The Blueberry Files has published a review of Ribollita.
So yeah, I liked Ribollita! I didn’t loooooove Ribollita, but that certianly wasn’t due to any failings on their part. I am glad to know where I can go to get solid and relatively inexpensive Italian food in town. But it doesn’t make my ‘hurry back to’ list (man, I sound hard to please!).
Today’s Press Herald reports on a new indoor Winter Farmers’ Market for Portland. According to the article, it’s scheduled to open on February 13 it will be located at 85 Free Street and will take place on Saturdays 10 am to 1 pm.
…it won’t be bound by city restrictions that prevent vendors such as bread bakers and fishermen from selling at the summer markets in Monument Square and Deering Oaks, said Larry Bruns, who coordinates the Portland Farmers Market.
“It’s going to be a very different market from what Portland’s used to,” said Dean Zoulamis, who runs the Mother Oven Bakery in Bowdoinham and is part of the group that’s organizing the Free Street market. “This will be a much more diverse market.”
Today’s Press Herald includes a ShopTalk interview with Steve Dimillo, manager of DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant.
Q: How many in the family are in the business?
A: My mother, Arlene, two aunts, Jeanette and Jay, two brothers Dan and Johnny, my twin sister Stephanie, me, my two kids, my brother-in-law Tony Quatrucci, who runs the kitchen. That would be 10. The most recent family member to join is Steve Junior; he’s the banquet manager. Stephanie does the bookkeeping. The primary management team is my brothers and I, and my mom works with the three of us. Another brother, Chris, doesn’t work in the restaurant, but he runs the marina. I’m one of nine kids, I think I mentioned. Gene now has his own place, G & R DiMillo’s, and my sister Vicki has hers, Bruno’s.
According to an article in the January issue of the US Airways in-flight magazine, Portland is one of their Top 17 Destinations for 2010. Portland slots in at #14 right in between Dallas and Stockholm. Miyake, Paciarino, Hugo’s and Five Fifty-Five all get mentioned.
For those of you eagerly awaiting the opening of Nosh, you can get some pre-noshing in by perusing the eatery’s menu which is now available on their website.
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of The Picnic Basket.
So I was glad to try the Picnic Basket in the dead of winter, when there is no reason not to settle in at one of the eclectic set of tables in the cozy second room. The room has a wall of wine and lots of artisanal jars of this or that jam or mustard. It has a very Stonewall-Kitcheny look. There are twigs clinging to the track lighting.
The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Peanut Butter and Jelly Time, the PB&J sandwich shop and breakfast cereal purveyor located on the second floor of the Public Market House.
The combination of Borealis multi-grain bread, cashew butter and raspberry preserves is the most popular sandwich at Peanut Butter Jelly Time, but everybody has their favorite.
Steve Miner, owner of Peanut Butter Jelly Time, reported logging his 500th customer in only three weeks of operating on the second floor of the Market House in Monument Square.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes profiles of chef Mitchell Kaldrovich from the Sea Glass Restaurant
“I met the real cooks (in Maine), I have to say,” Kaldrovich said in a thick accent that carries traces of Spanish and French, the other two languages he speaks. “Working for hotels in California and Florida, I just met French chefs doing fancy stuff. But there was not a soul cook. Here, there are soul cooks.
and of Pam Wellin from Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co.
As a busy mom of three boys, Pam Wellin admits she’s doesn’t devote much time to promoting her business. She started Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co. three years ago in her Falmouth Foreside kitchen as a way to provide her youngest son Gus, who’s now 17 and has had celiac disease his whole life, with treats that don’t contain gluten.
There’s also a Bill Nemitz column on the strange fox urine incident that took place Sunday at a protest by ROC-ME outside The Front Room.
We can only assume that when Portland’s fledgling Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine holds its first “summit” next month, it will be high on the agenda: “Fox Urine: The Untold Story.”
It happened Sunday night outside The Front Room on Munjoy Hill, where protestors from so-called ROC-ME gathered for the second time in as many months to demonstrate against owner and chef Harding Lee Smith.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes profiles of chef Mitchell Kaldrovich from the Sea Glass Restaurant
“I met the real cooks (in Maine), I have to say,” Kaldrovich said in a thick accent that carries traces of Spanish and French, the other two languages he speaks. “Working for hotels in California and Florida, I just met French chefs doing fancy stuff. But there was not a soul cook. Here, there are soul cooks.
and of Pam Wellin from Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co.
As a busy mom of three boys, Pam Wellin admits she’s doesn’t devote much time to promoting her business. She started Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co. three years ago in her Falmouth Foreside kitchen as a way to provide her youngest son Gus, who’s now 17 and has had celiac disease his whole life, with treats that don’t contain gluten.
There’s also a Bill Nemitz column on the strange fox urine incident that took place Sunday at a protest by ROC-ME outside The Front Room.
We can only assume that when Portland’s fledgling Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine holds its first “summit” next month, it will be high on the agenda: “Fox Urine: The Untold Story.”
It happened Sunday night outside The Front Room on Munjoy Hill, where protestors from so-called ROC-ME gathered for the second time in as many months to demonstrate against owner and chef Harding Lee Smith.
Tuesday’s Portland Daily Sun includes some observations on customer service at Portland restaurants.
But for all of the accolades and buzz about the food itself, a restaurant’s bottom line and longevity are dependent on consistently good service. With so many excellent food choices in Portland, it’s the service that is a key differentiater.