August 19, 2006
Tried and Always True
I've been to a lot of new restaurants this month and will report on them soon. But let me give you this quick flash impression. Last night we went to the Back Bay Grill for dinner and it's as good as ever.
Even the air conditioning levels were quite comfortable. But aside from that, this is Portland dining at its best.
From the comfortable banquette seating to the excellent service and general good cheer throughout and chef/propeitor Larry Matthews' ongoing expertise in his kitchen, Back Bay continues to deliver excellence beyond compare.
I had an luxurious first course of lobster sauteed in butter and served with beautifully fresh Jestar tomato wedges. This is a great dish. My dinner companion had a bibb lettuce salad. The greens are from Jordan Farm and the dressing is a tantalizing blue cheese vinaigrette. The local tomatoes were fabulous, red and yellow heirloom varieties that don't get much better.
Most everything on the menu is based on local produce, meats, fish and poultry.
My main course was roast chicken. I always seem to have chicken when I go to Back Bay because, I think, it's so well prepared. It's served with a fabulous potato gratin and summer squash.
My dinner mate had the salmon that was served with an intriguing mix of local summer vegetables and highly flavored papardelle.
The dessert menu is newly devised too--and I'll leave that as a surprise to discover on your own. If you haven't been for a while, it's worth going for their great summer menu.
New restaurants come and go, but when you think about the variety of fine eateries available to us in Portland it's truly a wonderful selection; and throughout the state there are more and more good dining establishments that are offering really top quality cooking.
Farther afield, new experiences have included a visit to the Lookout Inn Restaurant in Brooklin, Bagaduce Lunch in Brooksville, the dining room at the Goose Cove Lodge in Deer Isle and Solo Bistro in Bath. I will report on these soon.
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John, it's nice that you return to the same haunts over and over again. Sometimes it's good not to reach. You seldom report on some of the other older places in Portland. I suspect you consider yourself above the more Proletarian yet functioning establishments in town. It's time to get off the "Seven Sisters of the Old Port" bandwagon and move into uncharted territory. I know you wrote you have been to a lot of new places, let's hear about them, not yet another ad for one of your favorites.
Posted by
mikeAugust 19, 2006 09:23 PM
did I miss something?? Didn't he just list new places he said he would review shortly?? This is a blog he can write about the same restuarant every week if he wants! Some people complain just to complain.
Posted by
August 20, 2006 10:42 AM
I'm with Mike; what kind of restaurant reviewer just goes to established places or namedrops them in their column OVER and OVER!! It's SOOO BORING....
Do you just go there to get a free meal on the papers tab?
As a reader I want and need to hear about the unknown and new eateries. Nice of you to keep mentioning the established ones , but I really don't get how you keep this job and/ or column when you can't come up with anything fresh to convey.
Posted by
jenAugust 21, 2006 12:50 AM
Dear Readers, this is a diary of dining out and general food topics. I thought it was worth mentioning an old favorite is as good as ever.I pay for my own meals, dine where I chose and write about what interests me. Negative comments go a long way, however, in making this effort seem futile at times. Loony tunes don't beget sweet melodies.
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 21, 2006 06:20 AM
Keep it up, John. I only get back to Portland a couple of times a year and always like to keep up with the food and restaurant opportunities through your blog. Maybe it's time for some of the consistantly negative and critical writers who post to your blog to get their OWN dining blogs: right now they remind me of crabby fleas hanging on to a show dog.
Carol
Posted by
CarolAugust 21, 2006 08:22 AM
Your reviews are always good, but I would like to see price information included, since that is a consideration for many, if not most people, in the choice of a restaurant, particularly today, when the cost of everything else is going up, up, up.
Posted by
AnneAugust 21, 2006 08:45 AM
Hey John: I keep writing to the paper (without response) asking why they don't publish the restaurant ratings that appear in the print edition, here on the web edition...any insights?
Posted by
SteveAugust 21, 2006 02:39 PM
*pssst. they want you to buy the paper*
Posted by Captain Obvious
August 21, 2006 03:41 PM
John, keep writing your blog. Your restaurant reviews are more informative and thorough than any other source that I've been able to find. I only wish that they were more frequent but I know this is not your job.
Posted by
HicowAugust 21, 2006 05:18 PM
John,
I was harsh, not realizing this blog was your food diary ; now I realize my error and won't confuse it with a restaurant review column. I expected it to be more after reading your bio in the heading.
Your lack of enthusiasm or adventure concerning Maine's restaurant scene is what I was questioning- there are many yet you write about few.What's up??
Posted by
jenAugust 21, 2006 07:52 PM
I want the ratings on-line because I'm more than 500 miles away. Please let me know where I can buy the Portland Press in Baltimore. The formula is simple: restaurants that advertise don't want bad reviews plastered across the internet and whine to the publisher...presto, no more reviews. Objective reporting, integrity...never was such a thing. Everyone has an agenda. Business is business.
Posted by steve
August 22, 2006 08:42 AM
Looks like I stirred up a maelstrom of comments! Glad to see several agreed with me. I do respect your right to eat where you choose, and with whom, however passing this off as a review is painfully misleading. Jen nailed it as this being a blog not a real review as conveyed by your Blue Blood Bio.
I for one would like you to write with a Bic Stick, and leave your witty Mont Blanc for your Real Estate dealing with" some of the wealthiest individuals in America "
You are so pretentious!
Posted by
mikeAugust 22, 2006 09:50 PM
Not pretentious, just picky
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 23, 2006 06:29 AM
no John, you ARE pretentious
Posted by
August 23, 2006 07:21 AM
and so be it.
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 23, 2006 08:32 AM
Keep up the good work, please. I think some people just may not understand what a blog is.
It's pretty funny how worked up folks get about something they can easily avoid.
Posted by
August 23, 2006 01:49 PM
John: Any chance I can get a response, reaction, answer--no matter how politically correct it is--to my question (and follow up comment), above??
Posted by Steve
August 23, 2006 02:50 PM
Steve, I suspect that the Press Herald has some type of mail subscription available. Don't hold me to it but I used to get The Portsmouth Herald mailed to me when I cooked out of state.
Regarding the person above who writes w/o any identity . It's very easy to avoid things and not voice any opinion or take a stand. I think those are called lemmings in the animal world. Where would we be if Rosa Parks "easly avoided" the front of the bus?
But I think John as a professional does welcome any comments pro or con regarding his work. Just because I am not in lockstep with his opinions/blogging/reviews or whatever doesn't mean I can't appreciate it.
Thanks for the ink, Mike
Plus it's fun!!
Posted by
mikeAugust 23, 2006 08:47 PM
"But I think John as a professional does welcome any comments pro or con regarding his work."
You think incorrectly on this matter. Mr. Golden likes to hear only "amens" from the choir.
Posted by
Brett WeirAugust 24, 2006 11:17 AM
Steve--your best bet to see the PPHerald is to read it online, at mainetoday.com
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 25, 2006 10:04 AM
Rosa Parks! lololol
The comments I was referring to were not about the work (as in the writing). They were about the writer himself being pretentious and a blueblood and too much a creature of habit. That's a personal critique, not a professional one. Plus it seems like some people get really mad when they read this blog, which seems like a waste of time and emotion.
I have absolutely no problem (and agree with you that John likely does not) with critiques of his actual work. (Like when people ask for prices, which I agree should always be included.)
I just don't get it when people complain that this blog is too much like a blog and not enough like a newspaper article/restaurant review.
I'm not going to stop you from inkin' up the place (wouldn't if I could), but the personal attacks just don't make sense to me.
Posted by
August 25, 2006 01:17 PM
Why, Brett, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 25, 2006 06:19 PM
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