February 2018

The Old-Fashioned Way: Cast-Iron Baked Pound Cake

February 28, 2026 / / Baking & Desserts, Recipes

Forget the tube or loaf ban when making a pound cake and try the age-old custom of baking the cake in a cast-iron pan. I have a collection of pans in all sizes and use them nearly exclusively for everything. For cake baking (or pastry) the method offers a new dimension but one that’s so old fashioned you wonder why you haven’t used this method regularly. The big difference is in the finished texture and taste of the cake.

Served with scoops of vanillla and coffee ice creams, are a perfect pairing with this rich-textured cake

It develops a wonderful top crust and the interior of the cake is richer and fuller; somehow all the ingredients of butter, sugar, flour, heavy cream and vanilla coalesce into what I think is the ultimate pound cake: big texture and flavor from baking it in such a heavy-guage pan that conducdts the heat so well.

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Brunch Report: So Sweet, So Savory-Little Giant Soars with Taste and Style

February 25, 2026 / / Restaurants

Sometimes all you want is a stick-to- the- ribs breakfast without frills or flourish. But the basic brunch nowadays is expected to go beyond expectations: Old school is the predictable hash browns, biscuits of some kind, breakfast meats whether artisanal or not and eggs in some fashion. But when it comes to the new rules of brunch, boundaries are challenging chefs into devising more creative dishes to serve at that no-man’s land of weekend dining from 9 AM to 2 PM. Last week I extolled the cunning virtues of brunch at Chaval. At Little Giant this past weekend I was pleased as punch as well—to enjoy a repast that had it all: sweet, savory, eggs, meat and a classic bloody Mary to pave the way.

In the bar, dining at the booths and bar; dining room is beyond

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Sunday Brunch: The Gloire of Weekend Brunch’s Newcomers Defining the Scene

February 19, 2026 / / Restaurants

In our town, filled with bounteous brunch menus—some offered on weekends and others just on Sundays—the vagaries of the star brunch dish, Eggs Benedict, rarely surprise. But then consider Chaval, commandeered by the highly effective husband and wife chef duo and co-owners, Damián Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez. The latter’s focus is her art of refined pastries and Sansonetti wielding his firm hand in the kitchen—really a co-conspiratorial affair—giving Portlanders a fine fusion of American-European fare.

The dining room and bar at Chaval

Chaval’s brunch menu is part of a new wave of offerings that typify the meal from some of our newest, highly regarded restaurants—namely, in addition to Chaval, Little Giant and Bolster, Snow, all of whom offer highly evolved brunch menus with twists and turns that elevate this strange thing called weekend brunch.

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Sunday Bagels: New York-Style Onion Bagels Have Made it to Maine

February 18, 2026 / / Discoveries

By special request my need for a true New York style onion bagel arrived at Rose Foods this past Sunday. Studded with onions and salt these were the true bagels of my youth growing up in New York.

A basket of onion bagels fresh out of the oven at Rose Foods

To me the onion bagel is iconic beyond all others. Though the most universally popular is still the everything bagel, which I find too overwhelming, an ersatz plotz of disparate spices coating the most common bagel.

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Bagels: The Mania Continues in the Evolution of Bagels in Maine

February 4, 2026 / / Discoveries, Restaurants

Onion bagels epitomize the New York bagel more than any other variety in the city known for its water-bath wonders. Indeed growing up in New York Sunday mornings meant bagels for breakfast, with lox and cream cheese and sometimes white-fish salad or a whole fish of smoked sable. We had the proverbial baker’s dozen, which included plain, sesame seed and onion. Occasionally an egg bagel (with onions) was included in the mix and a few bialies, too.

Union’s basket of onion bagels

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