Today marks the first full day of Portland Beer Week. Dozens of tap takeovers, beer tours, dinners, classes andd presentations are taking place at restaurants and bars all over Portland for the next 7 days.
Check out the full schedule on the PBW website.
Tuesday — The Hunter’s Bend is holding a sold out 8-course mushroom dinner at The Honey Paw, and Liquid Riot is hosting a women’s whiskey tasting.
Wednesday — The Great Lost Bear will be screening the new episode of Local Brew TV, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — a Rising Tide Fall Harvest dinner is taking place at Frog and Turtle, and Coffee by Design is hosting a barista latte art competition.
Saturday — Vena’s is holding a Halloween party and Hugo’s is holding their annual Halloween dinner, it’s the bottle release for Foudation’s Moveable Type, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – it’s the first day Portland Beer Week, and Andrew Taylor and Michael Wiley are the featured chefs for a Flanagan’s Table dinner.
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.
Congratulations to chef Matt Ginn at Evo. Ginn won the Lobster competition yesterday at Harvest on the Harbor for his dish of Maine Lobster with Turkish Pasta and Local Beans.
For additional information, see these reports from the Bangor Daily News and the Press Herald.
This week’s Portland Phoenix includes a report on the heirloom apple tasting that I put together with friends Sean Turley and Cecilia Ziko,
Anestes and Sean kicked off the tasting with a quick talk on what the tasting would look like, how the apples were selected and some anecdotal back stories. A beautiful grid of all 85 apples was displayed on a table, and tasting sheets were supplied. Imagine, these apples were a small sample of the many, many varieties growing throughout New England…
an interview with Boda’s manager Jeremy Sossei,
Lily O’Gara: How did you first get started in the restaurant industry, and what made you stay?
Jeremy Sossei: I started out doing cafe and coffee shop work in college about 14 years ago and transitioned into exclusively restaurant work about eight years ago. … My very first cafe job was procured mainly due to a need for gainful employment. However, I soon realized that I really not only enjoyed (it), but thrived in that environment. The fast-paced, near chaos becomes almost intoxicating. … And then the feeling of closing up after an especially busy shift is completely rewarding for me. That beer when you’re done is pretty great, too!
and observations by food writer and server Lily O’Gara on working in the restaurant business.
2. I’ve met the most amazing people, even during my short time in the business. Servers who are students, parents, spouses, college graduates, aspiring artists … in other words, people who amount to so much more than simply running food and bussing tables (things which are also important, of course). I’m learning to apply this understanding elsewhere, and I have a newfound respect for others who, like me, may not be working their dream jobs (yet!) but who are making it all work, and doing so with a smile.
Monday — Maine author and farmer Eliot Coleman will be honored at the James Beard Leadership Awards, Sur Lie is holding an Allagash beer dinner, and Maine Craft Distilling will host a coopering exhibit by cooper Ed Lutjens.
Tuesday — the monthly Local Foods Networking Breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.
Wednesday — it’s the first day of Harvest on the Harbor, Rosemont is holding a wine tasting on Munjoy Hill, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — Devenish Wines teaching a Sicilian Natural Wine Seminar at Aurora Provisions, the IndieBiz Awards are taking place, the Bier Cellar is holding Hoof Hearted Brewing tasting, Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Two Roads, and C Salt is celebrating their 1-year anniversary.
Friday — Liquid Riot is releasing their latest spirit: Old Port Bourbon.
Saturday — Maine Beer Company is having a bottle release for Dinner and Allagash is for Ghoulship, Oxbbow is holding the 5th Annual Goods from the Woods in Newcastle and Rosemont is holding a Grower Champagne event, Aaron Knoll—Gin:The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival—will be at Sweetgrass for a book signing at 2pm, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – there will be a pumpkin carving contest in Congress Square Park, chefs Ilma Lopez, Krista Kern Desjarlais, Melissa Kelly, Cara Stadler and Kim Rodgers a serving a sold out dinner at Flanagan’s Table as benefit for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, and it’s the last day of Harvest on the Harbor.
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.
Chef Andy Bennett and Master Sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier from Michelin-starred New York restaurant Rouge Tomate will be holding a pop-up dinner at Vinland on October 29th. Tickets for the 5-course dinner are available online at brownpapertickets.com.
The dinner is part of Vinland’s ongoing pop-up series.
The 2nd Annual Heirloom Apple Tasting took place yesterday. 85 different varieties of apples sourced from about a dozen orchards in Maine and New Hampshire were part of the event that I helped organize along with friends Sean Turley and Cecilia Ziko.
A few of my favorites were Ashmead’s Kernel, Esopus Spitzenburg, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Frostbite, Sundance, Ribston Pipppin, Pitmason Pineapple and Red Astrachan.
Nearly all of the apples were purchased in a single day on Saturday within a few hours drive of Portland. It’s encouraging to realize that so many great heirloom varieties are out there if we just take a bit more time to explore.
For those of you without cars, Rosemont Market is the best in-town source of unusual apple varieties. There’s also a rare apple CSA that is run each fall called Out on a Limb run by Maine’s preeminent apple expert John Bunker.
Update: Here’s a complete list of the apple varieties we had on-hand for the tasting. It includes information of which orchards we bought them from, and interesting details on their origin and apple genealogy.
Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — Slab is holding a Gneiss Brewing tap takeover.
Friday — a Maine wine event is taking place at the Custom House, and The Sinful Kitchen is serving a Filipino Feast.
Saturday —Rosemont is hold Harvest in the Hood at their store on Brighton, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday –The Thirsty Pig’s 4th Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest is taking place, and Masa Miyake is the featured chef at a Flanagan’s Table dinner.
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.
The Hunter’s Bend and The Honey Paw are collaborating on a mushroom dinner later this month. The dinner will feature “eight courses of fantastic vegetarian food highlighting locally foraged, cultivated and imported mushrooms”.
The Hunter’s Bend is a super club/catering operation run by Frank Anderson & Rebecca Ambrosi who are both part of the team launching Jason Loring’s tiki bar, Rhum.
Ticket for the mushroom dinner are on sale on Eventbrite.
The menus are now up and ticket are on sale for two dinners at the Jame Beard House in New York being headlined by Portland talent: