Category: General News

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.

See also the first and second articles in the series.

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.

BDN’s new Portland culture blog Urban Eye has a report on a collaboration between Speckled Axe and Allagash.

Armed with 40 pounds of green beans (at their most absorbent before roasting), [Speckled Ax owner Matt] Bolinder walked into the brewery’s cold cellar, stacked high with wooden barrels of aging triples, and took over two empty vessels.

“Instead of adding coffee to the beer, I’m adding elements of brewing to my coffee,” he says with a runaway smile.

Oakhurst has been sold to a dairy farm cooperative, according to an article in the Press Herald.

Oakhurst Dairy, which has been owned by a Maine family since the company was founded in 1921, has been sold to a national cooperative owned by farmers.

Oakhurst was acquired by Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative owned by more than 8,000 farms in 48 states. The deal, negotiated for about eight to nine months, closed Friday.

The Portland Daily Sun has published the first of a 2-part series on take-out tipping.

Varying industry sources on the Web say the percentage should be anywhere from the change in your pocket to treating the transaction as if it were a dine-in experience. I typically do 10 to 20 percent for food packaged or delivered and $1 for coffee. As always, tipping is your call. Chances are slim someone will violate your food if you don’t tip, but your service next time will be even better if you do.

Industry groups oppose a bill that would let cities and towns handle more of the load of performing restaurant inspections, according to a report in today’s Press Herald.

The Maine Restaurant Association, the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Tourism Association opposed the bill during a public hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees the restaurant inspection program. The industry groups said they fear the bill would confuse restaurant owners with inconsistent rules.