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BRIAN DUFF

Latest Articles

Ahead of the curve

Rockland's Primo finds the future in past traditions
Popular tastes wax, wane, and wander about, but over the long run people most appreciate those things that are timelessly simple, elegant, and right: Roger Federer's backhand, German-expressionist art, cotton, and the summer here in Maine.

By: BRIAN DUFF | June 10, 2009

In the raw

Exploring GRO Café's uncooked cuisine
The new GRO Café offers a vegan menu on which (almost) nothing has been heated beyond 112 degrees. This is supposed to preserve something raw-foodists call "living enzymes," which they imagine to be important to our health. Technically that is nonsense.

By: BRIAN DUFF | May 20, 2009

Tried and true

Where to go for the ultimate summertime burgers
The greasy, informal meals of summer lead to lots of uncouth mouth-cramming and finger-licking. It is best not to look. For this reason, many purveyors of the quintessential summertime burger are set up for shoulder-to-shoulder eating.

By: BRIAN DUFF | May 13, 2009

Somali equality

Barava's appetizer basket is a glorious find
In trading up for the romantic notoriety of piracy from the ignored tragedy of famine and civil war, Somalis have pulled off the PR coup of the millennium.

By: BRIAN DUFF | April 22, 2009

Simpler, but not too much

The Farmer's Table brings comforting cuisine to Commercial Street
In taking over the space recently occupied by Mim's, one of Portland's prissiest restaurants, the owners of the Farmer's Table were wise to choose a name designed to set customers at ease.

By: BRIAN DUFF | April 15, 2009

Growing pains

Stick with the beer at the Run of the Mill brewpub
I hardly need to remind you of the dangers of expanding liberalism. While conservatives will screw you if they can, liberals will track you down to stick it to you.

By: BRIAN DUFF | March 25, 2009

Really remarkable

Indulge in the truffles at Dean's Sweets
Dean's Sweets, with its Americana name and its modest storefront, does not prepare you for the sophisticated chocolates you find there.

By: BRIAN DUFF | March 18, 2009

Review: Happy Teriyaki

Japanese and Chinese cuisines take second place at Happy Teriyaki
There is little that is hard about Happy Teriyaki, which is Korean-owned despite the Japanese name and the Japanese-style cute bear logo in the window.

By: BRIAN DUFF | February 25, 2009

How to do prix-fixe

In anticipation of Restaurant Week, we find a great model
In anticipation of Restaurant Week, we find a great model

By: BRIAN DUFF | February 18, 2009

A good kind of corny

Loco Pollo gets tamales right
To have been stuck with corn was the great curse of this continent.

By: BRIAN DUFF | January 28, 2009

Olive Café

Thin but strong
Solid tastes at Olive Café

By: BRIAN DUFF | January 21, 2009

Stimulants galore

Arabica offers a bright spot for a dark year
The next 12 months will offer obsession with stimulus and stimulation.

By: BRIAN DUFF | December 31, 2008

Eating like tourists

Are Portland restaurants captive to visitors' dollars?
This year Portland's restaurant "scene" seemed to nudge its way into the consciousness of the national food media

By: BRIAN DUFF | December 23, 2008

Waterfront hangout

Andy's Old Port Pub has a comfy feel
It's a bar whose dinner menu seems to reflect the simple idea that when you have a pleasant place to hang out, drink, and socialize, people get hungry.

By: BRIAN DUFF | December 03, 2008

Luxurious loneliness

Thanksgiving's is just like home after the holiday
There are the moments when the solitary life is unbearable, but Thanksgiving is not one of them. No matter how distant you have grown from family or friends, you find a home to arrive at with a dish in hand.

By: BRIAN DUFF | November 26, 2008