The process of converting all the past blog posts into the new system will take some time. I will chip away at it as time allows. In the meantime you can read the posts from June 2008 here.
| June 30 pm Samantha Hoyt Lindgren of Rabelais appeared on the radio as part of the Sunrise Bookshelf show on WUML in Lowell, MA. Masala Mahal, an Indian market in South Portland, has been added to the site. Commune Tested, City Approved has posted a review of Novare Res. “For the past month, Novare Res has been serving up more than 200 bottled beers and an ever changing selection of 25 beers on tap. And the food is amazing.” |
| June 30 – This Week’s Events Tuesday night the owner and brewers of Allagash will be on hand at Novare Res, the beer bar will have 10 Allagash products on tap that night. The next training run for the Wine Flight 5k is taking place on Tuesday; Walter’s is the destination. There are wine tastings taking place this week on Friday at the West End Grocery and on Saturday at Leroux. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be a Jazz Breakfast at the Portland Museum of Art. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar. |
| June 29 Nakornping Thai, received 3 stars from this week’s Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram. ” . . . Nakornping’s appetizers, like the sate and the ‘shrimp in a blanket,’ are excellent, and some of the entrees I tried rate just as highly. Only a few overcooked main ingredients detracted from the meals’ good quality.” The Thai restaurants in Portland will have some additional competion when the new Thai buffet that’s now under construction on Congress St opens. The new restaurant will be located at the former location of D’Angelo’s. Today’s edition of the Maine Sunday Telegram has an interesting article on the resurgence of grain farming and milling in Maine and an article on the red tide outbreak affecting the shellfish industry. |
| June 28 In her debut as the new blogger for 1:00 a.m. Curfew, Amy Martin has reviewed Prost! International Tap House. You can tell it’s strawberry season by the number of strawberry festivals taking place. New Gloucester had theirs on Thursday and today there are ones in South Freeport and North Yarmouth. If you don’t have time for either of those options then go to this morning’s farmers’ market in Deering Oaks where there’s sure to be plenty of fresh strawberries for sale. |
| June 27 There’s a new article on Chow Maine about Tropa Wine Co., a new wine shop located in the West End. |
| June 26 Today’s Press Herald reviewed North Star Music Cafe. “The North Star’s niche is comfort. The cafe is spacious.” New England Couture Cakes was profiled in this week’s edition of The Maine Switch. |
| June 25 This week’s edition of the Portland Phoenix includes an interview with Blake Smithson, former owner of Chickey’s Fine Diner, about the regional variations of barbeque in the US. There’s a late addition to this week’s event calendar. Bibo’s Madd Apple Cafe is holding a wine dinner on Friday featuring wines from South Africa. |
| June 23 – This Week’s Events The Greek Heritage Festival is taking place this week Thursday through Saturday. On Thursday, The Cheese Iron is holding a class on goat cheeses. Kitchen & Cork is holding a course on kitchen knife skills Wednesday. On Saturday they are offering a cooking class that will take students shopping at the Portland farmers’ market and to other shops, and then return to the store’s kitchen to prepare a meal with their purchases. Browne Trading is holding a Wine tasting on Thursday. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be a Jazz Breakfast at the Portland Museum of Art. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar. Club Onyx opened for business last week. A Taste of New York has been added to the list of food carts. |
| June 22 Tu Casa, received 3 stars from this week’s Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram. “Well-made, inexpensive Salvadoran standards fit the bill for a great casual dinner out.” |
| June 20 This week’s edition of The Forecaster has a write up about Mark’s Hot Dogs 25th anniversary, and an article about The Icehouse ending the legal battles over their liquor license. The Great Lost Bear won the Best Beer Bar category in Cheers magazine’s annual Benchmark Awards. Francisco’s Culinary Journey has reviewed Bayou Kitchen. ” . . . we’ve been back every week. That says a lot about a place! I’m now hooked on the Bayou Scramble . . . ” Bresca‘s menu is now online at their MySpace page. |
| June 19 John Everett has written a farewell article for his bar blog, 1:00 a.m. Curfew packed with parting advice on things like “pregaming”, Homerunners and his favorite bars in Portland. Amy Martin, a writer from The Maine Switch, will be taking over for John. Todos Street Tacos has been added to the site’s list of food carts |
| June 18 pm The Clown has decided to close its shop on Market Street in the Old Port. June 21 will be their last day in operation. Their two locations in Stonington and York will remain open. There have been a couple late additions to this week’s list of food events. Tomorrow afternoon, the Public Market House is holding a wine and cheese tasting. From a post on New2Maine.com I learned that Cinque Terre and Eve’s are colaborating on a wine dinner tomorrow night showcasing the wines of Wente Vineyards. The dinner will be held at Eve’s. For more information on both these events visit the Event Calendar This week’s edition of the Portland Phoenix reviewed the brunch offerings at Five Fifty-Five, Caiola’s and Local 188. “Five Fifty-Five successfully dresses itself down for brunch. Local 188, already dressed down, seems to handle brunch more smoothly than its dinner service. Finally Caiola’s, efficient and effortlessly elegant at night, is precisely the same in the morning.” |
| June 18 am Portland 207 has posted Part 3 in his ongoing series listing all the restaurants and bars in the city with outdoor seating on decks, patios, sidewalks, etc. To get the full picture see also Part 1 and Part 2. Commune Tested, City Approved has an article about harvesting wild ginger and other plants for a homemade wild-sourced salad. |
| June 17 pm Binga’s Wingas in conjunction with Harpoon Beer is running a benefit tonight for Climb for Cancer Care. $1 will be donated for every Harpoon you order, $2 for orders of wings, fries or onion rings ordered. The Bollard has the scoop on last night’s City Council dileberations on the Porthole/Comedy Connection’s outdoor deck. “City legal staff had recommended that councilors severely limit food and alcohol service – and prohibit entertainment – on the businesses’ adjoining outdoor decks, due to waterfront zoning restrictions.” |
| June 17 am Tropa Wine Co. is now open for business. The small wine store is located on Congress across the street from Local 188 and just around the corner from Evangeline. If you need any reminder about how wonderful and remarkable to Portland restaurant scene is just take a look at this post on Chowhound.com. Chowhounder Anastasia came to Portland specifically for a “7 day foodie excursion”. In a single week, she and her husband managed to pack in visits to Bar Lola, Five Fifty-Five, Miyake, Yosaku, Fuji, Mims, The Lobster Shack, Portland Lobster Co., Street & Co., Duckfat, Standard Baking and Shipyard. I can’t think of any other city the size of Portland that people visit exclusively for the food. A post by Portland Psst! tipped me off to an article about Maine wineries appearing in a recent edition of Mainebiz. Maine’s weekly buisness magazine also has a story about Roger Doiron’s nonprofit Kitchen Gardens International. The Maine Beer Writer’s Guild had their June meeting at Novare Res and several of the members have posted their thoughts about the meeting and the bar to their blogs: Blog About Beer, Beer, Maine & Me, BeerBloggers.com. Here are some more Novare Res-related posts from other blogs that have surfaced as well: Beer Locavore, The Sound Inside My Mind. The new beer bar has certainly generated a lot of buzz in the short time it’s been open. |
| June 16 – This Week’s Events Peakfest is being held this week Friday through Saturday. Bayside World Market & Fair is taking place on Saturday as is the Vegetarian Food Festival. An all star cast of local chefs is headed to Cow Island on Sunday to cook for the 3rd Annual Taste of the Nation dinner (tickets are still available). The second training run for the Wine Flight 5k is taking place on Tuesday. Wine tasting are taking place at Old Port Wine Merchants on Wednesday and Leavitt and Sons on Thursday. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be a Jazz Breakfast at the Portland Museum of Art. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar. |
| June 15 Today’s Press Herald reports that maple syrup production fell in Maine during 2008. |
| June 14 The new issue of Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine is out. It includes stories about the use of romanesco (a fractalish Italian broccoli) at Caiola’s and the farm to table philosophy of Lee Skawinski from Cinque Terre. There’s also an interesting piece by Sandy Oliver debunking the legend that felons in Maine’s past refused to eat lobster more than twice a week. Enjoy Your Meal has posted the menu for next weekend’s Taste of the Nation dinner on Cow Island. The Bollard has innagurated it’s new The Maine Beer Guy column with a rundown of locally made summer brews. The Beer Guy is authored by Russ PHillips who writes a beer blog called Beer, Maine & Me. |
| June 13 Prost! International Tap House has opened for business. Joe’s New York Pizza has been added to the Under Construction list. Joe’s is going into the spot on Fore Street formerly occupied by Granny’s. |
| June 12 pm Rosie’s has been reviewed in the weekly bar blog 1:00 a.m. Curfew. “Spectacular? No. But Rosie’s is solid and consistent, and that’s the mark of someone who has gotten this whole bar thang right.” Chow Maine has a report on the “silky finnan haddie chowder” prepared by Sam Hayward for last week’s James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony dinner at Lincoln Center (recipe included). This week’s edition of The Maine Switch is a veritable food article feast. In addition to the profile of Novare Res cited yesterday, there’s an aritcle about ethical eating, a focus on French cuisine, a cooking interview with the Talya Corsetti of Corsetti’s Variety, and a set of summer grilling recommendations from the Gadget Guru. |
| June 12 am The weekly Eat & Run column in the Portland Press Herald reviewed the new South Portland location of Vaughan Street. |
| June 11 Chris2fer has published a 5 star review of Duckfat. “After we ate what was one of the best meals I have ever had we all got up and made out with the wait staff to show our appreciation. Ok, not really. But it was that good.” This week’s edition of the Portland Phoenix includes a review of Chef et al., and The Maine Switch offered up a profile of Novare Res, Portland’s new European style beer cafe. The Food & Health section in today’s Press Herald has an article about the collaboration between chef Sam Hayward of Fore Street and violinist Lewis Kaplan. The pair will be co-hosting a benefit dinner for the Bowdoin International Music Festival. |
| June 10 pm Type A Diversions reviewed Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster. “I’ll certainly return to Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster. I think a perfect summer evening would consist of drinks and appetizers at Conundrum in Freeport, followed by a lobster roll, onion rings and slice of coconut cream pie sitting at the picnic tables at Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster.” Rabelais was profiled by The Ethicurean. “If you love food or books, you’ll be pleased with what you find at Rabelais. If you happen to love both food and books, you’ll be over the moon.” Details on this weekend’s Bizarre Foods Deathmatch have surfaced on the eGullet forums. |
| June 10 am Today’s Press Herald includes articles on how Mainers are becoming more frugal with their food budgets and on the formation and activity of the Maine Clammer’s Association. |
| June 9 – This Week’s Events Wine tasting are taking place at RSVP on Wednesday and Black Cherry Provisions on Thursday. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Rabelais is holding a book signing and cookie swap Saturday with the author of Cookies, Brownies and Bars. Also on Saturday, Maine members of BeerAdvocate.com are hosting a gathering at Novare Res. On Sunday, there will be a Jazz Breakfast at the Portland Museum of Art. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar. Rabelais has posted more info about the visit of the Bizarre Foods film crew to Portland to their blog. They hope to publish a small video clip from the segment at Hugo’s plus photos of the Bizarre Food Deathmatch soon. |
| June 6 Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods, is in town. In their email newsletter Rabelais is reporting that Zimmern is filming segments with Rob Evans, Sam Hayward, Rick Tibbets, Masa Miyake, the Deathmatch crew, Rabelais, and others. According to the newsletter, the “projected air date is sometime in August”. |
| June 5 The weekly Eat & Run column in the Portland Press Herald reviewed the lunch options at Novare Res “When I visited recently, I ordered the ‘spring sandwich,’ made with rosemary ham, cotswold cheese with lettuce and garlic onion jam and served on thick, crusty bread. The sandwich had a nice balance of flavors, and was pleasantly filling.” Also in today’s Press Herald, the Business section has an interview with Ben Sawyer, the owner of Benny’s. The Chebeague Island Inn restaurant opens for business tonight. |
| June 4 pm The Maine Switch reviewed Chef et al. “Their dinners, at $18-$30 an entree, seem a little pricey for the neighborhood – but with a deliciously inexpensive lunch menu, a bar that’s open all day, wireless internet and a nice, laid-back environment, Chef et al may still pull in the student and young professional crowd.” This week’s Switch also includes a profile of Harding Lee Smith’s new restaurant The Grill Room. Novare Res has been reviewed in the weekly bar blog 1:00 a.m. Curfew. “Novare Res is a great idea. The deck is beautiful and the location is tucked away . . . The beer selection is astounding, and truly encapsulates every different type of brew you can think of. But Novare Res still has some kinks to work out.” |
| June 4 am The Food & Health section in today’s Press Herald offers up this primer on caviar with help from Browne Trading Company. |
| June 3 pm The Maine Mouth has a post about PETA’s proposal to build a Lobster Empathy Center in the Somerset County Jail. According to PETA’s press release, “Visitors to the center could voluntarily have their fingers rubber-banded together, and then they could walk into a dirty tank where they would be pressed up against other visitors to simulate conditions for lobsters in supermarket tanks.” |
| June 3 am Tastes Like the Future raves about the Apricot Cornmeal Sage cookies at North Star. Demolition of The Village Cafe’s building began yesterday. |
| June 2 – This Week’s Events The Wine Flight 5k training run series starts this week with a trip to Local 188. Wine tasting are taking place at The Clown on Thursday, West End Grocery on Friday and Leroux on Saturday. The First Friday Art Walk is this week. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be a Jazz Breakfast at the Portland Museum of Art. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar. The new print edition of The Bollard has hit the streets. This month’s edition includes a review of breakfast at Mims and a new installment from The Land of the Forgotten Cocktail series by award-winning bartender John Myers. Copies can be found just about anywhere free newspapers are distributed. I picked up my copy at Longfellow Books. |
| June 1 Passage to India, received 3 stars in this week’s Taste & Tell column in the Maine Sunday Telegram. “. . . you can relax and tuck in with confidence at Passage to India, Portland’s newest Indian restaurant.” The West End will have another source for wine when Tropa Wine Co. opens its doors at 688 Congress Street in Longfellow Square. For more information on the new establishments under development in Portland see the Under Construction list. Beer, Maine & Me has published his list of 10 Great Places to Get a Beer in Portland. Chow Maine has a report on Saturday’s farmers’ market in Dering Oaks. The 10 venues viewed most often on Portland Food Map during the month of May were: |