The top 10 most read posts April thru June:
- El Rayo Taqueria
- The Farmer's Table
- Evangeline
- Best Restaurants in Portland Maine
- Salt Exchange Portland Maine
- 2008 Dining Guide
- Miyake
- Johnny's Bistro
- Bresca
- Emilitsa
Interesting Facts on the Stats:- The blog had a 66% increase in the number of visitors compared to the same quarter last year
- Two of busiest days in this blog's history were May 22 and June 11th - the rush to read about El Rayo and the Salt Exchange.
Looking Back:We enjoyed Father's Day
Brunch at Five Fifty Five. If you haven't been there in awhile, the fresh baked cinnamon buns with vanilla icing are worth the trip alone. This is definitely my favorite local brunch spot.
Willard Scoops is now open in South Portland (across the street from
Scratch Bakery). Not your everyday ice cream parlor, they feature such creations as Hot Chili Chocolate, Nutella and Salt Caramel ice creams. I tried a half dozen flavors before settling on a the chocolate coconut. Though Beal's is still my favorite (I love their triple chocolate frozen yogurt), I'll definitely return to Willard Scoops.
We made the rounds to our favorite restaurants the last few weeks before the baby was born. Among them was
Hugo's, where we had the most incredible Truffle & Parmesan Cheese Puffs (part of the bar/snack menu). The puffs were light as air, but packed with wonderfully pungent flavor.
We celebrated our anniversary with dinner at
Fore Street. They have a new (much improved) supplier for their duck - it was more tender and less gamey than the duck we have had there in the past. Paired with a goat cheese mash, it was fantastic!
When we found ourselves still hungry after lunch at the Salt Exchange, we stopped in at
Miccuci's
for an utterly amazing chocolate almond cannoli. I hope they still have these this winter, because they will be my choice to serve for Christmas Eve dessert.
Upcoming:
We are looking forward to two new restaurant openings: The Corner Room and Grace.
I will be heading back to work after twelve weeks off on maternity leave. I predict several nights of take out as I learn to adjust to my new schedule. Thankfully I discovered a relatively healthy pizza at
Ricetta's The Florentine...with roasted chicken, tomatoes, onion and spinach. Combined with their spinach salad (hold the cheese and Prosciutto) and you almost have a healthy meal. Thankfully,
Benkay is on my way home too!
We'll keep looking for restaurants that are "baby friendly." So far I've found that we can go to most of our favorite spots without issue, as long as we dine early. I always used to wonder who booked the 5:30 reservations...now I know.
Baby Update:- He's thriving! Happy and healthy at ten and a half weeks, he is eating up a storm.
- Baby's first meal out was lunch at El Rayo. Despite the crowds and noise, he slept the entire time. Much to the delight of the diners around us, he also slept through his first dinner on the town - at Pacarino
. Write-up coming soon...
- He had his first of what will be many dining experiences at Evangeline, Benkay, and Five Fifty-Five. Now that he is getting older, he always seems to want his bottle just as our meals are served...go figure.