Author: PFM

This Week’s Events: Bar Lola, Russian Cooking, Irish Breakfast and More

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Bar Lola is holding a wine dinner and the Maine Restaurant Association’s annual awards banquet is taking place.

Wednesday — the Maine Restaurant and Lodging Expo is taking place, the Portland Symphony is holding their annual wine dinner and auction, Black Tie is teaching a cooking class and Havana South is hosting their monthly wine club.

Thursday — it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, Brian Boru and Bull Feeney’s will be serving an Irish Breakfast starting at 6 am.

Friday — a Russian cooking demonstration and dinner is taking place at Saint Pius Church.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center, and there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton.

Sunday — Sebago Brewing is holding their Full Moon Cask Beer Night.

WSET Wine Class — The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, will be offering their Intermediate Level 2 certificate class in Portland March 26-27. The class is being taught by Adam Chase from Grape Experience. The program is aimed at anyone “who works in wine, wants a career in the wine industry or has a serious interest in the subject”. See the WSET website for a more detailed explanation of what the course covers. For more information contact Adam Chase at adam@grapeexperience.com or Marc Doiron the bar manager at Street & Co.

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.

This and That

| Posted in Under Construction, Profiles, PFM

A collection of food news and links for your Saturday morning:

  • Miyake has leased the space adjacent to Paciarino on Fore Street. They’ll be moving their Spring Street sushi restaurant there later this year.
  • Brown paper is up in the windows of the old Katahdin on High Street and the Restaurant for Lease sign is down. There’s no word yet on what kind of restaurant it will be but I’ve added it to the Under Construction list.
  • The folks from Dobra Tea recently took a break from getting their tea house on Middle Street ready for the grand opening to be interviewed for a book about tearooms in America. Dobra’s grand opening is scheduled for March 31.
  • According to documents filed with the city, Bonobo pizza is changing hands. The new owners, Louise Murphy and Denise Compton,  plan to “operate the business in much the same manner as the original owner and chef.”
  • According to a job posting on Craigslist, Chef Eric Simeon is leaving Grace to “to pursue his own dream of opening a restaurant of his own.”
  • Chef Jeff Hodgdon from The Salt Exchange appeared on the local Fox morning show yesterday. Hodgdon had been the sous chef at TSE and took over the kitchen when Jacob Jasinski left for a job in California last Fall.
  • Saturday is the last day of the 3rd Annual Maine Restaurant Week.

Reviews of Vignola and Yordprom Coffee Co.

| Posted in Reviews

From Away has published a MRW review of Vignola.

Malcolm chose the almond tort topped with a delicate scoop of gelato, which was also simply good. None of what we had was particularly innovative or arresting or explosive, but we savored every bite. Vignola makes the food your grandmother would make, if she wasn’t so busy watching Dancing with the Stars and reading biographies of Katharine Hepburn. I really like it there, for reasons I have yet to understand. And we will go back again soon.

Yordprom Coffee Company received 4½ stars from the Eat & Run review in the Thursday edition of the Press Herald.

The Thai coconut broth was light and lemony, and had just a touch of heat — enough to give you a little kick after you’ve swallowed a spoonful. The sliced chicken in the soup was a tad overcooked, but the onions and scallions were perfect.

I also tried the Spicy Chicken Curry ($7.95), which arrived beautifully presented in a large white bowl. “This is very hot,” the server warned me, and I’m not sure if he was talking about the temperature (like the soup, it was steaming) or the spiciness, or both.

Review of East Ender

| Posted in Reviews

Chubby Werewolf has published a review of East Ender.

So where does the East Ender “Eastburger” stand in the pantheon of great burgers? Well, it wasn’t a home run. At least, not for me. But it was certainly a good burger and one which I’m inclined to try again sometime soon. I do think the bacon is likely to be better the next time around, and I’d love to see the bun get a little smaller (and the caraway seeds nixed altogether).

Immigrant Kitchens: A Traditional Japanese Family Meal

| Posted in Cooking

In the latest entry on Immigrant Kitchens Lindsey Sterling learns how to make “A Traditional Japanese Family Meal” from Chieko Miyake (read the recipe and see the photos).

Chieko Miyake and I met in our daughters’ elementary school. I noticed she had an accent. I asked where she was from. And then, I asked if she would teach me how to cook her favorite dish. She was more surprised than others have been at the question (if that’s possible) because usually it’s her husband that everybody wants to cook with. He’s a famous chef. She joked, “But the kids like my food better.”

Updated: Petite Jacqueline Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Petite Jacqueline is now open for business in Longfellow Square. The French bistro is the creation of Steve and Michelle Corry, the owners of Five Fifty-Five. Petite Jacqueline is reportedly named for Michelle Corry’s French grandmother.

On opening night they’re serving a limited 3-course Maine Restaurant Week menu with a handful of options for appetizers, entrees and desserts. (Note: a sample menu is now on the restaurant’s website)

For additional reporting see the Maine Travel Maven and The Golden Dish.

Broad Survey of Chinese Food in Greater Portland

| Posted in Reviews

On the heels of the survey of Chinese buffets published last week in The Bollard comes a broad-based look at 8 Chinese restaurants in the Greater Portland area by From Away. From Away has published an omnibus review of Jan Mee, Lang’s Express, Oriental Table, Panda Garden,and Valley Chinese Cuisine in Portland as well as Chia Sen in Scarborough, and both Super Great Wall Buffet and Imperial China in South Portland.

Here’s what it’s taken me eight restaurants and a little over 5,500 words to figure out: The overall Chinese food situation in Portland is not good. After testing all the restaurants that lead in popular opinion, we couldn’t find one to recommend across-the-board. Some restaurants did one or two things well, while severely botching others, and some restaurants couldn’t seem to get anything right. Our suggestions for where to go for Chinese depend entirely on what you like, and if were forced to pick favorites, among a huge batch of very, very similar food, they would go as follows…

Restaurant Etiquette

| Posted in General News

Portland Daily Sun columnist Natalie Ladd passes on a selection of diner etiquette recommendations/observations from a server at a Portland restaurant.

So many of Lydia’s restaurant-based observations are applicable to all aspects of life and while I am still sorting them into categories for future reference, here (with very little paraphrasing) are some of her most relevant thoughts:

Interrupting gets you nowhere. Saying, “excuse me” loudly while your server is attending to the table next to you is rude to the server and other table, and generally makes you look like an ass. December 12, 2007

Little Lad’s Reopened

| Posted in Openings

After several months in limbo, Little Lad’s reopened last Wednesday.

Last July, a Facebook follower wondered what it would take for Little Lad’s Bakery and Cafe at 482 Congress St. to reopen.

The answer, it turns out, was Steve Jordan and Renee Keele. The couple reopened the popular vegan cafe near Monument Square last Wednesday, after months when the business sat idle while the restaurant owner paid rent on the site.

Chef’s Favorite Things & Loans for Farms

| Posted in People, Cooking, Farming

The Press Herald asked 20  Maine chefs to share their favorite, thing, idea or technique from the past year, and have compiled the results in today’s paper.

The newest technique that I have found to be very helpful in the kitchen is using my food processor in some of our charcuterie processes. Before I read about this technique, I relied solely on my meat grinder for processing meats, which works great for coarse, country-style sausages and pates. But when I want to make something a little more refined, with a smooth, delicate texture, I will grind the meat first and then use the food processor to finish the process. Doing this helps me to make beautiful mortadella, which has become a favorite on our daily charcuterie board.

— Peter Sueltenfuss, chef, District, Portland

Also in today’s paper is an article about the No Small Potatoes Investment Club which provides low interest loans to farmers.

So far, the group has made three loans. In addition to the Thirty Acre Farm loan, the club has loaned money to Heiwa Tofu in Camden and Lalibela Farm in Dresden.

“I love aligning my beliefs with my investments,” said Eleanor Kinney of Bremen, another founding club member. “This is a different model than having stock in companies that make products which I’d never feed my children.”