Norm's Bar & Grill

On the day of this review, we were in the mood for comfort food, but since it was sunny and springlike, we didn't necessary want anything heavy like beef stew or mounds of pasta. Had to find someplace that would offered a decent variety to choose from to help make up our minds, so we settled on Norm's Bar & Grill.

Norm's is located on Congress Street, almost directly across from the Post Office, so at times parking can be a challenge. We lucked out, though, and got a spot almost right in front of the restaurant.

Karma!

Since we were early, we had our pick of tables and chose a booth near the window for people-watching. The waitress came over and got our drink order right away (always a plus). We also asked her for something that wasn't on the menu: a portabello mushroom appetizer, grilled and dressed in balsamic vinegar. It's a treat that Norm's used to serve years ago but is no longer available...unless you ask, because the kitchen was more than happy to accommodate us (see photo). A yummy start.

My hungrygals companion ordered the meat pie (lamb and beef combo) and I got the grilled Rachel, which is basically a Reuben made with turkey instead of corned beef.

The meat pie looked more like a calzone than a pie. Guess we were expecting something more like a chicken pot pie or something, but despite being a bit hard to eat - it looks like something you can eat with your hands but really a knife and fork worked best - the ground beef and lamb mixture was very good. Warm, juicy and seasoned well, it was served atop a salad with a side of rice.

The Rachel was delicious. Norm's uses REAL sliced turkey, the kind you get at Thanksgiving, not the uber-processed, sodium-bomb type from the deli. The sandwhich, served on rye, was stacked high with saurkraut and moist, tender turkey. A sucker for cabbage of all kinds, I asked for a side of cole slaw too, which was crispy and sweet.

The meat pie took a bit long to cook, but the waitress warned us of that up front. Our bill came to $34 without tip. The four-legged hungrygals missed out on the portabello (mushrooms are on the do-not-feed-your-dog list) but they did enjoy the leftover beef/lamb from the pie and turkey from the Rachel.
Two thumbs and two paws up for Norm's!

Norm's Bar and Grill
(207) 828-9944

617 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101

Becky's Diner

As I've said before in this blog, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for a great diner or cafe, preferably the kind that serves breakfast all day loooooong.

Recently, my dining companions (one two-legged and two four-legged) and I made our way to Commercial Street to eat at Becky's Diner. I've been to Becky's several times over the past ten, fifteen years or so and the food's always been good, so why not dine there as my Hungrygal-alter-ego and give 'em a proper review? It was a cool, overcast day, perfect for overindulging in comfort food.

The diner was hopping that morning and we had a short wait at the door while the hostess wiped down a table. Once settled, an unsmiling waitress brought over two big, steaming cups of coffee in a couple of hefty mugs - the kind with the rim so thick you have to wrap your lips around it just to make sure you don't dribble. The coffee, good and strong, warmed our bones.

The waitress disappeared for a while and we were actually ready for a coffee warm-up by the time she returned. No matter - the diner was really busy, after all - so we weren't overly concerned about the wait. We ordered a repast fit for a king: two omelets, homefries with peppers and onions, a side of bacon, a side of ham, toast and a blueberry muffin.

After about fifteen minutes, the blueberry muffin and the side of ham appeared at the table, but nothing else. Our waitress plopped the plates down wordlessly and disappeared again without refilling our coffee cups. We figured the rest of the meal would follow shortly and decided to wait for the rest of it before digging in, even though serving a third of our breakfast first seemed rather odd.

We were wrong. We waited another ten minutes as the ham cooled on its plate, then finally I asked another server if she could find our waitress for us. We watched as she searched in vain, even asking another worker of our waitress' whereabouts. The second server actually caught my eye and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "sorry, she's vanished"! Hungry and confused, we decided to nibble on the muffin and the ham while we waited. Another server refilled our coffee.

Finally, after another five minutes or so, our waitress appeared and brought the rest of the food to the table. She mumbled an apology but again without a smile. She must have been having a really bad day.

Needless to say, the ham was cold, and yet delicious - juicy and sweet and not cooked to death like they do at some restaurants - and not overly salty, either. The muffin was basic, a standard cakey muffin, nothing special. However, the egg-white omelet, stuffed with onions and mushrooms and cheese, was outstanding, as were the accompanying home fries, served with a sumptuous amount of green pepper and carmelized onion. The bacon was tasty and cooked just right - savory and crisp, grilled to a golden brown. And the special that day - a three-egg hash-and-cheese omelet - made us drool like Homer Simpson when he's dreaming of donuts.

For some reason, I got white toast instead of the rye toast I'd ordered, but by that point, I was too hungry to wait any longer and didn't bother to mention it.

After stuffing ourselves, we waited yet again for the check and a doggie bag (can't forget the four-legged diners waiting in the car, after all). The bill, when it finally arrived, came to $34.57 before tip.

I don't think we ever did see the waitress smile. Not once.

Bottom line: food - two thumbs and two paws up; service (for this day anyway) - two thumbs down. Becky's serves up awesome fare and I'm hopeful that we just hit it on an off day. Do give Becky's a try - it's worth the wait!

Becky's Diner
390 Commercial Street
Portland, ME
(207) 773-7070

Uncle Andy's Redux - 2012

Breakfast is, by far, my favorite meal of the day. I'd eat breakfast for lunch and dinner and snacks in between if I could. In fact, I pretty much consider eggs to be the perfect food.

There are tons of places in the greater Portland area to snag a satisfying breakfast at a decent price: Brea Lu Cafe, Bintliff's, Ruski's, Becky's, Miss Portland Diner, to name just a few. Although we'd reviewed Uncle Andy's diner back in 2009, we felt the old-time South Portland diner deserved an updated take on its inexpensive yet sumptuous fare.

The staff at Uncle Andy's is friendly and efficient. The atmosphere is diner-casual, with the same 1950's counter and stools that have been in place since the original Uncle Andy's opened decades ago. The atmosphere is cozy and casual and the food is what I call down-home cookin' without pretense. No lobster benedict here. Dennis, the owner and cook, does run specials daily, such as the double-ham and cheese omelet for $7.99 or the mini-omelet on a bagel for $3.99, and he personally specializes in monkey-shaped pancakes (or other animal shapes as desired) for the kids. You can even request cage-free eggs for an additional .25 each.

On our recent visit, we dined on a feast of fried eggs, scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, veggie sausage, home fries and a lemon-filled muffin. A breakfast-lover's dream! The fried eggs were cooked perfectly (over-hard) and the scrambled were stuffed with onions and tomatoes (Uncle Andy's accommodates special requests). The ham slice was juicy and just the right thickness - not cooked to death like some I've had at other establishments. The bacon came out crispy, just as we'd requested and the muffin oozed a deliciously sweet-tart lemon-filling. The repast was more than enough for two people.

The total bill before tip came to $20.01. We even left with a doggie bag (for you-know-who).

Bottom line: Uncle Andy's serves it up right - great food without poking a hole in your wallet. With prices like $3.25 for two eggs with home fries and toast, you really could eat breakfast at every meal!

Two thumbs and two paws up.

Uncle Andy's Diner
(207) 799-7199
171 Ocean St
South Portland, ME

The Full Belly Deli

The Full Belly Deli's been on the Portland food scene for over fifteen years, serving up kosher offerings, soups, salads, wraps and of course, deli sandwiches. On the day I stopped in, the special was a fried haddock sandwich with fries, cole slaw and pickle for $8.49. Tempting, but when I go to the Full Belly Deli, probably the only place in the greater Portland area that serves up beef tongue, I want something a bit more exciting than fish.

The small restaurant in the Pine Tree Plaza features such classic items as pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, grilled chicken, just to name a few.  Passing on the tongue (call me a wimp, I just can't get past the thought of chewing on something else's taste buds), I opted for the "World's Wurst" - a liverwurst sandwich on pumpernickel bread (my choice of bread; there are several offered).

And man oh man, what a sandwich it is! Warning: you must possess a healthy love of liverwurst to order this sandwich. The total materpiece, bread-to-bread, stands over three inches high, boasting a full one-and-a-half-to-two inches of meat - slab upon beautiful slab of liverwurst (yes, I actually measured it. What can I say, I am a geek). Thin slices of tomato and purple onion add sweetness and crunch while a topping of hard boiled egg accentuates the creamy richness of the 'wurst. A crisp half-sour pickle is served on the side.

Clearly, this delicious sandwich is to be shared. Despite a burning desire to wolf down every last bite, I simply couldn't eat more than half of it! Humongous and mouth-watering, the World's Wurst is a sandwich fit for kings and queens. Leftovers, of course, are always good news for the four-legged Hungrygals, who greatly enjoyed their very own individual slab of liverwurst.

The Full Belly Deli certainly lives up to its name. Open for breakfast and lunch, the FBD also sells  assorted deli meats and cheeses for take out. Go. Feast. Two thumbs and two paws up.

The Full Belly Deli
(207) 772-1227
1060 Brighton Ave
Portland, ME

Yes, there is a bite already taken out of the sandwich. A moment of weakness.

Linda Bean's Lobster Cafe - Restaurant Review

I must admit it was curiosity that drove me to try Linda Bean's Lobster Cafe at the Portland International Jetport in South Portland, Maine. My husband and I had often passed her former location on Exchange Street in the Old Port, peering in through the windows, marveling at the sheer lack of customers. Never did see an actual diner in there.

Never.

Ever.

Lo and behold, the Exchange Street location closed sometime last spring, and the LBLC reopened in the brand-spanking-new section of the PWM airport. Truly, as one of the Hungrygals, I felt it a moral imperative - not to mention a drive to satisfy my aforementioned curiosity - to give the LBLC a shot.

The menu is, as you can imagine, crustacean-heavy: lobster quesadillas, lobster roll, lobster salad and chilled lobster tail on a bed of greens, to name a few. Linda's also offers other fare, like burgers, sandwiches and soups, but hey, you can get that stuff anywhere! If you're gonna eat at the LBLC, you must have the lobster.

I ordered the lobster sliders, three mini-lobster rolls served on grilled, buttered rolls with a side of "kelpislaw" ($17.99). Now, cynic that I am, I expected the lobster to be dry or stringy, something that happens when lobster is frozen, even if only for a day or two; however, this was not the case. The LBLC must either use really, really fresh lobster, or they've perfected a way to freeze it without toughening the meat (since they sell live lobster right there on the premises, I presume it is the former). Each roll was stuffed with a generous portion of Maine's other-white-meat, juicy and tender, with just a tiny bit of mayo and a pickle on each sandwich. Deeeelicious!

The "kelpislaw" - which I noticed on the menu was a trademarked term - is a very light, sweet, vinegar-based cole slaw made with cabbage and yes, real Atlantic ocean kelp cut into thin strips. Although I'm a Mainer, I've only had dried kelp before, a salty, crunchy snack product that I didn't care for in the least. But this fresh kelp accented the cole slaw beautifully, lending a crisp and savory flavor to the sweet slaw. Outstanding. When I asked, the waitress told me the trademark was necessary because Linda Bean had plans to market and sell "kelpislaw" up in Freeport (perhaps she already is). If so, I'm buying!

Overall, the meal was excellent and I wolfed down every last speck of lobster and "kelpislaw" on the plate (although I did leave the last bun so as not to overstuff). Total bill, which included a diet soda on the side, came to $22.02. The waitress was prompt and very friendly.

Not sure what was going wrong at the Exchange Street location, but I'd be surprised if Linda Bean's Lobster Cafe doesn't become a huge hit at the jetport. Absolutely, unequivicably, two thumbs up for the LBLC!

Sorry, no doggie bag this time. Perhaps if I weren't leaving on a jet plane, I would've brought the furry 'gals some lobster (yeah, right).

The Saltwater Grille

Been slacking a bit in food reviews. November's been a busy month, but the gals are back, chomping and chowing around town. We'll start back up with a review of the sumptuous buffet offered by The Saltwater Grille on Thanksgiving Day. 
Reservations were required, as the SWG gets very busy for its holiday meals. We were seated immediately upon arrival - something I really appreciate because nothing annoys me more than having to wait for a table when you have reservations already. Just something wrong with that in my book! Anyway, a very friendly young waiter poured our water and offered to bring us drinks right away, another aspect of service I really appreciate. Then we proceeded to the buffet and dug in.

The food, for the most part, was spectacular. To begin, a starter table included steaming fish chowder, a ginormous bowl of peel & eat shrimp, complete with cocktail sauce and lemon, cheeses, lox & capers and rolls. Another table held salad fixings - ceasar and garden - and included sides such as marinated mushrooms, pickled beets and a curried carrot & cranberry salad that was to die for! Tried not to fill up too much on the appetizers, but it definitely required significant restraint. 

The turkey and prime rib at the carving station were each succulent and cooked perfectly, still warm and juices flowing. Both were served with gravy. For sides, there was plenty to choose from: scalloped potatoes, pasta, carrots and beans and of course, stuffing - two kinds - the typical bread & giblet kind and then a cornbread & walnut offering. Both were delicious, although I was surprised the SWG didn't warn people ahead of time that walnuts were part of the dish, considering the prevalence of food allergies these days. Salmon was also available, tastily cooked in a light lemon and butter sauce.

Now, I'm typically leery about buffets, primarily because so often the food tends to get soggy and lukewarm, languishing in chafing dishes; however, this is not the case at the SWG. The busy and friendly staff kept the steamers full and rotated, which meant the food stayed hot and fresh.

Just two disappointments: the pasta, which appeared to be cream-based, was virtually tasteless, and noticeably missing were the mussels and tomatoes dish they served up last year (this is our second year at the SWG for Thanksgiving). But everything else on the buffet more than surpassed our expectations.

Since restaurants typically frown on doggie bags at buffets, we had some great fun in attempting to sneak out some turkey our furry Hungrygals, but we managed it. After all, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the whole family at the table!

The cost of the buffet per person was about $37, and the SWG adds an 18 percent tip on to the bill (a bit high, I think, since we primarily served ourselves, but we didn't mind. The servers need to be compensated for missing Thanksgiving with their families, after all). Two thumbs and two paws up for the SWG Thanksgiving buffet!

The Saltwater Grille
231 Front St
South Portland, Maine
(207) 799-5400

Pom's Thai

Had a bonus day off today so the Hungrygals decided to avoid the madness of Black Friday and do some pre-Thanksgiving shopping and dining.  Swim against the tide, that's what I like to say!
Craving Asian cuisine, we made our way over the bridge to Pom's Thai in South Portland.
We began with an order of Kra -tong-thong, tiny bite-sized (ok, two bites) pastries filled with chicken, corn and peas. Crunchy on the outside and warm and tasty on the inside! The curry-flavored treat came served with a slightly spicey cucumber chutney. Excellent!
For the entrees, we ordered the Fancy Chicken and the Sesame Noodle. Sadly,  even though we requested no spice on the Fancy Chicken (and was properly noted on the order slip by the waitress), the dish came out with flecks of bright red chili, resulting in a truly too- spicey experience. The flavor of the dish sparkled,  however,  as did that of the Sesame Noodle. 
Fancy Chicken, a sweetish dish composed of chicken, pineapple and veggies,  is served with your choice of white or fried rice.  Sesame Noodle is served atop a pile of sauteed noodles (surprise) with pieces of tender chicken, exactly two shrimp and plenty of veggies.
A cup of pork won ton soup started our meal. The won tons were tender and delicious,  the broth bursting with flavor. This soup is absolutely fabulous, one of the best won tons around.
The service was quick, attentive and friendly.
Our total bill for this feast was just under $31, a total steal.
Despite the misstep with "overspicing" of the Fancy Chicken,  we'll definitely be back. One and a half thumbs up and two paws up. The four-legged gals didn't seem to mind the spice at all in their sample of Fancy Chicken!