Eat Here. Go There. has published a review of Local 188.
Overall, it was an unexpectedly wonderful dinner out with friends. We all commented that we went there with zero expectations and came out thinking this is one of the most solid meals we have ever had out in Portland. I suggest that you, run, not walk, to Local 188 if you haven’t been there, and if you haven’t been there in a while, make a reservation to try it again. I know I’ll be dreaming of those chicken livers until we meet again…
The agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting is online and with it the liquor license applications for several restaurants under development:
Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes an update on Taco Escobarr, the new restaurant under construction on Congress Street.
Nosh owners Matt Moram and Jason Loring plan to open Taco Escobarr at the former site of yoga supply shop The Happy Yogi by mid-August after having cleared their building permit with the city on Monday.
“It’s just a real basic taco stand,” said Moram. “It’s going to be a straight, old-school tacos and traditional Mexican food, rice and beans, tacos, enchiladas and burritos.”
Sebago Brewing is releasing Bass Ackwards Berryblue Ale single batch beer today. The brewery describes it as,
…an unfiltered, all-natural mild pale ale made with Maine blueberries. A refreshing, well balanced beer that is crisp, fruity and finishes clean and dry. The name Bass Ackwards Berryblue Ale is for its unconventional use of only real Maine blueberry juice in the fermenter without the use of added flavorings. This results in a more subtle blueberry fruit aroma and taste.
John Myers was voted winner of Wednesday night’s Infusathon for his liquid BLT. According to a release from the organizers, the drink had a “lettuce infusion on top, tomato infusion in the middle, and a bacon infusion on the bottom which had to be injected with a syringe into each glass immediately before serving. Myers works the bar at The Grill Room and is on the Board of Advisors for the Museum of the American Cocktail.
Armory Lounge, Blue Spoon, David’s, The Grill Room, Nosh, Sonny’s and The Salt Exchange competed in the event which raised more than $1000 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund.
Hella Good Tacos has been added to the Food Map list of food carts. They were located in Monument Square this evening.
The Portland Daily Sun interview Maine farms about the start of the 2011 growing season.
“It’s a little slower than normal between the cold, too much rain, not enough rain,” said Sarah Bostick, who’s worked for the past six years at Meadowood Farm, a 10-acre tract in Yarmouth.
Bostick, who was selling plants and vegetables yesterday at the Portland Farmer’s Market, admits this year isn’t as bad as two years ago, when damp weather lasted for more than a month, causing some crops to rot in the field.
An article in today’s Portland Daily Sun reports on how Blackstones is responding to economic and social changes in Portland’s gay community.
“I want to support the magazine and think it’s a great thing, but up until recently, we haven’t had to advertise, especially to the gay community. I’m trying to wrap my head around the way things have changed over the past few years. It’s always been word-of-mouth for us, but now I think I have to look at promotional things we used to do, or come up with some new ones to increase business. I’ve been working here since 1988 and we bought it in 1992 … things are very different now.”
Several Portland and Maine food purveyors have been getting recognition and accolades recently:
Just in time for the start of Summer the food blogger review crew is putting themselves through the drudgery [wink] of taste testing out ice cream and gelato shops across the city. As you’ll see for many of them it was as much about the ice cream as it was the nostalgia for summertime childhood memories of the local ice cream stand.
Appetite Portland – MDI Ice Cream
To a scoop, MDI ice cream’s best feature is that it’s not overly saccharine. Sweet yes, but not sugary. The company creates new flavors often – I hear tell of a Danish Blue Cheese Blackberry about to hit town – and avoids the “throw in the kitchen sink” fadiness of that mass-marketed chain from Vermont… read the full review
Chubby Werewolf – Gorgeous Gelato
The strawberry was easily my favorite. Of the four flavors, it was the most fragrant and intensely flavored gelato. When I say “intensely flavored,” I mean it in all of the best ways. In other words, distinctly strawberry but not overwhelmingly sweet or sugary. Save for the occasional, tiny seed, it was perfectly smooth with a sorbet-like consistency… read the full review
Edible Obsessions – Beal’s
While I thought my plan to order simple was fool proof, it turned out not to be. ‘Maybe I needed to give myself over to one of their dozens of mixed-up flavors for a better assessment of their ice cream?’ I wondered, knowing that it wasn’t true. It was another case of feeling that maybe I just didn’t see what others loved so much about a place. But, let’s be honest, their simple vanilla was…too simple. The next time a pang for Vietnamese hits and I find myself strolling over to their shop next to Veranda Noodle bar I think I’ll stick with my old stand by: Mint Chocolate Chip… read the full review
From Away – Red’s Dairy Freeze
The classic frozen treats being passed out the window at Red’s every single night are only the first part of the story, however. Sure, it’s good soft serve. But it’s the people, in this case, that make the place: Customers who have been visiting Red’s their whole lives, whose parents have been visiting for their whole lives. A staff of kids who know everyone in the neighborhood, and who grew up just down the street, saving money for their first cars and chatting quickly with the occasional friends that appear in their line each night. Owners who have been in the soft-serve business from the beginning, who have seen their business falter when disaster struck, but who rebuilt better and stronger than before. It’s the people surrounding Red’s Dairy Freeze that make it so special: a rock-solid community, as well as a neighborhood ice cream stand… read the full review
The Blueberry Files – Bard/Gelato Fiasco
You can see the sea salt caramel on the left in the above photo, next to Grape Nuts (bleh, that flavor is lost on me).
But the salted caramel affogato was awesome. Caramel (salted or not) can be a little cloying, but the bitter espresso flavor balanced out all the sugar. Every now and then a little salt came through after satisfyingly crunching a grain… read the full review
Vrai-lean-uh – Smiling Hill
The thing is, though, the ice cream wasn’t super awesome. I got the coffee flavor, because I deeply dislike too-sweet ice cream (you did not think that was a thing, but it is, and I don’t like it) and some of the flavors seemed like they’d veer into too-sweet territory. The ice cream texture was a little icy, and there was a slightly gummy/chemical aftertaste.
But you know, it was sunny out and there were grassy pastures and even really mediocre ice cream is still, ultimately, ice cream. So I was happy enough… read the full review
Where is Jenner’s Mind – Willard Scoops
my favorite flavor of ice cream is coffee. at willard scoop their rendition is ‘dark roasted coffee’ and it was delicious! i got it on a sugar cone, which was the freshest cone i have ever eaten (i didn’t ask if they make them there but they do make their waffle cones) and it didn’t have any paper wrapped around it so you don’t have to worry you are eating glue with your ice cream. the ice cream was dense and creamy and very coffee-y! pretty much a perfect cone of ice cream in my book.… read the full review