Eating and drinking my way through Maine
The Kennebunkport Festival celebrates the best food, art, and design that Maine has to offer. For those who have never been, the festival is composed of many events, large and small, several of which are hosted in the beautiful homes of Kennebunk’s residents. Continue reading
Sundays 10am to 3:00pm the most amazingly yummy brunch delights are now available at Sur Lie. So many delicious things! Luckily Portland is the land of small plates. Although, Sur Lie’s portions are so generous it seems unfair to call them small!
We started with the Lox Toast, a delicious combination of egg salad, house cured salmon, and dill served on toast. Topped with capers, it was briny/salty/creamy rich! We followed this up with the PBEC, pork belly, egg and cheese that combined in such a way that I fear the photos I’m publishing may be obscene. Perfectly seared yet tender pork belly, warm egg yolk, melted cheese, crunchy heavenly bread! So good, so very good! I really didn’t think it could get any better, until I tried the caviar with eggs! North Spore Mushrooms, rich eggs, and topped with a generous dollop of caviar. So satisfying, I found myself mopping the plate with the accompanying sourdough toast! I left ready for a nap that was sure to include dreams of pork belly.
Lox Toast
PBEC
Caviar and Egg
The Honey Paw, is a brand new sister restaurant to the renowned Eventide Oyster Co. and Hugo’s. The space is uniquely refreshing, with a large communal table at the heart of the room and counter seating ringing the outside of the restaurant. The set up makes the space feel very welcoming and more open than many of Portland’s other new restaurants. Even more delightfully unique is the menu. Billed as a non-denominational noodle house, the dishes range across Asia and incorporate such varied ingrediants as duck, veal, and goat to yield fantastic fare. The resulting dishes are bursting with one of a kind flavors and textures. I love it so much,that I have now been back three times. Twice for dinner and once for lunch.
The menu is divided into four numbered sections from small to large. While I love small plates, I really enjoy the option of having larger dishes. Particularly because they are all so good. One of my favorite dishes so far, is the charred Pork shoulder served with fermented turnips. This dish made me so happy! Reminiscent of the candied pork I used to get at Chinese restaurants as a child, but elevated to a grown-up decedent taste sensation. The fermented turnips add a nice tart counterpart to the sweet charred pork. The wok fried collards were one of the tastiest things I’ve had this year. Smokey pork hock, tender collard greens and topped with amazing onion rings, the ingredients combine in a way that I would have never imagined was possible. So yummy/savory/spicy/good! Other dishes that I have enjoyed, include the Wok Fried Wide Noodles with its uniquely prepared pasta and the Crab and Pork Wonton that just burst with unique flavor and textures. In the case of the Wok Fried Noodles the texture of the fried noodles made this seafood dish so much more interesting than noodle dishes found elswhere. While the crab broth was deliciously rich and infused the tender pork wontons with a marvelous taste. Of special note, your meal cannot be complete without trying their rich soft serve. Congratulations to Chef Pisha-Duffly, he is creating oh so satisfying meals here that you won’t find anywhere else.
Charred Pork Shoulder
Wok Fried Wide Rice Noodles
Wok Fried Collards
Crab and Pork Wanton
Goat chili with home made “Fritos”
Bao Bao, is award winning chef Cara Stadler’s entry into Portland’s restaurant scene. A lot has been written about Chef Stadler’s first restaurant Tao Yuan, and I am sure the accolades will continue to follow for this latest venture. The restaurant is nicely decorated and very well laid out, offering substantially more personal space than most of Portland’s newer dining options. While the prices are so reasonably, it’s hard not to stop in daily.
We have dined here several times and loved it. The purpose our latest visit was to try their highly anticipated brunch menu. We began with the excellent scorpion bowl, a very tasty drink. I can’t imagine a more festive/fun cocktail to enjoy with a meal. This happiness factor was compounded when we saw the wonderful brunch additions to the menu. Limiting our selection proved difficult and we ended up ordering quite a feast: shrimp soup dumplings, pork belly fun roll(insanely good), steamed pork bun,Asian slaw, and pan fried pork dumplings. As you will see from the photos that follow each dish was beautifully presented. I am happy to confirm that every plate tasted even better than it looked. The soup dumplings were so rich, with the wrapper having an unparalleled creamy texture. The burst of broth added a bright burst of flavor to the happy bites. The pork belly fun roll may be the most accurately named dish in Portland. It consisted of a rice/tapioca wrapping filled with the most tender flavorful slice of pork belly that I have had in recent memory. It was a welcome change to the ever present crispy fried offering that has become so commonplace. Similar for the steamed pork bun, it’s beautiful presentation made it so much more satisfying than other versions. The salad as I have mentioned was not only satisfying but served as a nice break between rounds of beautiful dumplings and buns.
Scorpion Bowl
Pork Belly Fun Roll
Asian Slaw
Shrimp Soup Dumplings
Fried Pork Dumplings
steamed Pork Bun