Month: January 2014

Serious Eats Top 50: Allagash

| Posted in Beer

Serious Eats has selected Allagash Merveilleux top represent Maine in their list of the 50 best beers from across the country.

Then, when everyone else was racing to see how many hops they could shove in a bottle, Allagash was one of the first to experiment with wild-fermented and sour ales. Merveilleux is the love child of those early funky beers. A blend of bourbon and wine barrel aged wild ales, Merveilleux is a wonderful example of what happens when brewers go beyond the novelty of brewing their first sour beer.

Cocktail Whisperer & Automatic Tips

| Posted in General News, Events

The Portland Daily Sun has published a report on last week’s visit to Portland by cocktail expert Warren Bobrow,

Bobrow, who has published over 300 articles on food, wine and cocktail mixology and blogs at The Cocktail Whisperer, demonstrated the variety of bitters that can spice up a cocktail, often with unexpected results.

In today’s issue of the Sun Natalie Ladd writes about changes in automatic group tips.

Reviews of Miyake Diner

| Posted in Reviews

Booze, Fish & Coffee and The Blueberry Files have posted a review of their opening night visits to Miyake Diner.

This week Bo and Brian popped in to the brand-spanking new Miyake Diner on opening night. This cozy izakaya spot is like the All-Star Game of Portland cuisine: Masa Miyake is the man in charge, with the Small Axe guys Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy also in the kitchen, and Joe Ricchio tending bar. We’ve been practically camping out on Spring Street, waiting for this place to open, and it was most definitely worth the wait. Rest assured: you’ll leave this place extremely comforted. Don’t miss the okonomiyake (scallion pancake – be sure to get both scallops and bacon) or the whelk in anchovy butter. [BFC]

If you’ve had any of Chef Miyake and crew’s food, you know that quality is not an issue here. Everything we had was very good. Instead, the food is surprising. The firm, tender octopus with crunchy onions in savory broth. Eggplant and eel pared together. Springy scallops and smoky bacon with sharp pickled ginger. The complex, unexpected flavors of the curry. [TBF]

Interview with Chef Shannon Bard

| Posted in People

The Bangor Daily News has published an interview with chef Shannon Bard from Zapoteca.

The chef-owner at Zapoteca in Portland is starting the year off on a high note. She will cook at the James Beard House in New York City at the end of January, will compete on a new Food Network show in February and is working on a cookbook. In the fall, the Kennebunk resident plans to open her third restaurant — Spanish spot Toroso in Portland — with her husband, Tom Bard. Not bad for a woman who didn’t go pro until she turned 40.

Miyake Diner Opening Tonight

| Posted in Openings

miyakedinerMiyake Diner (facebook) is opening tonight at 129 Spring Street; the location of the original Miyake restaurant.

Miyake Diner is styled  as a Japanese izakaya bar, a small casual space serving sake, beer and a menu of small plates. The opening night menu will feature dishes like:

Okonomiyaki (photo) – $8.50
Japanese style pancake with cabbage, scallion, and Maine shrimp, bacon or both

Niku Tofu– $8.50
Beef braised in soy and mirin with tofu and yam noodles

Kaisen Chawanmushi – $12.50
Custard with lobster, crab, uni, scallop and mitsuba

Egg, Egg, Egg!!! – $10
Deviled egg topped with uni and wasabi tobiko

as well as some more standard Japsnese fare such as edamame, seaweed salad, miso soup, shumai, and sashimi.

Miyake Diner seats 16 people. It will be open daily 6 pm to 1 am. Joe Ricchio is managing the bar, and Small Axe owners Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy are working in the kitchen alongside chef Masa Miyake.

This is the third restaurant in the Miyake family.

miyakediner1

This Week’s Events: Ice Bar, Red Howes Release, Robert Burns Day, Flanagan’s Table

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — it’s the opening night. at Miyake Diner, and the monthly Local Foods Networking Breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.

Thursday — it’s the first night of the Ice Bar at the Portland Harbor Hotel, the Bier Cellar is holding a Green Flash tasting, and Sierra Nevada will be the featured brewer at The Great Lost Bear.

Friday — there will be a wine dinner at BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe, and it’s the second night of the Ice Bar.

Saturday — Allagash is releasing their cranberry stout Red Howes, there will be a Robert Burns Day party at Portland & Rochester, it’s the last night of the Ice Bar, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

Sunday — chef Masa Miyake will be serving a sold out dinner at Flanagan’s Table, and chefs Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell are holding another test run at the Palace Diner in Biddeford.

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

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

Casa Novello Review and Group Tipping Policy

| Posted in General News, Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Casa Novello in Westbrook.

A combination trattoria and pizzeria, the restaurant is one of those old-school bastions of Italian-American cooking that serves up huge portions of mediocre cooking. Specialty pizzas and certain pasta dishes like lasagna and meatballs and spaghetti are popular and decently prepared. Entrees like chicken Marsala can be satisfying. Portion size makes up for a lack of finesse. Still, the atmosphere is congenial and the wait staff friendly and competent. Casa Novello offers a relaxed setting for moderately price fare.

Today’s paper also includes an article about recent changes to restaurant tipping policy driven by changes in tax law.

Like most other restaurants in Maine, DiMillo’s On the Water in Portland says it will no longer charge automatic gratuities for most large groups now that a change in the federal income tax code has closed a long-standing loophole.

Review of Grace

| Posted in Reviews

The Kennebec Journal has reviewed Grace.

The components of the dishes here are not just sides on the plate. They raise the dish to another level. With the first bite, I knew immediately that this was the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. The meat was tender and moist while the seasoned coating made it delectable. George sampled it as well and declared the same thing.