You’ve read about them in the Portland Daily Sun and the Portland Press Herald and now here’s some photos from PortlandTown of the now famous Greek Heritage Festival bakers.
UPDATE: PortlandTown has published an additional set of photos taken on the opening day of the Greek Heritage Festival. (added Friday)
Photo Credit: Michael Barriault
Author: PFM
Soju Review & Allagash's Rob Tod at The Bear
Soju received 3 stars from today’s Eat & Run review in the Press Herald.
…I opted for chicken breast teriyaki ($7.50) from the Japanese side of the menu and kimchi bokum, a pan fried pork, from the Korean side ($8.50).
Both were satisfying, but I far preferred the chicken teriyaki. Served over a bed of steamed white rice and a healthy mix of carrots and sprouts, the tender chicken tasted sweet and slightly sesame — subtle and not overwhelming.
Also in today’s paper the weekly What Ales You beer column went to The Great Lost Bear for last week’s craft brewing showcase where he got the chance to talk to Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing.
“When I started in 1999, Maine already had breweries making great beer, British and German style,” Tod told me when I got him to join me on the Bear’s patio. “Geary’s and Shipyard and some others were already making great beer, so I wanted to try something different.”
Soju Review & Allagash’s Rob Tod at The Bear
Soju received 3 stars from today’s Eat & Run review in the Press Herald.
…I opted for chicken breast teriyaki ($7.50) from the Japanese side of the menu and kimchi bokum, a pan fried pork, from the Korean side ($8.50).
Both were satisfying, but I far preferred the chicken teriyaki. Served over a bed of steamed white rice and a healthy mix of carrots and sprouts, the tender chicken tasted sweet and slightly sesame — subtle and not overwhelming.
Also in today’s paper the weekly What Ales You beer column went to The Great Lost Bear for last week’s craft brewing showcase where he got the chance to talk to Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing.
“When I started in 1999, Maine already had breweries making great beer, British and German style,” Tod told me when I got him to join me on the Bear’s patio. “Geary’s and Shipyard and some others were already making great beer, so I wanted to try something different.”
A Pair of Festivals
Today’s Food & Dining section in the Portland Press Herald includes a feature article about the Greek Festival,
Maria Economos held court at the stove in the parish hall of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, a pan of hot canola oil awaiting her next piece of delicate pastry dough.
“You’ve got to have the knack, and I do,” insisted the 87-year-old Economos as she surveyed the kitchen table behind her and fastidiously hand-picked the next square of dough to fry. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old.”
and an article about the Vegetarian and Vegan Food Festival which is also taking place this weekend.
“There are plenty of opportunities for people to get their feet wet if they’re thinking about a plant-based diet,” said Beth Gallie, the co-chair of this year’s event. “One thing that makes us happy is people who come who aren’t vegetarians but who want to add meatless meals to their diet.”
Now in its sixth year, the free festival serves up oodles of food samples, a roster of speakers and a host of vegetarian-focused organizations.
Best of Maine
Yankee magazine published their Best of Maine (and Massachusetts, Vermont, etc) list in the May/June issue. Silly’s was listed as the Best Cheap Eats, The Cheese Iron topped the charts for Best Cheese Selection and Green Elephant received kudos for providing the Best Vegetarian Dining in the state.
Review of El Rayo
Edible Obsessions has posted a review of El Rayo. It’s a follow-up to her review from last July,
The rest of our meal (strawberry refresco, negra modello, beans and rice bowl w/chicken, guac. w/chips, pescado and al pastor tacos) was easily the best I’ve had to date, though still only ‘ok’. The chips were nicely warm, the refresco was lived up to its name and the tacos were hearty and filling. We were enjoying ourselves for the better part of it, though the wait for the food and drinks was a bit long but all of that went to shit when the Mrs. made the mistake of ordering the flan for dessert.
Greek Heritage Festival
The Tuesday Portland Daily Sun includes a pair of articles about the Greek Heritage Festival that kicks off on Thursday this week.
There were dozens of mothers and daughters in the kitchen at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church this past week: measuring out flour, stuffing dates and sprinkling confectioner’s sugar. The recipes that once fed families of ten have been scaled up to feed ten thousand. Going into its 28th year, the Greek Food Festival is three days of Hellenic hospitality under a big top tent at the corner of Pleasant Street and Park Street, just around the corner from the art museum.
Havana South to Open Today
Havana South is scheduled to open for business today. The menu is “American cuisine with a Latin twist”. You can make a dinner reservation using OpenTable. The restaurant plans on starting lunch service in July and opening a butcher shop onsite in September.
3 New Breweries
Brews & Books blogger Josh Christie has authored an article for Hop Press about three new Maine breweries: Rum Riot Brewing, Rising Tide and Baxter Brewing.
Wanted: Chefs-in-Residence
Quimby Colony, the artist-in-residence program established in Portland by Roxanne Quimby, is looking for “accomplished or emerging culinary artists demonstrating creative excellence and a commitment to career development”. According to the information on the Quimby Colony site,
artists will be provided with living quarters, meals, a travel stipend, and the opportunity to pause from the harried pace of a commercial kitchen to allow time to reconnect to inspiration and innovation in our state of the art facilities. While in residence, you may choose to explore a new direction for your culinary repertoire, or experiment and refine a style based on regional and sustainable ingredients.
The program is headquartered in the old Roma Cafe in the West End at 769 Congress Street.