October 28, 2015

The Secret to Dining at the Palace Diner, Biddeford

Many a love song has been sung to Palace Diner in Biddeford, the resurrected dining car from Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell, chefs formerly of Gather in Yarmouth and Hugo's in Portland. 

What makes Palace Diner's food so special is not (for once) a "creative take on classics," but rather just that they nail the classics every time. The menu consists of traditional diner dishes: eggs, toast, corned beef hash, huge pancakes, tuna melts, burgers. And each and every one of those items is very likely to be the best version of it that you've ever had. 


Palace Diner is only open during the day (there was a brief stint of dinner service, but that ended shortly after it began), and the diner car only contains 12 or so stools at a counter. So if, like me, you have a day job, that means you're relegated largely to breakfast or lunch on the weekends, and there's frequently a long wait. Hence, the secret to dining at the Palace Diner: go early. 

Those famous Palace potatoes - parboiled, smashed, then deep fried

For any trip out of Maine, I've started it off with what is quickly becoming a tradition - stopping for breakfast at the Palace Diner. And a good road trip usually starts early, so you can be the first customer through the door of the Palace Diner at 8am. With their quick service, you can be back on the road before nine. 

It may seem simple, but if you can beat the hordes of sleepy kids down to Palace on a weekend, you won't end up waiting for an hour in the parking lot, but rather be feasting on the Deluxe sandwich, a breakfast sandwich of eggs, cheddar, and jalapenos on an English muffin. 


And no visit to Palace Diner is complete without some of their French toast. It's available as once slice or two, and I usually order a slice to share. It's hands down, the best French toast I've ever had. I didn't really understand the appeal of French toast until I had theirs. 

This is how it's supposed to be - custardy in the middle, crunchy on the edges, and bruleed on top, giving it a crackly, caramelized sweetness. There's a river of butter and real maple syrup. 


Don't miss the lunch either; while I don't have as much experience with it as I do the breakfast items, I loved the tuna melt, the perfectly fried chicken, and have been eyeing the burger (or Palace Royale) for months. Someday I'll surely want a burger at 8am... 

In summary: go, and go early, so you too can enjoy the fabulous diner fare at Palace. 

October 15, 2015

Review of Mi Sen Noodle Bar, Portland

Eating out on a Monday and Tuesday night in Portland can cause a bit of head scratching - so many restaurants are closed on these weeknights, especially as we head into relatively slower seasons. Fortunately, Mi Sen Noodle Bar is open on these early weekdays, causing me to land there twice recently for some great noodle dishes. You should head there any night of the week (except Sunday, they're closed) when you're in the mood for some filling, inexpensive, and delicious Thai food. 

First off, where? Mi Sen is located at 630 Congress St. in the Arts District, in the strip next to Sun Oriental Market, the post office, and Coffee By Design. Many people struggle to come up with where it is mentally, but I'm sure you've walked or driven by it many times without noticing. 

The decor is fairly modern for a Thai restaurant - there's definitely Thai touches, but it's bright (a little too bright) and open with black furniture, and mirrors and art on the walls. The menu offers starters, noodle soups, noodle entrees, and rice dishes. The rice dishes are fairly standard selection of curries and larb, but I think the noodle dishes are where it's at. 

Drunken Noodle with shrimp ($11.50)

The first time I went we shared several plates of appetizers - the crispy shrimp rolls ($6), adorable triangles of crunchy and sticky chive cakes ($5.45), and the crab rangoon ($5.50) which actually contains identifiable pieces of real crab. 

On my first visit, I had the Tom Yum with chicken ($5.45/$8.45), a delicious spicy coconut broth with mushrooms and noodles. It comes with cellophane noodles, but you can substitute in any kind of noodle, and they have a wide variety. Our server was happy to recommend a type of noodle for the dish. 


Someone in the group ordered the dry noodles on our first visit and raved about it, so I ordered it as my entree on my second. And now I'm obsessed with it. It's noodles mixed with a spicy and tangy sauce, topped with bean sprouts, green beans, green onions, cilantro, and ground peanuts. I loved it with the sen ba mee noodles, which are curly egg noodles, like the ones in instant ramen. I can't get enough of the flavors in this dish, plus it's amusing that it's called soupless soup (although there is quite a bit of sauce, so it's not a dry dish). 

The only misstep I experienced with Mi Sen was the takeout I ordered once - pad thai and larb gai didn't live up to my favorite versions from Vientiane Market. But that's fair - I love those versions so much that they're hard to compete with. Hit up your favorite Thai takeout joint for your weeknight standards, but head to Mi Sen for their unique (and inexpensive!) noodle dishes. 

October 5, 2015

Ladies Love Whiskey and Upcoming Book Events

The DISTILLED IN MAINE tour continues! I have book events scheduled through the end of the year, and as you can probably imagine, they're pretty exciting, as they come with the promise of alcohol! I think a lot more people would excel in the study of American history if it always came with a few cocktails. 

I've already one under my belt, which went great, at Maine Historical Society, with Steve and Johanna of Vena's Fizz House serving up a delicious gin and grapefruit cocktail they dubbed The Meadow. 

This Friday, I'll be at the Yarmouth History Center at 7pm, giving a talk about the history of alcohol in Maine. The specific cocktails are still being worked out, but they're sure to use Maine-made spirits and be delicious. Samples of Cold River spirits from Maine Distilleries will also be provided. Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members. 


In a few weeks, I'll be headed down to Kennebunkport to present a workshop with Joel Souza, the bar manager at David's KPT, in partnership with Table, the culinary event program of the Kennebunkport Resort Collection. 

I attended a Table tequila mixology workshop back in the spring, led by Joel and a Casamigos rep. We learned about how tequila is made and how to make four tequila-based cocktails. It was a great time - a nice mix of education and delicious drinks, so I'm excited to be part of providing that same experience for a group. 

I'll be presenting findings from my book's research about the Kennebunks and their history with alcohol, while Joel mixes up related cocktails, on Saturday October 24th at 3pm. Tickets are $35 and include an hour-and-a-half workshop with four cocktails. A $50 ticket includes a signed copy of Distilled in Maine.


Finally, at the end of the month (on the 27th), the ladies of the Portland Spirits Society are headed to Liquid Riot Bottling Company to nerd out over some whiskey. We'll be learning from Liquid Riot staff about the ingredients used to make whiskey and how they affect the resulting spirits' flavors. We'll sample both Liquid Riot's whiskeys (they have at least 2 that I know of) and some national brands for comparison. 

Get your tickets soon - I'm thrilled to say that all of the PSS ticketed events have sold out - you ladies are thirsty for whiskey! Tickets to this event include four tasting pours of whiskey and all the knowledge that Liquid Riot staff drops on us - plus the company of other women with such superb tastes as yourself. 

Photo courtesy of Liquid Riot/Instagram