D. Taylor's Food & Travel

I love breakfast. I grew up knowing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I also love finding new places to have breakfast. I had seen Simple Simon's on as I drove by several times and figured I’d try them. This is a local, mom & pop type of restaurant. It was open seating with the grill and the counter in sight of all the tables. There was mostly a senior crowd late on the Friday morning we visited. We arrived and were told to seat ourselves .  Simple Simon's 2 eggs (over hard), toast, ham, home fries, with an extra side of bacon. After a few minutes the waitress came, we ordered coffee and began looking at the menu. Pretty simple fare; eggs, pancakes, omelets, breakfast meats, and home fries. The omelettes looked interesting, plain eggs with toast and you add whatever you want for fillings at sixty cents per ingredient. My wife and I both decided on a number two: 2 eggs any style, home fries, toast, and breakfast meat. She ordered the bacon ...

The Bean Coffee and Wine Cafe Andover, Minnesota E corner of Hanson & Crosstown Bullivards I was visiting a friend in Ham Lake, Minnesota, and he suggested eating at “The Bean” a cafe in Andover. It is a strip mall restaurant in a fairly new complex. With a name like, "The Bean," I figured it focused on coffee,  which it does, but, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they sold wine and beer.  Grilled Tuna Melt with kettle Chips The Bean Coffee and Wine Cafe I don’t drink a lot of beer anymore and the explosion of craft beers has me at a disadvantage in that I don’t know a lot of the new craft beers. I spoke with our server, Amber, about the beers. She was extremely helpful, asking about my preferences and tastes. Finally, we agreed on Tree Shaker by O’Dell which is an Imperial Peach IPA. It wasn't nearly as peachy as I thought it might be which was good.  It a very good beer and Amber was very helpful. My friend and I then ordered. I was unde...

I am “not from around here” and have never lived in a place before where establishments close for the winter. I understand it intellectually, but just haven’t gotten into the mind-set to know that my favorite places to eat in the summer and early fall will be closed for the winter and won’t open until spring. Last summer and fall we went to the Pine Point Grille several times and truly loved the food, particularly their pork entree, so we were very excited to learn that they were opening on March 19th. We couldn’t get there the first couple of weekends they were open but were able to go a couple weeks later. We arrived shortly after opening and they were already fairly busy. Maybe about half the tables were already taken.   In the summer they seat many people in their outside area, but March in Maine – everyone was inside and trying to be as far away from the door as possible. The Pine Point Grill is a nice upscale restaurant. It is probably one of the nicest places I know o...

Restaurant Review – Dogfish Bar and Grille – 128 Free St., Portland, ME We were recently at an event at the Cross Insurance Arena.   After the event, we thought we’d do a late lunch at a restaurant nearby.   The weather was miserable, snow blowing sideways, so we wanted somewhere close.   We decided on the Dogfish Bar and Grille on Free Street about a block away.   When we arrived, there were no other patrons at the restaurant; the weather clearly was keeping folks away. We were met by an attractive hostess who brought us to a table well away from the door, which when opened blasted the inside with cold wind.   Because our walk there was so miserable, we ordered a couple hot toddies to warm our spirits along with our usual “water with lemon.” Bar area - Dogfish Bar and Grill Portland, ME CC BY SA The bar area looked very nice and well kept.   A dozen things on tap, a couple televisions, clean looking and inviting. The drinks arrive...

We were recently talking to a neighbor about Chinese restaurants in the area and she recommended Chia Sen on Payne Road.  It is next to the AT&T store, near Bull Moose, not too far from the Maine Mall.  We were in the area and thought we would give it a shot. As we walked to the front door, the signs, “Fine Dining,” and “Chinese Cuisine,” promised a wonderful meal.   We were moderately disappointed when we didn’t see tablecloths, which are part of our definition of “fine dining.”   However, we were pleasantly greeted and brought to a nice table. It took a long time for the waiter to stop by.   We ordered waters with lemon.   Because Chia Sen also has a full bar, we decided to order a couple “Bloody Mary’s.”   The waters were dropped off quickly and the waiter left without a word – Presumably to go to the bar to get our drinks.   The waters did not have the lemon, as we had asked for.   The “Bloody Mary’s” took quite a while ...

Weathervane Seafood Restaurant , South Portland, Maine (Near the Maine Mall) It is a rare day that my wife suggests we go out to eat at a seafood restaurant.  She said she had a “hankering for some scallops.”  She suggested Ken’s, which is just down the road from our home.  We headed down and found Ken’s closed for the season.  For some reason we were thinking they remained open – apparently not.  Anyway, knowing Bailey’s, The Clambake, and The Pine Point Grill were closed for sure, I had to think…. How about the Weathervane by the Maine Mall, I suggested.  She said “sure, why not” and away we went. We were immediately met and seated by a friendly hostess.  Our waitress stopped by, we ordered some water with lemon and continued to review the menu.  The waters arrived with lemon and all was well. Sea Scallops (Seafarer portion), Onion Rings, & Coleslaw Weathervane Seafood Restaurant, We decided on sea scallops, for my wife, a...