Wednesday — Aurora Provisions and Old Port Wine Merchants are both hosting wine tastings, there will be a beer tasting at the West End Deli, Browne Trading and Havana South are working together on a wine event, Wine Wise is exploring Reislings and Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class.
Thursday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and Leavitt & Sons, and a beer and cheese tasting at the Public Market House. The Great Lost Bear will showcase 12 Christmas beers.
Friday — Rosemont Market is holding a wine tasting, and according to the Munjoy Hill News, Otto’s new location in the old North Star should be in full operation by Friday.
Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Christmas Eve — El Rayo, Five Fifty-Five, The Corner Room, The Front Room, The Grill Room and Vignola are all planning on being open Christmas Eve. Cinque Terre is also open on Christmas Eve when they’ll be holding their annual Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, 4-8, $65 per person.
Christmas Day — A select few restaurants are planning to be open on Christmas Day with special holiday-themed menus: Haraseeket Inn in Freeport, Twenty Milk Street at the Regency in Portland and the Sea Glass Restaurant at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth.
New Year’s Eve — Bar Lola, BiBo’s, Bresca, Bull Feeney’s, Cinque Terre, David’s, Five Fifty-Five, Figa, Frog & Turtle, Grace, Havana South, Local 188, Old Port Sea Grill, Paciarino, Sonny’s, Sea Glass Restaurant, Season’s Grille, The Grill Room, The Salt Exchange, Vignola and Zackery’s will all be open New Year’s Eve.
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.
Author: PFM
This Week’s Events: Wine Tastings, Otto, Christmas, New Year’s Eve
Wednesday — Aurora Provisions and Old Port Wine Merchants are both hosting wine tastings, there will be a beer tasting at the West End Deli, Browne Trading and Havana South are working together on a wine event, Wine Wise is exploring Reislings and Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class.
Thursday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and Leavitt & Sons, and a beer and cheese tasting at the Public Market House. The Great Lost Bear will showcase 12 Christmas beers.
Friday — Rosemont Market is holding a wine tasting, and according to the Munjoy Hill News, Otto’s new location in the old North Star should be in full operation by Friday.
Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Christmas Eve — El Rayo, Five Fifty-Five, The Corner Room, The Front Room, The Grill Room and Vignola are all planning on being open Christmas Eve. Cinque Terre is also open on Christmas Eve when they’ll be holding their annual Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner, 4-8, $65 per person.
Christmas Day — A select few restaurants are planning to be open on Christmas Day with special holiday-themed menus: Haraseeket Inn in Freeport, Twenty Milk Street at the Regency in Portland and the Sea Glass Restaurant at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth.
New Year’s Eve — Bar Lola, BiBo’s, Bresca, Bull Feeney’s, Cinque Terre, David’s, Five Fifty-Five, Figa, Frog & Turtle, Grace, Havana South, Local 188, Old Port Sea Grill, Paciarino, Sonny’s, Sea Glass Restaurant, Season’s Grille, The Grill Room, The Salt Exchange, Vignola and Zackery’s will all be open New Year’s Eve.
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.
Corry Opening Restaurant in Longfellow Square
The For Rent signs are down at 190 State Street. Steve and Michelle Corry have taken a lease on the space and intend on opening a casual dining destination serving lunch and dinner in Spring 2011. They are joining the growing list of Portland restaurateurs that operate more than one business.
The past year has seen a lot of changes in and around Longfellow Square with the opening of Yordprom Coffee, Boda, Pai Men Miyake and Local Sprouts, as well as the rebuilding of 645 Congress Street, construction at the old Binga’s Wingas building, establishment of the Quimby Colony in the old Roma Cafe and the face lift for King of the Roll. Tropa Wine closed in 2010 as did Barava and most notably Evangeline.
Brunch Review of Havana South
The Blueberry Files has published a brunch review of Havana South.
We had a lovely time at Havana, but unfortunately, the food wasn’t good enough to make us want to return for a meal any time soon. Again, I guess we’ll stick to drinks at the bar.
Barber Foods, From the Land, Linda Bean
The Maine Sunday Telegram includes a Q+A with the Executive Director of the Maine Farmland Trust about their new book From the Land: Maine Farmers at Work,
Q: How did this book come about?
A: The idea grew out of the photos. We had a need for the organization to do some basic photography to document some of the work we were doing on different farms. We engaged Bridget for that project, and had no idea that it would develop into something more extensive. We were really impressed with the quality of the photos, and that led to a showing. We have a small gallery at our headquarters, and we have shown the photos there and at a few other places, the Frontier at Brunswick and the statehouse. And that led to the idea of a book. It really was an evolution rather than a plan.
a pair of articles about Barber Foods and the family that has run the business since its founding in 1955,
From here, the Portland-based company, launched 55 years ago from the back of a truck, cooks up 900,000 pounds of frozen prepared food every week, fighting for market share in the $31.7 billion frozen food industry and the roughly $20 billion food service industry. Barber competes with such mega corporations as Tyson Foods, Perdue and ConAgra Foods.
and a business profile of Linda Bean,
Bean spent her first year in the business learning everything Albano could teach her. Today, she said she depends heavily on CEO John Peterdorf’s knowledge of the lobster market. But she is very hands-on in other aspects of the business. She works the crowds at trade shows, dollops lobster into rolls at country fairs and studies the fine print in all her business contracts.
Boston Globe: Boda & Pai Men Miyake
The Boston Globe Travel section has published an article about a new generation of Asian restaurants in Maine. The article focuses on Boda and Pai Men Miyake in Portland and Long Grain in Camden.
The partners are from northern Thailand and came to Portland by way of Seattle. They opened Boda in February with general manager Katie Boone, who with endless patience sets just the right mood for the front of the house. “We wanted to take the Asian restaurant out of its typical giant menu and giant portions and lots of takeout business Americanized box,’’ says Boone, “to serve Thai food, but to do it in a way that makes sense for Portland.’’
Cranberry Island on Fox
Carol Ford and Karen Haase, owners of Cranberry Island Kitchen, appeared on the Portland Fox morning show to talk about their win in a Whoopie Pie Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
A Look Back at North Star
The Forecaster has published a retrospective look back at the former North Star Music Cafe.
“Coffee and lunch and beer and rock and acoustic, maybe it was too much,” Anderson said, without mentioning poetry night, psychic readings and dance events. “The space wasn’t about what I wanted to do. It was about what the community wanted to do.”
Buttercup Cupcakes and a Cupcake Blog
On the heels of the comparative cupcake tasting engineered a couple weeks ago by Edible Obsessions, The Blueberry Files and Appetite Portland comes word of an additional cupcakery, Buttercup Cupcakes, and a blog wholly devoted to tracking down the best cupcake in Portland called Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!.
Food Security, Food Paintings and Seatinis
Today’s Press Herald includes articles about food security in Cumberland County,
The Campaign to Promote Food Security in Cumberland County is scheduled to release its report today after a yearlong study. It says the recession has dramatically increased the number of Cumberland County residents who aren’t sure they can put food on the table, or skip meals because they run out of money.
a Maine artist who paints portraits of family recipes,
With titles like “Mom’s Spaghetti,” “MaryLou’s Fish Chowder” and “Merriam Family Camp Apple Pie,” Erickson’s work preserves memories of holiday dishes, grandmothers’ treats and just good old home cooking.
Ocean Approved’s latest product the Dilly Kelp Pickles which you can buy on the OA website,
The newest product from Portland-based Ocean Approved features the company’s kelp noodles in a dill-infused vinegar brine. With a flavor that blends the essence of dilly beans and a subtle sea taste, the pickles have a slight crunch, and have the look of spinach noodles.
and an Appel on Wine column.