Category: Reviews

Best Banh Mi in America

| Posted in Reviews

The Infatuation has included Banh Appetit in their list of the 13 Best Banh Mi Across America.

Banh Appetit is a straightforward and reliable Vietnamese takeout spot in Portland, Maine. But leaving it at that would be like saying Costco’s just a grocery store. The excellent lemongrass beef bánh mì is the type of meal that can turn an awful day around. Stop by on Saturday evenings to check out the Mama Le menu, where you can get a bunch of different vegetarian and vegan dishes like the banh mi chay—a sandwich stuffed with rice powder, glass noodles, sweet chili, and vegan mayo—freshly prepared by the owners’ actual mama.

Maine Pears & Review of Oun Lido’s

| Posted in Reviews, Farming

Yesterday’s Maine Sunday Telegram included a 4 star review of Oun Lido’s,

With his menu, chef Kim does much the same, borrowing deeply personal food memories and transforming them into sophisticated, yet comforting Cambodian and Cambodian-Chinese dishes. Among the most exciting plates are neorm, a crunchy, herby noodle salad with a bonus egg roll; kathew cha, an umami-bathed, stir-fried noodle dish; and loc lac, a complete meal of rice, sunny-side-up egg, shaved sirloin strips and a chromatic salad of cucumber and heirloom cherry tomatoes.

and a feature article about pears in Maine.

Maine has had a passionate coterie of apple “explorers” for several decades, Bunker foremost among them, who are intent on finding and preserving the state’s heirloom apple trees. Today, Maine’s heirloom pear trees – threatened by age, development, climate change and related pests and disease – are just beginning to get similar attention.

 

Carey Brothers and Review of Linden+Front

| Posted in Reviews, People

Today’s paper includes a feature about Ryan and Richard Carey, the twin brothers who operate two of the city’s barbecue restaurants,

If you learned that the owner of one of Portland’s most acclaimed barbecue joints has a fraternal twin brother who is the general manager at another highly respected barbecue restaurant in the city, you might assume their relationship would be a little fraught with competitive tension.

The paper also includes a review of Linden + Front, a new restaurant that opened in Bath in February.

Bath’s newest neighborhood restaurant, Linden + Front, bills itself as “a modern table,” a slogan that signals its eclecticism. But really, this new venture by restaurateurs Khristine and Zac Leeman is a bistro through and through, with a menu that seems to revel in classics that are only slightly updated. And that’s not a bad thing.

Review of Mesa Grande Taqueria

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Mesa Grande Taqueria.

This 50-ish seat, affordable Mexican spot encourages diners to linger, enticing them with margaritas (stick to the rocks version), desserts like fudgy chocolate flan, and a range of savory dishes that are, unexpectedly, both scratch-made and high-quality. Barbacoa, carnitas and grilled chicken are all prepared with skill. Ask the well-trained staff for suggestions, and they’ll guide you, recommending smoky pulled pork and beef in the soft tacos, and the grilled chicken in the quesadilla.

Review of Cantina Calafia

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Cantina Calafia.

And despite an early-stage spate of press, Calafia seems to have gone unnoticed by many, certainly by tourists. Reader, now’s your chance. If you visit, ask for a creamy, tequila-based Limonada or a nonalcoholic option like the spicy-sweet Orange Gato Energy, then an order of crispy beef-tongue tacos served on Calafia’s homemade tortillas. Shift gears to the halibut in an outrageously herby Veracruz-style stew of summer squash, tomatoes, olives and capers. And don’t skip dessert; the hibiscus-dusted, strawberry tres leches cake is one of the best gluten-free treats in town.

Cantina Calafia opened on March 13th. It’s located in the former Bonobo Pizza space in the West End.