Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Jade Island, Waterville

Last Thursday I dragged Greg and Vicky to a dreadfully boring lecture at Colby College in Waterville. We enjoyed the museum opening there, but couldn't wait to burst out of our seats after the lecture and find somewhere to put our hunger to rest. I remembered a place we used to go 15 years ago when I was a student at Colby. Jade Island is off the beaten track but was open when we got there at 8:15. The kitchen was just about to close and so we were one of two tables in a vast, Orientalist interior. We ordered fried dumplings that were very good. They don't use wonton wrappers, but rather some kind of pastery dough for the wrapper. Also had cashew chicken that arrived with big pieces of both chicken and cashews! The sauce was very good. Greg had Egg Foo Yung which was really light and fluffy and wonderful. Vicky also ordered dumplings and soup which she liked very much. It was a fast and furious dinner but very good. Of course, we still compare food here, Chinese food in particular, to what we found in Chicago. Still haven't found Chinese food that nears what you can get in a big city, but it still works for us.
Atmosphere: B+
Food: B+
Friendly Service: A

Monday, March 08, 2004

Update on Dudley's Belfast

Have I said how much I enjoy eating at Dudley's? On Sundays in the Winter there is always a table somewhere and the cook has come out with my new favorite thing to eat potato sausage chedder cakes with a grilled biscuit and two scrambled eggs, Great way to get over the Saturday evening fogginess. I love Dudley's.....did I say that already?
Miss Portland Diner, Portland

I've wanted to go to the Miss Portland Diner ever since I saw it for sale on Ebay. I'm a big Diner fan and the pictures of the interior of this railcar diner looked pretty cool. Well, after spending the night thrashing around on a reeeaaaaally lumpy futon and getting my face batted by a purring cat all night long, I was ready for some good food to say the least. All I can say is...too bad we picked the Miss Portland Diner to satisfy my breakfast cravings.
I love breakfast...best meal of the day by far for me in terms of being served good food. I don't really love to make breakfast, but I will.....Anyway, bacon and eggs with a grilled biscuit or something out of the ordinary is always the call. Too bad the Miss Portland missed that calling.
We waited for a good 5 to 7 minutes before our server came over. She seemed hassled and was forgetful. After getting drinks and pouring over the measely menu, I chose eggs, bacon, and a grilled seseme bagel. My sister had homefries, bacon, and a bagel. A full 20 minutes later, our stomachs rumbling, our food arrived. The bacon was microwaved and looked like sizzlean, the eggs had a load of whiltes showing and the whole wheat bagel (see above) was sopped in grill grease and had no butter on it. Ann's bagel was completely burned through and the homefries were barely cooked cut up potatos with no seasonings. All for the astonishingly high price of $18.00. The Miss Portland is closing at the end of this month.....no wonder!
Food: A disappointment C-
Atmosphere: A Huge Dirty Disappontment C
Service: Whatever C