Restaurant Week Dinner at Evangeline

For Maine Restaurant Week this year, I decided to eat at Evangeline. I guess the point of MRW is to try a restaurant at which you can't normally afford to eat. (At least it is for me, cuz I'm broke.) So Roomie A. and I tagged along on the last installation of Edible Obsession's marathon dining session.


On this latest visit, I decided Evangeline needs a little decorating help. The restaurant looks very elegant in places (like from the outside) and has a really nice bar area with some cute little piggy door knockers as decoration. But I object to some of the prints on the wall. Do you remember how overplayed those Chat Noir posters were a while ago? Like that faux-French Moulin Rouge kinda style? (See here if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) Well, there are about 4 of these type posters high up on the wall. It's a small thing, but I get the late-90s willies when I look up at them.


Fortunately, the food is not affected by said faux-French styling. To start, I had the Cervelles de Veau or crispy calf’s brain fritter. The brain was rather small (makes sense, since they have small heads) and was fried nicely, with a creamy, soft white interior. Not at all what I thought brain would be like. The fritter was atop cabbage, capers, brown butter, and bacon, which provided a nice salty, smoky contrast.


Roomie A. had the Endive salad with Stilton, frisee, and toasted walnuts. I had a bite, and of course, enjoyed the walnuts and blue cheese combo. One of my favorites.


Here's Roomie A's Poulet Roti or lemon thyme roast half chicken with toasted pearl barley and haricot verts. I only snagged a bite of white meat, but the little I tasted was very juicy. The best part was the garlicky, lemony juices pooling on the plate.


The shining star of the meal was my entree (Uke of Edible Obsessions ordered the same)- Steak Frites. Steak! And Frites! Genius. Plus, my favorite vegetable is creamed spinach and I can think of nothing better than giving yourself permission to dip your Fries in mayonnaise (when I do it at home it just seems a little sad).

The great Internets tell me that a culotte steak is a part of the sirloin and can be a bit tough. This steak wasn't tough at all, and almost seemed like it had been braised. It was topped with an onion compote, sweet and saucy. The server didn't ask for a temp on my meat, and I trusted that the chef would cook it just right. It's nice to feel you can trust the kitchen to properly handle your meat (heh).


Yeah, I've totally forgotten what kind of cheese this was. I know Uke will tell me... and that I should be duly impressed. But at first I was a little thrown by this cheese. I'm kind of a cheese novice, I'll admit. It's only recently that I've embraced blues and other funky cheeses. But when I mixed in a little honey, toasted nut dust, and the little grape/raisin things you see below, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor of this cheese.


Of course, for dessert, I couldn't pass up the chance to order creme brulee. I am a creme brulee hound, and I knew Evangeline would deliver a great one. The sugar was nice and thick and the custard silky, rich, and oh so awesome.


I sampled Uke's Valrhona chocolate semifreddo, which seemed a little dry to me. I realize dry is a weird word, but that's what I think of. Like putting a spoonful of cocoa powder into your mouth. I must add that I am not a big chocolate girl, so maybe it's magical effects are just lost on me. I was just happy as a porker with my creme brulee.


Oh, and with all the reviews I'm reading of bad service and overwhelmed kitchens, I must add that the service was excellent (same server I had last time, very attentive man!) and the timing and preparation of the food was excellent. We remarked how the restaurant did not seem busy (we did have a late reservation) and that all the guests were well behaved. While Evangeline was not officially participating in Restaurant Week, they did a great job of serving excellent food for only $30.10. So, thanks!

Wolfe's Neck Cheesemaking Class

When my BFF (Best Foodie Friend) Elizabeth visited, last weekend, we went to a cheesemaking class at Wolfe's Neck Farm. And we were so surprised and excited to learn how easy making mozzarella cheese is. Our class was taught by Julia, who is not some crazy cheesemaking expert or anything. She immediately put us at ease by assuring that we could easily make mozzarella in 30 minutes and that there was always room for experimenting.


To start, heat one gallon of whole milk in a stainless steel pot. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons citric acid diluted in 1 cup of cool water (I ordered mine off Amazon.com, but you can buy a whole kit from cheesemaking.com). Heat the milk slowly to 90 degrees F. Add the rennet (either 1/4 of a tablet if you're using a kit or 1/4 teaspoon diluted in 1/4 cup cool water). Stir milk gently to disperse the rennet for 30 seconds. Turn the heat off and remove the pot from the heat. Cover and let the milk stand for 5 minutes.

Check the curd- you should be able to press on it and have it feel solid. Cut the curd into 1 inch square pieces. Put the pot back on the heat and heat to 105 degrees F while stirring slowly. Try your best not to break up the curd. Take the pot off the heat again and stir gently for 2-5 more minutes.


Transfer the curd to a microwave-safe bowl and begin pouring off the whey. As the curds cool, they will release more whey. Try your best not to lose the curds, but some loss will be inevitable.


When you have poured off as much whey as you can, microwave the curds for one minute. Heating will cause the curds to release more whey, which then can be poured off. Repeat a few times, until the cheese has released its whey and is becoming almost too hot to handle. This is a good time to put on gloves!


Knead the cheese by folding it in on itself until it becomes smooth, shiny and stretchy. If you feel it is too cool, you can microwave it again to heat it up. When you feel it is smooth enough, form it into a ball and place in an ice bath.


This cheese won't keep as long as store-bought cheese, so it's best to use it right away (not too hard to do!). You can also add herbs, cover the cheese in oil, and store in the fridge to keep it longer.

Liquid vegetable rennet is sold locally at Royal River Natural Foods in Freeport.


If you are feeling really ambitious in the DIY activities, you can make your own butter too! This was fun because we were working in a group, but I think I'd get awful tired shakin' that butter by myself. Here we just poured heavy cream into a quiart-sized mason jar and shook until the... butter formed (cows came home?).


The butter separates from the majority of the buttermilk, but then if you want to make your butter last longer, you need to wash it of the remaining buttermilk. So transfer your butter to a bowl, cover it with water, and smoosh the butter around. This washes the buttermilk from the butter. Change the water and repeat until it no longer discolors the water.

Are you getting tired just looking at this? I didn't help make the foccacia, but would have needed a nap afterwards if I'd attempted all of this at home! We had a nice little snack once we baked this foccacia off (it's a little flat since it was cold in the farmhouse and didn't rise enough).


Some local hothouse tomatoes completed our homemade snack. Tastes better when you make it yourself! I'm pretty excited to experiment with homemade cheese. A little investment up front ($16 total for the rennet and the citric acid) and you can have homemade mozzarella for the price of a gallon of milk and a half an hour's time!

Bresca: Still Good

I thought long and hard about where to take my BFF (Best Foodie Friend) for dinner when she came to visit last weekend. I polled Facebook friends, read reviews online, and poured over online menus. Deciding between Hugo's, Back Bay Grill, Fore Street and Bresca, I settled on Bresca.

Obviously some heavy-hitters in that rotation. And Bresca is the only one of those that I've eaten at before. But I decided that I'd go with what I knew was good, for (relatively) inexpensive prices, and that my friend would love that Krista Desjarlais is not only a woman chef, but one nominated for the James Beard award as well.

And I was right that Elizabeth would love it there! She was into the shabby chic decor and the Florence flasks that they pour your water our of. The restaurant felt a little... pink the night we were in there, which is Elizabeth's favorite color, so WE didn't mind. It was just a little funny. Pink roses, flower petals scattered on the doorstep outside, pink menus, LOTS of candles... it made it seem like I was trying to hit on her.


My friends A&R had just dined at Bresca the night before, so we were versed on some not-to-be missed menu items. So we started with the shaved brussels sprouts, toasted walnuts, parmesan, pecorino and olive oil ($7). And A&R were right- it was delicious. Such a simple preparation for the vegetables, but nice and nutty, salty, and crunchy. We marveled at how the sprouts seemed to be raw, but yet were so flavorful. That's it!? we cried. She must have done something more to them!


Next we shared the Waldorf salad with local greens, walnut, apples, Chiogga beets, and a buttermilk dressing ($10). I thought Waldorf salads were that gross thing my mom used to make with mayonnaise, apples and grapes? I don't care what you call it, as long as there's not mayonnaise on my fruit. This salad was great of course, I don't think you can go wrong when you add apples and walnut to some bitter, spicy greens. And the beets didn't add much flavor, but were a great visual. Very Alice-in-Wonderland!


We shared the toc as well, smoked ricotta, creamy polenta, royal trumpet mushrooms, radicchio, lardo ($10). This was a great dish, even though 'smoked' isn't my favorite flavor. The ricotta made the polenta super, extra creamy, and the big hunks of mushrooms were so meaty and rich. The red radicchio added a nice texture contrast- it was sauteed, but still crunchy and the lardo... well, need I say why draping thin cured slices of pork fat over anything is a good thing?


Again, more splitting, this time the market fish which was cod. It was served over fennel, crispy potatoes, and green beans ($25). Elizabeth and I both agreed that we could have eaten the whole portion ourselves, and were a little disappointed at the amount of vegetables that came with our fish. Not because we thought the kitchen should have amped it up because we were splitting it- it wasn't a lot of vegetables for even one person. But the cod was expertly prepared, with a crispy skin and little segments of fish that popped off under the slightest pressure from your fork.

Come dessert, there was no more splitting! We had a chance to scope out all the desserts, as the table next to us was a course ahead of us, and ordered all 4 of them.


I knew the buttermilk panna cotta was a delicious dessert (I'm not really a chocolate girl), but the true winner was the Napoleon.


There were caramelized bananas, strawberry sauce, and delicate little bird's nests of phyllo dough. We harassed our waitress to find out how these were prepared, but other than 'grated then baked,' we didn't get much detail. Actually, maybe that's enough detail for some... but for the food-obsessed like Elizabeth and I, we wanted more details! But we chowed this dish, and were fighting over (OK, I was fighting for) bites. I thought we were sharing! Nope.


Thanks to our friends at the neighboring table for this shot! I hope between my careful consideration and these photos, you understand why Bresca is a sure thing for a nice dinner out in Portland. The food is spot on, the prices are reasonable, the wine list extensive, and the desserts excellent. You'll feel special eating here, but comfortable enough that you can make friends with your neighboring tables and drink a lot of wine.

Serious Food At Silly's

I love Silly's. Really, I do. I have a crush on this cute little neighborhood restaurant with an awesome menu and even better decor. Really, no complaints.


I first heard of Silly's this time last year, when I was working on the parking crew for the Portland Flower Show at Portland Yacht Services. One of the guys came back from lunch, and because I love harassing people about their dining experiences, I asked him where he went. My ears perked up when he said, Silly's! and I'd never heard of it.

I've been there several times since my discovery a year ago, and this time around I went with my Best Foodie Friend (BFF) Elizabeth who was visiting from Baltimore.


OK, my one problem with Silly's (and this is not necessarily a bad thing) is that I love their Chix Magnet wrap so much, that I can't bring myself to order anything else. You know the age-old dilemma: Well, I really should order something else, I always get the same thing. But what if what I order isn't as good as the wrap!? Then I'll be stuck wishing I'd just ordered the damn wrap. (And you know this has happened to you before).

So I always cave and get the damn wrap. But it's so delicious! The BBQ sauce, hot sauce, and Ranch dressing all mix togther deliciously over fried chicken strips to make a sauce that is always trying to run down your arm. And there's plenty of veggies in it (hooray, spinach!) to make you feel like you're not eating pure junk food.


Elizabeth went with a salad, in an attempt to be healthy, which I don't know was really accomplished with all that bacon. Silly's does definitely not skimp on the bacon, weather it's their Gravy Danger (poutine with bacon) or their peanut butter bacon milkshake.


B. had a Eggy Pop, which is eggs and bacon over foccacia. With fries! Love it. The best part about this place is that it accomidates all types of eaters. Vegetarian? (C. had some fine looking falafel!) Vegan? Huge carnivore? Fried food lover? Gluten free? Check. You really can't go wrong with Silly's. Am I being a little over the top? Maybe, but you'll have to check it out for yourself, and I hope you have a great experience, because I really love it there.



Oh! And here's the wall of photos that Silly's fans have submitted. They're pics of 'Eat At Silly's' stickers in places all over the world. I love restaurant decor that entertains me while I wait for my food!

Mustache Cookies

How many hipsters does it take to change a lightbulb?


It's a pretty obscure number... I don't know if you'd know it.

Viet Bangkok Cuisine Review

Ladies and gents, may I present to you the second installation of the Tastes of Thai Project! In case you missed it, the Tastes of Thai Project is eight food bloggers' attempt to review all 14 restaurants in Portland. To find the best Pad Thai in town, if you will.


This time around we ate at Viet Bangkok Cuisine, which like a lot of Thai restaurants, is pretty weird inside! Their decor is summed up by the giant lobster with light-up eyes.

They sat all 7 of us without a reservation, so that was pretty cool... but we were the only ones in there at 7pm on a Friday night, so we had plenty of room.


To start, we ordered veggie spring rolls and veggie dumplings, and neither were stellar. As you can see in the above photo, the spring rolls were mostly lettuce. Mmm... tastes like lettuce. The veggie dumplings were good, but nothing to write home about.


I was super excited to try pho, because I'd never had it before and I heard it was really good at Viet Bangkok. While I don't have anything to compare this pho to, I can say that I loved it! I really love dishes that come with a side of things to garnish your food with. We got a plate of bean sprouts, limes, sliced jalepenos, and fresh Thai basil.


There were thin slices of beef, skinny rice noodles, thinly sliced onions, and floaty green onions. Deeeelicious. I slurped and spooned up all that pho really quickly.


The best part of the pho was that I was splitting it with my friend Elizabeth of Strawberries in Paris. The waitress brought us two bowls and didn't seem interested in facilitating the splitting of the pho. So Elizabeth took matters into her own hands, stood up, and poured that pho! So awesome.


Look at her go!

So then I began harassing people to take pictures of the food for me... here's Roomie A's Pad Thai (the house specialty- they claim it's famous!). I had a bite and it was nice and juicy, but had an odd sweetness...


Side note: it's really strange that they choose to serve the dishes as they come up in the kitchen, one by one. It's like there's one person back there, and s/he just works through the order, making one dish at a time. Fortunately I ordered first! But I felt bad for M. who was served last and just had to watch us all eat for a while.


I had the red curry with chicken. Again, an odd sweetness permeated this dish. But I loved how it had lots of vegetables not otherwise usually included in Thai curry, like snowpeas, zucchini, green beans. The curry was pretty spicy, which I didn't realize at first, but I was definitely sweating by the end. And I had a lot to take home as leftovers, which is key.


Elizabeth had the Larb Gai, which was a pretty good, juicy version. There was a weird grittiness to the dish... like a powdered spice? Or ground lemongrass? Weird.

So! All in all, there was a lot of weirdness, but the food was good (pho is best!). I'm not handing out any awards yet, but I don't see this place being in the top 3. The prices are better than Sala Thai, the ambiance is super weird (hey, maybe you're into that), and the food is OK. Grade: B