The Golden Dish Blog Archive 2011

Down Home at Famous Dave's

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 12/27/2011 - 1:03pm.

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Many restaurants in Maine have attempted to appropriate the essence of barbecue with only middling results, generally perpetuating a sorry world of flabby ribs and overly sweet sauces.

Fabulous Still: Five Fifty-Five

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 12/20/2011 - 1:32pm.

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After a long overdue visit to Five Fifty-Five I’m happy to report that nothing has really changed since my last dinner there. The food is as spectacular as it was at the restaurant's initial trail-blazing debut in 2003. In fact,Five Fifty-Five gets better with age. That wisdom of experience and expertise continue to shine upon chef and co-proprietor Steve Corry and his extremely able kitchen crew.

John Golden
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Winter Farmers Markets Thriving

Submitted by John Golden on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 5:17pm.

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In the lexicon of catch-all phrases, “farm to table” has become old hat.

John Golden
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Back Bay Grill: A Shining Star of Gastronomy

Submitted by John Golden on Wed, 12/07/2011 - 6:47am.

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The neighborhood in Portland's Bayside may be an urban jungle ringed with haunts and dives, but that didn’t stop an enterprising restaurant by the name of Back Bay Grill to fire up the Garland range for the first time in 1988. And it has burned brightly ever since as Portland’s long-running star of gastronomy.

I first went there in the late nineties as a visitor to the city.

Riffs on Ribollita

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 11:30am.

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Occasionally I consider going to Ribollita—an old Portland standby that still packs them in--but don’t very often because thinking about its cramped quarters nearly gives me fits of claustrophobia. Yet for others it’s the lure of rustic Italian fare—no New Age Italian here-- that is so appealing like hearty homemade pastas and gutsy entrees at moderate prices served in a cozy-café kind of ambiance.

Vittles on Main Street

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 11/22/2011 - 6:46am.

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When you find yourself deep in the heart of small town Maine, the chance of culinary intrigue invariably concedes to some family-style hash house with a disputatious Rachel Ray disciple sweating at the stove.

John Golden
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Fawning, Still, Over Fore Street

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 11/15/2011 - 7:32am.

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What more can be said about Portland’s revered Fore Street Restaurant that hasn’t already been an iteration of reverential praise time and again since it opened its doors in 1996?

Say Grace

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 11/08/2011 - 7:21am.

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In matters of Grace — the Chestnut Street, Portland, restaurant that went through an extraordinary transformation in 2009 from dilapidated Gothic church to stunning cathedral like dining hall — it's all about the space: colossal, striking, and wondrously gorgeous.

But something else has been added that was fleeting before: a tempting menu of imaginative dishes both sweet and savory under the direction of new chef, Peter Sueltenfuss wh

John Golden
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Sitting Pretty on Perkins Cove

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 11/01/2011 - 7:05am.

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Portland has its fair share of popular Sunday brunch hangouts. Most every one, from the popular Bintliff’s (huge portions) to Caiola’s and Local 188, are generally SRO without a reservation.

John Golden
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Center Stage at Harvest on the Harbor

Submitted by John Golden on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 7:01am.

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If you had any lingering doubts about Maine being a mecca for fine dining and other gustatory pursuits, then all you needed to do was attend one or all of the events that took place last week at the fourth annual Harvest on the Harbor held at the Ocean Gateway pier — a celebration of Maine chefs, farmers, fisherman, and wine, beer and cheese purveyors.

The Golden Dish

John Golden has written about food and dining for Gourmet Magazine, Cuisine Magazine, the New York Times, New York Post, and, most recently, wrote the blog Food for Thought on the Portland Press Herald’s MaineToday.com. He was also the NY editor of Cuisine Magazine and Publisher/editor Great Foods Magazine. In his highly opinionated blog, John reports on his experiences dining out all over Maine and on his visits to the many farmers’ markets throughout the state.

Previous Years

Today's:

Our New Books
	Cartoons from Maine \| Collecting more than 100 of his best, most popular comics, Cartoons from Maine: How’s the Water, Bob? presents a hilarious alternative look at Maine.
	Maine ABC \| Illustrated with distinct Maine icons, such as moose, lobster, and Katahdin, this book has a rhyming verse that will have children singing the words, asking for it to be read again and again, and learning the alphabet in no time.
	The Maine Lobster Book \| This fun, fact-filled book brings the reader on the lobster’s journey from ocean floor to plate, stopping along the way to get to know the people and places of Maine’s iconic industry.
	Take Heart \| In this collection of verse, Maine Poet Laureate Wesley McNair has collected the work of Maine poets from his popular “Take Heart” column, featuring a poem each week in thirty newspapers across the state and reaching a quarter of a million readers.