liver mousse with a crab apple mostarda and crackers. So good, with its salty, sweet, richness. We also enjoyed the summery burrata and roasted apples, with radishes, pecans, sourdough crisp and balsamic vinegar.
Eating Out During A Pandemic
The Blueberry Files has posted an article about her pan-pandemic eating journey.
Writing about food during Covid-19 is difficult. There is so much wrapped up in what was once a casual meal on the town—from the ethics of dining out during a global pandemic to wanting to support the businesses that create Portland’s identity as a foodie small town. But the best way out is through, so here we go.
PPH Best Takeout List
Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Andrew Ross has assembled his list of the Best 15 Places for Takeout in Greater Portland.
In lieu of a full Best 75, then, I offer you a Best 15 focused exclusively on takeout. Some of the restaurants (and one food cart) here made last year’s full round-up, while others are newcomers. In each case though, they serve top-notch dishes with a heaping side of resurgent, Resurgam spirit.
Included in the list are: Banh Appetit, Belleville, Buxton Common, Chaval, Enio’s, Isa, Luis’s Arepera, Monte’s Fine Food, Mr. Tuna, Nura, Other Side Diner, Slab, Thai Essan, Thoroughfare, and Woodford F&B.
Opinionated About Dining 2020
The 2020 lists from Opinionated About Dining on the top restaurants in the fine dining, cheap eats, heritage and gourmet casual categories are now out.
Here’s a summary of the Maine restaurants in each category:
- Fine Dining
- Hugo’s is #16 on the list
- Cheap Eats
- Chase’s Daily in Belfast
- Duckfat
- Holy Donut
- Standard Baking
- Heritage
- Eventide is #2 on the list
- Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound is #198 on the list
- Gourmet Casual
- Central Provisions is #96 on the list
Reviewing and Retaining
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article by Andrew Ross on the factors impacting his decision on when to start reviewing restaurants again,
But I confess, I miss writing about restaurants … maybe even more than I miss eating in them. I miss pulling out my phone and scrolling through photos of the dishes I ate and zooming in to puzzle out what made them succeed (or not). I even miss deciphering the notes I took surreptitiously during a meal. These are typed under the table, so they frequently read as if they were tapped out by someone with 10 thumbs.
and an article about which of the changes brought about by the pandemic are likely to persist after things return to normal.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought a whole menu of changes to Maine’s restaurant industry. Some innovations, like the temporary approval of cocktails to go, have excited both restaurant owners and diners. Others changes, they say, should be 86’d as soon as possible, restaurant lingo for “no longer available.” Here’s our look at some of the adjustments that have been made this spring, and the odds that they’ll stick around after the pandemic is over…
100 Best Bakeries in America
Food & Wine has named Belleville and Night Moves two of the 100 Best Bakeries in America.
JBF Nominee List Goes Live May 4th
The list of final nominees for this year’s James Beard Foundation awards had been set to be released March 25th but the announcement was delayed due to the pandemic. Now the Beard Foundation now plans to release the nominee list on Monday on May 4th at 4 pm.
To refresh your memory, here’s a link to the 2020 list of JBF award semifinalists from Maine which was published in February.