Year: 2009

Chinese for Christmas

| Posted in General News

The Portland Daily Sun food writer Margo Mallar paid a visit to Saigon and Kon Asian Bistro as part of her Christmas day.

The soup was a delight to my gentile tastebuds but it was a Christmas gift that our pescatarian Jewish friend Rachel had to decline on two counts: treif and meat.  \We were eating light so limited ourselves to Saigon Veggie egg rolls, steamed french beans, a sardine banh mi sandwich and a tofu curry entree.  The portions were abundant, made with fresh ingredients and well seasoned.  The homemade chili sauce alone is worth a return trip.

The Launch of Portland Cooks

| Posted in Farming

The long awaited launch of Portland Cooks—a multimedia blog by “Radio Host, former urchin-diver, ex-restaurant lackey, and fearless promoter of the hard-working people in the local food industry” John Dennison—took place today with a piece on Sunset Farm Organics. Sunset provides organic greens throughout the winter to some of Portland’s best known restaurants from their greenhouses in southern Maine.

This Week's Events – NYE Dinners

| Posted in Events

Monday—Maine Ambassadors of Food and Drink are running the weekly Foodie Trivia Contest at Bull Feeney’s.
Tuesday—there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading.
Wednesday—pick-up for the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Thursday—New Year’s Eve dinners are taking place at Bar Lola, Cinque Terre, Eastland Park Hotel, Emilitsa, Evangeline, Five Fifty-Five, Frog and Turtle, Grace, Inn by the Sea, Shima, The Salt Exchange, Twenty Milk Street, Vignola.
Friday—First Friday Art Walk is taking place and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a local area food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events – NYE Dinners

| Posted in Events

Monday—Maine Ambassadors of Food and Drink are running the weekly Foodie Trivia Contest at Bull Feeney’s.

Tuesday—there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading.

Wednesday—pick-up for the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place in Monument Square.

Thursday—New Year’s Eve dinners are taking place at Bar Lola, Cinque Terre, Eastland Park Hotel, Emilitsa, Evangeline, Five Fifty-Five, Frog and Turtle, Grace, Inn by the Sea, Shima, The Salt Exchange, Twenty Milk Street, Vignola.

Friday—First Friday Art Walk is taking place and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a local area food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

51 Wharf Bar Review

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Bar Guide has published a review of 51 Wharf.

Tonight though, the place is all charm. Lots of laughter, high fives, welcoming hollers. The bartender, Lindsay, has just returned from New Zealand where she was refining her palette with feijoa-infused vodkas. Her favorite drink to make is a nice slice of devil’s pie called a “Grapecrusher,” which specializes in masking alcohol with delicious fruit juices, and grape vodka. Crushing, but in a good way.

Year End Phoenix Round-Up

| Posted in General News

Portland Phoenix restaurant reviewer Brian Duff has penned a survey of changes in the 2009 dining landscape as well as  a caution that the Portland food scene may be peaking. I hope he’s wrong about that.
In a separate article Duff notes his favorite dishes for the year: the Sole Francaise at Street & Co as Best Upscale Dish, and the Duck Soup at Pom’s as the Best Affordable Dish.