Roustabout

Originally Published in Portland Press Herald around 2010 from past premiere of blog, Food for Thought, C 2002 or Thereabouts

December 16, 2021 / / Restaurants

Originally “Food for Thought” was created as a food diary–a blog with daily entries about my personal focus on local food, farms and restaurants in Portland when the term locavore was new to the lexicon and blogging was a quirky endeavor. It first appeared online at Downeast Magazine in around 2001 and later commissioned by an enterprising editor at the Portland Press Herald where it ran for years until it morphed into the Golden Dish.

For better or worse, the space quickly became focused on restaurant reviews, a shaky moment for some or a stellar  time for others.

It was exciting to eat my way through Portland’s restaurant renaissance.  Suddenly it was no longer just Back Bay Grill and Fore Street as keepers of the flame but rather newcomers like Five Fifty Five, Bandol, Caiola’s, Hugo’s, Cinque Terre, Vignola and Duck Fat joined the group if only to make the old guard strive to be better.

Below are some photos from the past of dining in Portland, most around 2015-2016, as far back as my current Photoshop catalogue goes.

Five-fifty Five back in the day 2015 and much earlier in the early aughts

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The Brunch Report: Transcendent at Terlingua, a Tantalizing Smoked Beef Brisket over Sweet Potato Hash

April 11, 2016 / / Restaurants

Whether brunch energizes you or creates the perfect scenario for an afternoon nap, one thing is certain:  It has to be thoroughly satisfying.  And these days what goes beyond the norm of eggs Benedict gets my vote for culinary rapture. That happened this past Sunday at Terlingua, now a mainstay   along the bustling restaurant mecca also anchored by  Roustabout across the street and  the newly opened Drifter’s Wife.

A hale and hearty scene at Terlingua's well- attended Sunday brunch

A hale and hearty scene at Terlingua’s well- attended Sunday brunch

I chose Terlingua for my brunch destination because after scanning many restaurant sites and their online menus, one dish stood out: smoked brisket hash with sweet potatoes and eggs.

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The Brunch Report: And the winner is . . .

February 22, 2016 / / Uncategorized

Of all the great brunches that I’ve featured in The Brunch report, my latest foray tipped the scales.  And if there were any contest at all The Winner Is . . .Caiola’s.  Perhaps it’s especially so with the kitchen being manned by its new sous chef, Matt Seitz, who took over Nick Ryder’s reign when he moved to Colorado late last year.  Of course chef supreme and co-owner Abby Harmon still leads the team with her inimitable flair for flavor and texture in each dish.

I’m hesitant to proclaim one restaurant’s superiority over the other.  Caiola’s, however, has consistently come up with different brunch specials every week, creating dishes that are novel and ultimately lip-smacking good, the sort of restorative food that you want for that first meal on a Sunday.

Brunch lineup: baked eggs with roasted tomatoes, ham and white bean stew' perfect bloody Mary and maple bacon added to the dish

Brunch lineup: baked eggs with roasted tomatoes, ham and white bean stew; perfect bloody Mary and maple bacon added to the dish

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The Brunch Report: No Need to go West When the East Ender Delivers Mighty Fine Fare

February 15, 2016 / / Restaurants

If lack of wherewithal stirs unhappiness, then the effulgence of Sunday brunch is a fine remedy.  That and a glass of morning Sherry on the porch opens the door to countless revelries.  Portland abounds with choices and as you’ve read here I’ve given my opinion on many places.  But one that has slipped my sights is the East Ender.

The downstairs dining room and bar at East Ender

The downstairs dining room and bar at East Ender

My only regret is that chefs and owners Karl Deuben and Bill Leavey traded in their Small Axe food truck for the brick and mortar route; theirs was, to date, the best of the lot as far as food truck cuisine goes in Portland.

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Woodford Food and Beverage: Three visits in three days and still counting–It’s a winner

January 22, 2016 / / Restaurants

Portland is, after all, a very small city but one whose cause and effect stir the pot when anything new or different comes along.  Our dining scene is a prime example.  As soon as a new restaurant opens, the local pundits pounce hard and fast to get their words out there immediately, and diners follow suit to flood these new eateries enthusiastically.   I include myself in the crowd, though I hope what I have to report and posit are meaningful.  That said, the newly opened—and at this writing the restaurant is just days old—Woodford Food and Beverage—has made the obligatory splash.  (See my earlier Preview write up).

The WFB dining room bar on opening night; lower right, the corner banquette

The WFB dining room bar on opening night; lower right, the corner banquette

It’s the first new restaurant on the scene in 2016 but not far behind two other bright new stars, Terlingua and Roustabout.  The latter two have carved out a niche along Washington Avenue. And there’s more coming on the avenue, too, with Maine and Loire expanding its reach (Drifter’s Wife, a wine bar) and a café and chocolate bar, A Lively Palate.

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Special Report: Woodford Food and Beverage Preview–set to open on Wednesday, January 20th

January 18, 2016 / / Uncategorized

Update your address book and enter Woodford Food and Beverage.  It’s the first new restaurant of the year.  The official opening date is Wednesday, January 20, at 660 Forest Ave. at Woodford’s Corner. But the restaurant has been holding friends and family nights all weekend long, and I was fortunate to have attended one of the dinners.

The sleek dining room is both family friendly and date night chic

The sleek dining room is both family friendly and date night chic

Essentially it’s an American bistro serving stylish fare prepared by Chef Courtney Loreg whose resume includes a four year stint at Fore Street, 2 years at the former Bresca and several years at Wente Vineyards in California, before moving back to Maine.

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The Brunch Report: Try Roustabout for something delicious and different

December 28, 2015 / / Uncategorized

You won’t find the typical weekend brunch menu at Roustabout, the new Italian-American bistro that opened on Washington Avenue recently. (See dine-out dinner review.)

And that’s just fine with me because as much as we love our eggs Benedicts and variations thereof, the dish is everywhere.

Bar dining at Roustabout

Bar dining at Roustabout

What you will get is a carefully thought out menu.  Don’t look, then, for other typical dishes like sausage gravy over biscuits or cracklings of bacon rashers with eggs over easy. This is, after all, brunch, the combination of morning and noontime leisurely dining where a little bit of this and that suffice.

I had the house-cured char, their take on cured salmon.  It’s served with a spicy mascarpone to spread on wonderful housemade rye crackers upon which you put slivers of cured char and a delicious side garnish of roasted tomato, mint leaves, red onion and capers in a light vinaigrette.

Cured char with rye crackers, mascarpone and capers; perfect bloody Mary

Cured char with rye crackers, mascarpone and capers; perfect bloody Mary

Along with a well-made, well-garnished bloody Mary it’s a great way to begin. The char is more of a substantial dish that you would think. Followed by a small dish of scrambled eggs is just right.

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Portland Dining 2015: The Top Ten Newcomers who are continuing to make the city a destination for innovative dining

December 25, 2015 / / Restaurants

It’s been another banner year in 2015 for Portland area restaurants, with the best and brightest showing remarkable menus and innovative cooking, giving the birth of cool cuisine vitality.

Lobster tartine at The Honey Paw

Lobster tartine at The Honey Paw

While last year was all about small plates, 2015 mixed it up with both small and large plate menus in the mix. Of the 20 or so new establishments in our region, only 10 really made the grade as being special.  Union, Isa, East Ender, Tiqa, Roustabout, Evo, Tempo Dulu, Terlingua, The Honey Paw and even Cape Elizabeth chimed in with Rudy’s in the heart of that coastal suburb.

The spectacular space at Evo serves divine Mediterranean/Middle Eastern fare with chef Matt Ginn at the helm

The spectacular space at Evo serves divine Mediterranean/Middle Eastern fare with chef Matt Ginn at the helm

What was distinctive about these newcomers was the Big Money spent on décor, creating unique, often luxurious interiors beyond the traditional post and beam and brick confines that Maine restaurants favor.

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First Look: Roustabout–A bravura performance from Portland’s newest restaurant–don’t miss it!

November 6, 2015 / / Restaurants

What a display of Portland diners flocking to first night this past Tuesday at the newly opened Roustabout. To wit–it’s the latest darling in the mannered pleasures of our city’s boundlessly good restaurants.  Located in the historic Nissen Bakery Building on Washington Avenue, it joins a diverse roster of establishments already on the strip, most notably the recently opened Terlingua.

Roustabout’s conceptual karma is the handiwork of Portland branding specialists, Might and Main who’ve helped fashion such high fliers as Central Provisions, Hugo’s, Honey Paw  and more among the trendy watering holes and eateries that are defining the city.

Roustabout's dining room and bar

Roustabout’s dining room and bar

You see the Might and Main touches right away in the blond wood, the prominent bar and the generally cool sleekness in design.  While brand-building helps, ultimately it’s what co-owners Kit Paschal and Anders Tallberg have delivered in decor,  ambiance and food.  Paschal hails as bar and beverage personality from Boston and Tallberg has had some impressive chef credentials in that city too.

Together this duo is delivering in spades.  After two dinners there I experienced superb food served by a first-rate wait staff and, for once, the front- of -the house attention to detail was meaningful.

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Preview Popup: High expectations at Roustabout

October 2, 2015 / / Restaurants

The chatter on Roustabout–set to open sometime this fall along Washington Avenue (East Bayside’s  neo-hipster iteration of Middle Street’s  restaurant row)–is that it will feature Italian-American cuisine or, as later amended, a modern-day version thereof.  I’ve been looking forward to getting carefully crafted veal Parm, lasagna, spaghetti with Sunday sauce and meatballs.  But now I’m not so sure if that’s what the place will deliver. (Early menus posted on Instagram several months ago showed a menu of rustic Italian dishes.)

Instead, if it’s any indication, the extraordinary meal I had at this fledgling’s latest collaborative popup dinner on Tuesday night at Piccolo (what a collaboration!), veal Parm, et al, may  wait in the wings.

The avid dining scene at the Roustabout popup held at Piccolo; bottom right, co-paprtner Kip Paschal

The avid dining scene at the Roustabout popup held at Piccolo; bottom right, co-partner Kip Paschal

Admittedly it’s untimely to review a restaurant before its front doors have opened for business.  But in the case of Roustabout, they’ve made their proverbial splash already after two popup dinners.  The first was at Tandem Bakery (menu: lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and tiramisu) which I did not attend, and now the second unwrapping at Piccolo, which I attended.

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