Diet for a Small City has published a review of Pom’s Thai Taste.
The Vegetable Delight was a perfect meal. The vegetables had been cooked to a crisp bite; not a single limp pepper appeared on my plate. The garlic sauce was savory and sweet and nicely complemented the brown rice served alongside my meal. Afterward, I felt energized and satisfied. I felt I had consumed a fairly healthy meal.
There are three events on Monday: Portland Schooner is offering a sail to and lobster bake on Cow Island during the day, and tonight Stephen Lanzalotta’s weekly Piatto per Tutti cooking class and the weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place at Bull Feeney’s. On Tuesday, the next Wine Flight 5k Training Run is taking place, the destination is Cinque Terre. A class on freezing and drying food preservation is scheduled for Wednesday and on Thursday Alison LePage is teaching a class on vegetable fermentation. There’s a wine tasting scheduled on Friday at the West End Grocery for Devenish Wines. The Salt Exchange is running their weekly wine and canapes event on Wednesday. Portland’s weekly Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Last but not least on Sunday Cultivating Community is holding their annual locavore dining event—the 20 Mile Meal. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
Barava has gone out of business. While the construction next door on the former Portland Hall probably did them no favors, that spot hasn’t been a lucky one for prior restaurants there either.
The Corner Room received 4 stars from this week’s Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Given the perfection of the bucatini all’Amatriciana and the $9 price for a medium bowl, the Corner Room ranks as a foodie resource in this economic lull now and in the future.
Portland Magazine has published a review of Miyake.
The first course, three gorgeous pieces of Alaskan sockeye salmon nestled over a smooth lemon mayo sauce and topped with delightful fresh scallion and capers, was a hint of the treats to come. Next was a single very large scallop, browned to a crispy outside, sprinkled with bright red roe, and set to bask on top of tasty miso sauce. And then, an amazing plate of eight pieces of Edo-Mae nigiri, consisting of the finest salmon, yellow tail, fluke, red snapper, shrimp, scallop, and mackerel, all of it perfect, but the mackerel almost astounding with its subtlety and texture.
The White Heart has changed hands. The lounge will be open tonight but then will temporarily shutdown for a couple weeks before re-opening under the new ownership.
Also, according to a post from Original Portland, Maple’s has shutdown their store on Middle Street. The sign in the window says that “With the growth of our wholesale business we just aren’t able to give it the love it deserves” but Maple’s go on to promise that “BIG BIG BIG news [is] coming soon!”
There’s an article about Local Sprouts Cafe in today’s Press Herald. The LSC staff held a community design event earlier this week to go over their plans and gather fresh ideas for the cafe.
The Local Sprouts Cooperative is lined up as the first retail tenant at 645 Congress St., the former site of a University of Southern Maine dormitory.
The cooperative expects to open its Local Sprouts Cafe on the first floor of the building in February or March, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on local and organic foods.
Portland Food Heads has posted a report on Wednesday’s industry event at Grace to to introduce Backyard Farms’ new product, the Cocktail Tomato.
The staff of Grace prepared a four course meal with each course using the cocktail tomato as the central element. The starter was described as a “tomato cocktail.” The blanched and peeled tomato quarter was pickled in Grey Goose and Bloody Mary spices. Served on a spoon with a garnish of parsley, it was a nice teaser for the palate. The taste of the vodka came through just as the sweetness of the tomato worked to keep it at bay. It was a tasteful start to a light meal and I have to admit I’m interested by the vodka pickling concept. Might even try it out myself.
PopTech has published the list of speakers for their upcoming conference taking place next month in Camden. There’s a strong food vein running through the program this year with journalist Michael Pollan, urban farmer Will Allen, wine expert Phillipe Newlin, and eating designer Marije Vogelzang all on the schedule.
Lindsey Sterling has published another ethnic cooking adventures on her blog Inside Immigrant Kitchens. This time she’s cooking with Sopheap Im from Cambodia to make Bahn Chow.
The preparation I’ll take home with me is bahn chow, which I just tried making for a couple friends. The word is: thumbs up. Delicious. Said one: “I love the fresh mint, basil and cucumber. — Ooo! And I just got a little kick from the sauce!”
The article also explains that we’ll all be able to try Cambodian cuisine starting in October because that’s when Im plans on opening the Three Monkey’s world Cafe on Cumberland.