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Maine-ly Eats
By Andrew Zimmern on March 30, 2009 11:44 AM | Permalink | 10 Comments
Wanna know where I like to eat? Well I thought you would. But let me give you some idea of how this blog happened.
If there is a greater pleasure than spending a week shooting a TV show of your own in your Dad's adopted hometown, a place you visit all the time, have friends living there that you have known for 30 years (Samantha and Don Lindgren, the owner of Rabelais book store, the best cookbook store in New England), eating your way through a few acts with your son, and visiting some of the best restaurants in the country ... well, I don't know what that would be. I love Maine. And we got to shoot there last summer and make a great show.Sadly my fave moments of the show wound up on the cutting room floor, like my dinner at Fore St, one of my fave eateries on any continent, and the only place I eat at EVERY time I am in Portland. Sam Hayward is a god. Anyway, from chowder at the Porthole to the glassed-in fridge and live fire kitchen at Fore, from Rob Evans inspired cooking at Hugos to Rabelais' books, from Duckfat to the lobster rolls at Five Islands Lobster Company to the fried clams at Day's, food in Maine is as complex and locally inspired as any food in the country. I also love eating at 555 and Back Bay Grill when I hit Portland, and Big Fish in Kennebunkport is a place we always stop in on the way up to visit Dad, ditto the Clam Box, both of which make the drive from Boston to Maine more enjoyable.
So I thought maybe I should let you know about some restaurants closer to home that you should check out. This list is not a complete one, just the last few months I have gotten around a lot locally and wanted to clue you all in to some slick places in your neck of the woods.
Palm Beach: Café Boloud at the Brazilian Court ... maybe the best restaurant in Southern Florida, the food is amazing, the service and the setting (the gardens of the Brazilian Court Hotel) are second to none. Too Jays Deli has the best Pastrami sandwich in town, and it saved me from fine-dining overload.
Chicago: Paradise Pup and Hot Dougs for amazing burgers and sausages, second to none. Blackbird and Avec are superb restaurants, and I have been going to them for years, but last week I had a meal at Blackbird that was one of the best in recent memory. At over a decade old, this restaurant is still supremely relevant, and that is saying a lot. The sepia noodles with snail caviar and the braised pork belly rocked me. As did the $150 cup of rare Pu Er tea I snarfed down as a digestive.
Phoenix: Pizzeria Bianco, worth the three-hour wait, go sit next door in his wine bar and relax. The pizzeria might be the best VPN style pie shop in North America. Seriously that good, and Chris is always behind the counter, slinging dough. The tomato-garlic-oregano pie was about as good as pizza gets.
Seattle: Serious Pie, which is Tom Douglas' newest eatery, is just a few years old. He cooks his pies 200 degrees colder than most VPN joints, but his duck pate, ribbolitta, calamari salad and pizzas are out of this world, a top-10 coast-to-coast pie house for sure. Douglas owns Etta's Palace Kitchen, Lola etc and is one of the best chefs in the country, but this little pizza joint of his is my current fave.
Los Angeles: In Los Angeles the hottest eateries are humble little joints that forego napery, fine silver or tasting menus. Palate, Osteria Mozza and Gjelina embrace communal dining, wood-fired farm-to-table peasant cookery and humble ingredients.
Montreal: The hottest trend here is in postage-stamp-sized chef-driven cafes that take more pride in a well-turned-out sandwich than in a five-course meal. Martin Pird's Au Pied du Cochon on Duluth Street is my fave, but McKiernan's (lunch counter in the daytime/wine bar as the sun sets), Buvette Chez Simone and a half dozen others all follow the same playbook.
Minneapolis: the best new restaurant in town is Barrio, a small tequila bar serving upscale Mexican cuisine at bargain-basement prices; don't miss it next time you roll into my city.
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I enjoyed your Maine Show, And your relationship with your father is genuine and touching.
But I have to ask, whats with the flamboyant pastel coloured clothing it is very effemenant?
As a Chef who has worked with gay cooks, who would cringe at your clothing choices.
And do you really eat that noisilly or is it bad mic placement, or lousey sound engenering?
Or does some one in editing hate you and want to sabatage you?
My 8 year old son says "no not this guy he eats like a pig and makes grose noises. I cant stand him" when I watch your show.
Best Regards, Michael DesFosses
oh ya how do I get to be on your show as a guest?
Hi, I´m in México in a place called Texmelucan, I wanna know how can I do for have some comunication with Andrew, I like his program and I know that he is a busy man, but we have an invitation very important in my city for him. I hope that somebody can help me, tank you very much.
I love watching your show, and totally enjoy visiting all the wonderful places you go to. I'm looking forward to this coming new season with you, I know it'll be as wonderful as the past season has been!! Keep up the good work!! OH, and it was really cool seeing your son and your father on your Maine visit. Adding your family made it fun, getting to know you a little better. Jewel, in Nebraska.
Hi Andrew, love your show first of all, and I think every Vietnamese know about your defeat by the mighty durian in the Vietnam episode (I love that stuff) :). Speaking of fruits, I just watched the Ethiopia show, and just by chance saw what looked like rambutan, another favorite fruit of mine, in the intro. It's the red, furry looking one. Anyway, maybe you should do a special on bizarre fruits, there are just as many variety, if not more, as other foods. Have you ever eaten fresh raw cacao beans from the pod?
I LOVE your show! I'm into bizarre foods myself, so I salivate most of the time when I'm watching your show. The suckling pig's head is the best! Looking forward to the new season. Keep up the good work!
Hey Andrew- 1) love the show; 2) happy that I won't be watching reruns this week!; 3) I'm wondering if you can help me out. I run an afterschoolprogram on a Native American reservation in Upper Michigan and the book I'm reading to the kids right now is the classic "How To Eat Fried Worms" by Thomas Rockwell. Many of the kids watch your show (and, I like to brag to them, I've met you at the airport in LA on your way back from India), and we were wondering if you had any advice about attempting to eat worms? We've ordered and are anxious to try the "Larvets" snacks (kinda like worm Cheetos, I'm guessing), but can you help with any other suggestions? Remember, the ground up here is still pretty frozen, so digging may not be an option. Thanks for any help-
Rachel Fix, Escanaba, MI
Andrew - we (our family loves Maine too) Have an Uncle in Tenants Harbor. Go there every summer. Have you tried Reds Eats in Wiscasset? Rt 1 - Unbelievable lobsta rolls and MUCH MUCH more! Every year as we are making our 6 hour journey by car - it holds us up traffic for miles!! Always a huge long line! Have only been there once because it's always packed
Hey Andrew;
I was born and raised in the state of Maine.. was glad to see that some people enjoy coming here just to relax and have fun. very had wild game stew? it's a mix of all the wild game meat you can hunt here in maine with the staples of a good stew potatos, carrots, peas, the wild game adds a wonderful level of flavor to the whole deal. Come back soon
I was so happy to see Maine and was looking forward to it, but your slurping noises and repulse me. I cant stand the noises you make and end up having to change the channel because I just cant stand it any longer. I rarely can see the whole show. I am not repulsed by bizarre foods as I am a believer when traveling that you do as in Rome. I love snails, gator and so on. I usually try something new on every trip I take. Seriously how can anyone sit across from you when you eat like someone without any manners what-so-ever. Lord how annoying it is to hear those noises when you engorge your mouth while eating. Listen to yourself sometimes, please.
I was looking for the Sourkraut pie that Andrew ate on his show that aired on Sunday the 14th of June 09. It looked great and I would love the receipt.