Run & Eat: At Dina’s Cuisine, the name has changed but the food has not
The menu at the former Ameera Bread in Portland offers a tour of the Middle East and parts of the Mediterranean.
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The standard falafel, left, pictured next to Dina s Falafel, which adds fried potatoes to the sandwich. Photo by Peggy Grodinsky
The giant rounds of naan bread from Ameera Bread on Forest Avenue were one of my early, happy discoveries when I moved to Portland. I’d previously lived in Houston and New York City, two of the most diverse spots in the United States, with eye-popping global food reflecting their international populations. While I knew the food in Portland would be good – the city had a national reputation for excellent food, after all – would it satisfy my palate’s itch to roam?
There s no shortage of restaurants to grab delicious food across the city of Portland. From the hub of activity in the Old Port to the far edges of town, there s an incredible selection of restaurants that serve up every type of cuisine you can imagine. With so many choices, it d be easy to drive right past one of the best Thai food restaurants in Maine, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall called Esaan.
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Located along a crowded stretch of Forest Avenue that includes mainstays like RSVP and Ameera Bread, Thai Esaan is the brainchild of a mother and son duo that own and operate the business. Their secret comes from family recipes from Northeast Thailand perfected by chef Siwaporn Roberts. Esaan has great speciality dishes like Khao Men Gai, which is steamed chicken on top of seasoned rice served with a delicious homemade sauce. If you re not willing to get too crazy with your choices, all the classic dishes you d expect are on the menu as well, including pad Thai, drunken n