D. Taylor's Food & Travel

We learned about Batson River B & D from an article in the Portland Herald, and we thought we’d try it for brunch. They have a separate menu for brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Arrival We made a reservation online through OpenTable. The reservation process was simple. We arrived shortly after their opening time of 11:30 for brunch. There was quite a line outside waiting to get in. The line moved fairly quickly, and we were seated about 15 minutes later, at our reservation time of 11:45. Seating As a party of two, we were directed to a table for two, next to the bar and in the flight path of the servers bringing food out to other tables. The restaurant has high ceilings with no sound suppression, so the place is boisterous with many people talking loudly, particularly so because the restaurant was filled with many groups of six or more trying to be heard. Drinks Cranberry Mimosa, Beer Back, & Bloody Mary. We started with a cranberry mimosa and a Bloody Mary. The Bloody Mary came ...

We have been to a few restaurants recently and had good food and good service, a huge improvement from the peak of the pandemic where many restaurants had inexperienced cooks and inadequate service staff. Many of the restaurants I’ve eaten at recently have overcome many of those challenges. With that in mind, I decided to restart doing my food blog.

I suspended this blog in August 2021 because many restaurants were having issues with supplies and staff. I unsuspended this blog in May 2022 because I have had good experiences eating out, The Romano's Macaroni Grill in South Portland was the last restaurant I reviewed in 2021.

We tried stopping by the Dunstan Tap and Table once and learned they were closed both Monday and Tuesday. Finally, we were able to stop by about 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon.  Seating The hostess asked if a “hi-top” table was all right, and we said no, we’d prefer a regular table. She told us we couldn’t have one because they were reserved. We were aghast as we looked about and saw most of the tables vacant. She finally said we could have a table in the corner, but it was reserved for six PM, and we’d need to be done eating by then. It was apparent that the very young hostess wasn’t well trained in handling walk-ins. We were finally seated when we confirmed we wouldn’t take an hour and a half to eat.  Ordering Our server, Erin, was delightful and took our order. No onion rings for an appetizer, so we skipped having one. I ordered the Maple Bourbon Burger (8 oz. Prime Ground Beef, Smoked Pineland Farms Cheddar, Bacon, Fried Onions, Pickles, Maple Bourbon Sauce), medium well don...

We arrived at The Garage BBQ before the dinner hour, about 4:20 on a Friday afternoon. A pleasant young person met us as we came in the door and brought us to a seat. We asked to be put into a corner table with chairs with backs instead of a bench seat.  Pre-ordering They must have been short-staffed because we got the manager, Josh, as our server. He was excellent, and his knowledge of his bar was incredible.  Appetizers The table ordered an Onion Ring Tower. It included eight tempura-style onion rings and White BBQ and rémoulade dipping sauces. I like the tempura style and thought they were quite good. My wife thought they were a bit greasy. I noticed some of the rings had separation, and there was an inconsistent fry between the various rings. They were good, but not great. I thought the rémoulade was a bit bland, but I suppose I favor the hotter, more Cajun-flavored versions. Food I like sausages and had ordered the Spicy Sausage. It comes with cornbread, bacon mac’n’ che...

Background Because of COVID, it has been a long time since we have been out to a proper restaurant. We’ve done a lot of curbside and drive-thru pickup, but now that we have our COVID vaccinations and mask-wearing is becoming optional in Maine, I think we will be going out much more often. I also thought I’d start up this food blog again. This week, we thought we’d try The Garage at Pine Point. Unfortunately, we were eating about 3:30, and The Garage doesn’t open until 4 pm. So, instead, we went across the street to The Clambake.  Arrival The Clambake current hours are 11 am to 8 pm, seven days a week. We arrived about 3:40, and there were only a few people there.  Ordering Ordering is done in a line that leads to several cash registers. We placed our order for what we considered a “late lunch” and received our receipt with the call number. Then we walked across the hall to the bar. The bartender was pleasant and provided the drinks in plastic cups. My wife’s whisky soda was a ...

Today is National Oatmeal Day, and I thought I’d look at my wife’s oatmeal.  Hers is the most interesting and best-tasting oatmeal ever. Cinnamon Oatmeal with Cream & Bailey's First, she cooks Old Fashioned Oats with cinnamon. Sometimes in the fall, she might add ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves to make a pumpkin-spice like mixture. She uses enough water to cook it, but the oatmeal is still very stiff.   Next, she will put it in a bowl and create a lovely mountain, making the sides steep and create a divot in the center. She then fills the outside with cream to create a moat around the oatmeal. Then, she fills the empty volcano with Bailey’s Irish Cream. Adding a snowy mountain top of whipped cream adds to the charm. Finally, a gentle sprinkle of cinnamon sugar provides the finished product. It is impressive to watch her build one.   #NationalOatmealDay