Category: Reviews

The Adventurist has published a dining guide to Portland.

There are cities that appear on my work calendar and inspire all the excitement of a dental appointment. Portland, Maine, is not one of them. Even in February, when the harbor air seems designed to punish me for wearing an ankle-length dress, I’m happy to go back, because this city keeps adding some new restaurant, new chef, or new dish worth folding into the list.

The article features: Aomori, Central Provisions, Cong Tu Bot, Crispy Gai, Fore Street, Izakaya Minato, Magissa, Miyake, Mr. Tuna, Papi, Regards, Scales and Twelve.

The Adventurist has also written articles highlighting Winona’s in Camden, Aragosta on Deer Isle, and The Lost Kitchen in Freedom.

The Bollard has published a review of Mandy and Matt’s Cafe in Morrill’s Corner.

I opted for a veggie breakfast sandwich ($8.99) of egg, cheese, spinach, tomato, and onion on an English muffin, which I doctored up with a little salt and a splash of Cholula hot sauce. As with most breakfast entrées on the menu, the price included either home fries (griddled or deep fried) or my favorite: hash browns, pressed flat on the griddle until intensely crispy. I ordered a side of meaty, salty, homemade corned beef hash ($9.99), which was also griddled to a delightful crisp (canned hash is available for those willing to trade excellence for nostalgia).

The Good Food Foundation has released the list of Finalists for their 2026 awards program. Seven Maine food producers are on the list:

• Allagash for both their Allagash Lager and Kickabout Lager
• Bixby Chocolate for their Belize Organic Dark Chocolate Bar
• Tern Coffee for their Familia Diaz Honey Pacamara coffee
• Maine Gravy for their Resurgam Spruced Up hot sauce
• Turtle Rock Farm for their Blueberry Cardamom Spreadable Fruit and Strawberry Chamomile Spreadable Fruit
• Maine Grains for their Organic Einkorn Farro.
• Tootie’s Tempeh for their Curry Seasoned and Traditional Tempehs.

The list of award winners will be announced by the foundation “on or before June 28, 2026”. See their Rules & Regulations and FAQ pages for more information on the awards program.

Saveur has published A Local’s Guide to the Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine. The guide features The Honey Paw, Twelve, Wayside Tavern, Taj, Ribollita, Sichuan Kitchen, The Thirsty Pig, Scales, Sissle & Daughters, Boda, Zu Bakery and is illustrated with a great set of images by local photographer Zack Bowen.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a 4 star review of Dry Dock,

The menu skews toward the usuals, but Carney and his team deploy skillful technique to make these seafood standards sing. Their Fish & Chips, Fried Cod Cheeks and Mussels are must-orders. Raw bar enthusiasts will be delighted by the variety of offerings and inventive ceviches and crudos. Perfectly pan-roasted fish makes the simple halibut entree shine, while the chefs flex their creative muscles with Catch of the Day specials like Orange-Glazed Cod in Sweet Potato-Guajillo Broth.

The 2026 list of semifinalists for the James Beard Awards has been released. There are 7 semifinal nominees from Maine in three categories:

• Best Chef Northeast – Jeremy Broucek from Bread & Friends, Thomas Takashi Cooke from Izakaya Minato, Chris Gould from Central Provisions, Sara Jenkins from Nina June in Rockport and Jake Stevens from Leeward.
• Outstanding Bakery – Night Moves Bread in South Portland.
• Outstanding Restaurateur – Dana Street from Fore Street, Scales, Standard Baking, and Street & Company.

Elsewhere in New England there were 8 semifinalists from Rhode Island, 5 from Vermont, 15 from Massachusetts, 6 from Connecticut and 4 from New Hampshire.

The list of final nominees will be released March 31st, and the awards ceremony will take place on June 15th in Chicago. The America’s Classics winners will be announced on February 25th.

For your reference:

• A list of Maine award winners, nominees and semifinalists, 2001 – 2026.
• A list of the chef and restaurant awards categories
• An overview the chef and restaurant awards process
• James Beard in Portland – Read about the time James Beard himself taught a set cooking classes in Portland.

Photos: Bread & Friends, Night Moves, Central Provisions, Izakaya Minato (top row); Fore Street, Leeward, Nina June (bottom row).

Esquire magazine has included the 50/50/50 martini at Via Vecchia in their 2025 list of the Best Martinis in America.

Herewith, we unveil Esquire’s Best Martinis in America Right Now. You’ll find the classic, perfectly executed, in several establishments around the country. You’ll also find one in New York made with za’atar, and one in New Orleans that incorporates a pineapple amaro (and does so ably). We hope our list inspires red-faced debates and spittled diatribes, and maybe a little joy in these joy-challenged times.