The Maine Legislature is exploring how to expand the number of state restaurant inspectors, according to a report from the Press Herald.
According to the state Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, 96 establishments have no inspection recorded in the state database and another 1,414 establishments have gone more than two years without being inspected.
[Representative Peter] Stuckey called that backlog “unacceptable.”
The Portland Phoenix has published a pair of tequila related articles. The first is a tequila pub crawl,
To prove it, I gathered a crew together on a cold, unremarkable Tuesday in February and went on a Tequila Odyssey. I’d never been on an official bar crawl before, but I imagine this was just like that, except with two rules: 1) that the evening’s destinations correspond as closely as possible to the thirteen primary episodes of Odysseus’ journey in the sequel to Homer’s Iliad, and 2) that one full tequila drink must be consumed at each of those thirteen locations.
and the second is about how tequila and about tequila flights at Zapoteca.
To decide which style you like best, head to Zapoteca for a flight of tequila. Zapoteca boasts the largest collection of tequila and mezcals in Maine (close to 80), which are managed by Sergio Ramos, who has completed the “Award T” certification course from the Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico. A flight of tequila offers the three styles of tequila from one brand, giving you a chance to see how the flavors of the tequila change as it’s aged. The flights range in price from $15 to $80 and come with a palate-cleansing side of sangrita, a spicy slurry of fire-roasted tomatillos traditionally served alongside tequila to complement its acidity.
I recently learned of a pair of new Portland food blogs:
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about the cronut tribute pastries (known as crauxnuts) being sold at Little Bigs.
Denise Rowden drove all the way from Brunswick on a recent Sunday to buy some at Little Bigs, a small bakery on Main Street in South Portland. Pamela Fitzpatrick Plunkett, who owns the bakery with her husband, James, has been making her own version of the New York Cronut since the beginning of January. She sells them only on Sundays, starting at 11 a.m, and they sell out so quickly that, unless customers pre-order, they are all gone in a half hour or so.
The Root has posted the first installment of a series of articles on coffee. The first two articles are based on an interview with Matt Bolinder, owner of Speckled Ax.
In the Root’s newest series on coffee, we will be looking at some of the craftsmen who make up Maine’s rapidly evolving specialty coffee industry. Their coffee is the antithesis of the water-soluble instant coffee you will find in grocery stores or the over-roasted cup from the corner Starbucks.
I have the pleasure of working with Sharon Kitchens, author of The Root, on this series.
The Portland Daily Sun has published the third and final installment in their series on take-out tipping.
Q: We use a lot of gift certificates for take-out. If there’s a balance, is it OK to leave it as a tip?
A: Great question. If there’s no fine print stating otherwise, it becomes an in-house policy varying from place to place. Please ask. It would stink for you to just leave a balance that can’t be used toward a tip. No one wins but the house.
The Bangor Daily News reports that Hannaford is experimenting at their Yarmouth store with an online grocery ordering service.
The service, called Hannaford To Go, allows customers to browse the store’s selection from a computer or mobile device, fill an online shopping cart, and schedule a pickup time. When customers arrive, they will idle in a designated curbside area where store employees place groceries in their cars and charge their credit cards. Shoppers paying with cash or EBT will be required to park and go inside.
The Press Herald has checked in with several couples who co-own and run local restaurants to learn how they celebrate Valentine’s Day.
There are lots of restaurants in Maine that are owned or managed by couples. What do they do to make their loved ones feel special on Valentine’s Day – or do they celebrate the holiday at all? I decided to ask a few how they handle the Valentine’s Day pressure, and how they romance each other with food at home.
Today’s Press Herald includes an article about butter and Maine’s butter producers,
If you haven’t heard of Casco Bay Butter Co., or seen its line of artisanal flavored butters on local store shelves, that may change soon. As the popularity of butter starts bouncing back, more people are searching for butters that meet that foodie trifecta of local, artisanal and organic.
an article about FoodCorps helping farm-to-school initiatives in Maine,
FoodCorps aims to teach children about healthful eating, expand school-based gardens and increase locally grown food in school cafeterias.
as well as additional reporting on restaurant inspections and the Maine law banning bars from posting the alcohol percentage of the beers they serve.
The Portland Daily Sun has published the 2nd installment in a series take-out tipping.