Author: PFM

Urban Chickens

| Posted in Farming

The Portland Phoenix checks in on one family raising chickens in the city and gets some advice from Stacey Collins who teaches new chicken owners on how to do it right.

It’s been two years since Portland permitted city dwellers to raise a maximum of six egg-laying chickens. To date, 21 licenses have been issued for a $25 yearly fee. “I’m surprised more people don’t have chickens,” says Moger. “It’s been a fairly seamless integration into our lives and it’s not a huge amount of work.” The family built a coop against the back wall of their garage and cut a small hole leading to a fenced-in area in their backyard. The chickens come out of the coop in the morning, the family collects eggs, scoops out the coop, makes sure “the ladies” have enough water and grain, and puts them back in at night.

Falmouth Kitchen & Tasting Tour

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Press Herald includes a preview of the Falmouth Kitchen & Tasting Tour.

The kitchen proper is not so large that it is overwhelming, and it includes top-of-the-line appliances and interesting woodwork. There’s a custom-carved wood sunburst over the stove, and a wood arch hangs gracefully over the center of the room. The arch is perfect for hanging pots, but Preston decorated it with greenery and ornaments during the holidays.

The kitchen has four ovens, two dishwashers, two warming drawers, an island with a sink, and cherry cabinets.

The tour is taking place May 6 and 7. Tickets are available online.

The Cheese Iron in The Boston Globe

| Posted in Profiles

Vincent Maniaci and Jill Dutton, owners of The Cheese Iron, were interviewed for a Boston Globe article that profiled the top cheese shops in New England.

“We like to talk cheese and geek out about cheese,’’ says Vincent Maniaci, who with his wife, Jill Dutton, opened this pine-paneled gourmet food, wine, and cheese emporium in 2007, just an olive’s throw from downtown Portland. “We have about 130 cheeses at any given time, about 50 percent from New England and 50 percent international,’’ says Maniaci, who learned cheesemongering at Formaggio in Cambridge.

Review of Boda

| Posted in Reviews

From Away has published a review of Boda.

As it turns out, I am not yet finished with Boda. I want to dig into Boda the way so many others who’ve reviewed it have. That night, it missed the mark for me. Maybe in the future. For now, I feel neutral, and cautiously optimistic.

CDBG Grants for Restaurants

| Posted in General News

Today’s Portland Daily Sun reports on the Community Development Block Grant funding received by Hot Suppa and Local Sprouts.

“In our application we said it would produce five full-time jobs between two businesses, but Local Sprouts alone over the course of the last year since we opened in June has produced about 11 full-time jobs,” Fertig said Monday. “We have over 20 people employed right now with Local Sprouts, some of those people have an opportunity to become worker owners.”

Maine at Work: Coffee Blending

| Posted in General News

In the latest installment of the Maine at Work series, Press Herald reported Ray Routhier spends the day at Coffee by Design with Paul Chiles to learn how to blend coffee beans.

SURPRISING FACTS: Coffee beans, before they are roasted, are green. Coffee beans from different countries have different textures — rough or smooth — depending on how they were extracted from the coffee “cherry” they grew in. Coffee By Design roasts about 400,000 pounds of coffee a year.

PERKS: Unlimited cups of coffee, any flavor or blend; for a coffee fan, the satisfaction of helping make a quality product other coffee fans will drink; the aroma of coffee beans and roasting coffee.

This week’s Events: Shindig Hootenanny, Bourbon Tasting, Sandy Oliver, Deering Oaks Farmers Market

| Posted in Events

Monday — Deux Cochon is hosting an all-day Grand Opening Shindig Hootenanny Party.

Tuesday — Blue is holding their monthly wine and cheese event.

Wednesday — Black Tie is teaching a cooking class and there will be a Bourbon Tasting at The Salt Exchange.

Thursday — Bard Coffee is hosting their monthly Latte Art Throwdown. Food Historian Sandy Oliver will be speaking at the Inventing Tradition: Good Maine Food wine dinner. The Great Lost Bear will feature beer from Marshall Wharf Brewery for their weekly Thursday night showcase. There will be a hard cider and cheese tasting at the Public Market House. LeRoux holding a baking demonstration.

Friday — Both BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe and SMCC are holding wine dinners.

Saturday — the first Deering Oaks Farmers Market of the season is taking place.

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.

Reviews of Bull Feeney’s and Seagrass Bistro

| Posted in Reviews

The Seagrass Bistro in Yarmouth received 4 stars from a review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Eight pan-seared scallops, nicely crusted outside and tender inside, surround braised fennel, all placed atop a piquant tomato sauce ($24). It’s a simple dish that’s beautifully prepared.

Eat Here. Go There. has published a review of Bull Feeney’s.

Overall, we thought the food/atmosphere at Feeney’s was great! We escaped with a $40 tab. It would have been relatively cheap had it not been for our $6 beers, so I think it’s worth giving a try. Though it’s far from authentic Irish food, it can satisfy one’s banger craving. It’s a cool place to grab some pub grub, have a good beer (because life’s too short to drink crap beer), and people watch. So, sometime do yourself a favor, go to Bull Feeney’s order an O’hara’s and some bangers…I feel pretty confident you’ll be glad you did.

Profile of Pat’s Meat Market

| Posted in Profiles, History

The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Pat’s Meat Market.

In the era of “Big Joe” Vacchiano, Jaime’s great-grandfather who immigrated to Portland from Italy and started a butcher’s shop at the base of Munjoy Hill, there was a meat market in every neighborhood. Over time, Pat’s Meat Market held on while others vanished. Jaime Vacchiano said the business pressures are demanding, yielding little in profit, which may explain the scarcity of private butcher shops today. He also theorized that a 24/7 world is inhospitable to an old-fashioned family business built on quality over expediency.

Under Construction: Zapoteca, Willard Square, Nina’s

| Posted in Under Construction, Uncategorized

Here’s a set of under construction updates:

  • Zapoteca has provided a draft menu (see page 67) as part of their liquor license application.
  • The American Journal and The Forecaster have both published reports on the reopening the Bathras Market in Willard Square. The market operated in the square from 1954 to 1989 and the family is hoping to have it back in operation in next month.
  • The Forecaster has also published an article about Ian Hayward and Glenn Perry’s plans for their own market in Willard Square.
  • A new store named Nina’s is “coming soon” to 1700 Forest Ave, the former location of Papa’s Place.