Month: April 2014

Family Feast

| Posted in Events

Knack Factory has published a report from Sunday night’s Indonesian Family Feast.

We can genuinely say that the food and the event itself were both spectacular. We were seated at a table with Arlin Smith and Roxanne Dragon of Hugo’s Restaurant, Jessica Sueltenfuss, [Jason] Loring and others—all worthy judges of spectacular food—and we were collectively impressed plate after plate. Not only was the food worthy of celebration, the communal atmosphere that Pisha-Duffly stresses is imperative to this experience was in full effect and everyone was in the best of spirits.

Winnegance Oyster Farm

| Posted in General News

Winnegance Oyster Farm has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $7,500 for their oyster and seaweed aquaculture farm.

Winnegance Oyster Farm is located on Maine’s New Meadows River. Our aim is to grow high quality oysters and edible seaweeds using techniques that are good for the environment. We chose the New Meadows for its clean water, its ability to support abundant sea life, and its proximity to the Portland market.

Jordan, Winnegance Oyster Co’s owner and sea-farmer, spent much of the last ten years working in wildlife biology. His background in environmental science, the food industry, and horticulture led him to the world of aquaculture.

Winnegance will be seeding their first batch of oysters this Spring and expect them to take 18 to 24 months to reach full size. Their first seaweed crop will be available in the spring of 2015.

Visit the Winnegance page to support their new venture. For more information on the farm checkout their blog and Facebook page.

Eating in Maine by From Away

| Posted in General News

eating-in-maine-240x300Another new book about the Maine food scene, Eating in Maine: At Home, On the Town, and On the Road is now available.

Discover places and plates old and new under the expert guidance of Jillian and Malcolm Bedell, who bring a unique Millennial Generation perspective to the Maine food scene. Month by month, the Bedells dish great Maine food, and their tastes are as wide-ranging as this book. Restaurant reviews range from Dysart s Truck Stop to Fore Street, from Fat Boy Drive-In to Duckfat. Recipes range from a riff on the Maine Italian sandwich to Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Roasted Golden Beets and Moroccan Couscous.

Eating in Maine is by Malcolm and Jillian Bedell, authors of From Away.

The book ($22.95, 288 pages) is available on the Tilbury House  website.

This Week’s Events: Vinland Seder, Michele D’Aprix

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — the Local Foods Networking Breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts, and Vinland is holding a Passover Seder.

Thursday — the Bier Cellar is hosting Foundation Brewing for a tasting and to kick-off the store’s retail growler program, The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Magic Hat.

Friday — Michele D’Aprix will be the featured guest at a Rosemont’s Bordeaux wine dinner.

Saturday — there will be a salmon and gin tasting at the Sweetgrass retail space on Fore Street, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

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.

Under Construction: Lolita

| Posted in Under Construction

Maine Today has posted an interview with the owners of Lolita, Guy and Stella Hernandez and Neil Reiter, about their new restaurant.

SA: So you’re going to be doing Italian-inspired food?
GUY: I would say Mediterranean more than Italian. Certainly we all have flavor profiles and dishes that we are attracted to and it is only in retrospect that we say, Oh, those are Italian, Oh, you’re really into those oily fish of North Africa and Spain or the Greek cultures of these slow-cooked foods or whatever it is. All of those things are what we like to eat and we secondarily say those are influences. It’s driven by ‘What do you want to eat? Oh, this is what I like .. Great.’ And that makes it easy for us to say ‘Should this be on the menu? Well would you buy it?

The partners hope to open Lolita (facebook, website) in mid-May.

Lifecycle of the American Eel

| Posted in Fisheries

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article on the culinary and commercial ecology of elvers.

The short-term profits for baby eels are sweet – elvers are Maine’s second most lucrative water-based resource after lobster – but the long-term potential of growing those eels out to the more valuable adults here in Maine? Much sweeter, [fisherman Don] Sprague believes. Eel might be low on the list of Mainers’ favorite foods, but that doesn’t mean more of a profit couldn’t be made from other cultures’ love for it, or from the American sushi market. Sprague spells out the equation. “That $2,000 the fisherman got?” he said. “Now you multiply it times six.”