The Golden Dish Blog Archive June, 2012

Two Lights: A Lobster Shack On the Rocks

Submitted by John Golden on Fri, 06/29/2012 - 4:35pm.

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Undeniably, The Lobster Shack at Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth has one of the most dramatic settings of any lobster pound in Maine. With a stunning panorama of bold cliffs and crashing surf, this is picture-perfect rocky Maine coast.

Circle Back to 100 Commercial

Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 6:44am.

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Now known as Spread, the restaurant space at 100 Commercial Street has not been kind to its predecessors. Forerunners Oolong and Gaucho failed miserably spiraling to default for three reasons: bad food, bad economy, and bad luck.

Fortunately Spread is a winner on all counts, well on its way to a lucky charm of success. Diners can count on a stellar trio of chefs with great resumes and consummate skill to deliver a very promising meal indeed.

A Star Chef Comes to Portland

Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 06/14/2012 - 7:37am.

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Consider the accidental tourist who happens upon the Danforth Inn, seduced by its coolly stylish interiors, and then proceeds to revel in a remarkable dinner beyond compare.

That in a nutshell is Carmen at the Danforth, the restaurant that opened last month at one of Portland’s most refined lodging establishments in the gentrified West End.

Where the Elite Meet: The Tavern at Brunswick Station

Submitted by John Golden on Thu, 06/07/2012 - 8:55am.

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Restaurant hosted wine dinners are often a heady confluence of too much food and drink. To the epicurean, these can come off as testimonial dinners where windbag hosts pontificate between courses like schoolmarms teaching the abc’s. From my experience, after the fifth or sixth glass is poured and the sweet course served, I’m ready to bolt like the wildebeest.

But what if the food is superb and the wines extraordinary? Are one’s exhortations expendable?

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.

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	Eric Hopkins \| From his earliest work with glass to the stunning aerial panoramas of Maine islands that have gained him far-reaching fame, Eric Hopkins has consistently explored boundaries—of medium, of space, of vision.
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