John Golden
Cheers for Bar Dining
Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 04/07/2011 - 6:00am.
Leave it to apocryphal trendsetters to have made bar dining the fashionable practice that it is today--raising the bar, if you will, on fine dining with a difference.
In the Mood for Moody's
Submitted by John Golden on Wed, 03/30/2011 - 1:57pm.
Maine Maple Sunday was a good enough reason to drive up to the Goranson Farm on Merrymeeting Bay in Dresden for this wonderful farm’s maple day festivities. I like maple syrup well enough, and I have untapped jars of it at home, which I occasionally use in a pie or baked bean recipe.
Streetwise: Street and Co.
Submitted by John Golden on Wed, 03/23/2011 - 5:15pm.
Every time I go to Street and Co. I immediately ask myself why I don’t go more often. The food is so good under the direction of chef Riley Shyrock, a Fore Street disciple who’s created a compelling seafood menu that is the most creative in the city.
Deliverance: Pai Men Miyake
Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 03/17/2011 - 11:16am.
Chef Masa Miyake weaves his mastery of Asian fusion beyond the realm of typical Japanese cookery in Portland, imparting flavors that are at once provocative yet essential. His Pai Men Miyake, a sake and noodle bar newly established on Longfellow Square, is a stunning example.
Finally a Bistro!
Submitted by John Golden on Fri, 03/11/2011 - 6:14am.
Roast chicken for $17? Classic boeuf bourguignon for $18 and Steak Frites for $20? This is part of the menu at the newly opened Petite Jacqueline on Longfellow Square in Portland, the only French bistro in the city. Just look out of the large plate-glass windows overlooking the square and after a glass or two of wine you might imagine you’re in a Left Bank arrondissement in Paris.
Other than Otto's
Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 9:59am.
I won’t be returning to Otto’s Pizza anytime soon, unless I really cared about the prevailing hype and happenstance that has made it the Portland darling of the thin crust crowd.
Authentic Thai Food at Boda
Submitted by John Golden on Wed, 03/02/2011 - 3:20pm.
I had no inkling that Boda was anything but yet another Thai restaurant to arrive in Portland, a city already awash in mediocre Asian eateries. There were some earlier reviews that I read but none opened the door wide enough to reveal what was happening inside this very authentic Thai kitchen.
On the Trail of Maine's Winter Farmer's Markets
Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 7:06am.
Maine’s very effective marketing campaign to Buy Local must certainly have encouraged an evolving reliance for local foods. So it was only a matter of time before the fruits of summer spawned an impressive network of indoor winter farmer’s markets that have become highly attended affairs.
Eggs Over Easy
Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 4:34pm.
Becky’s, that iconic breakfast, lunch and dinner counter nestled on Portland’s so-called working waterfront, still packs a punch when a hamburger deluxe platter or dish of bacon and eggs beckon. I ambled in the other day for breakfast. The special that morning was bacon and eggs for $5.95. I’m not sure why this menu mainstay would be called a special, but what the heck. They had to put something on the board.
50/50 Dinner in Cape Elizabeth
Submitted by John Golden on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 10:00am.
To the food purist, tampering with a classic is sacrilege.
