Category: General News

According to a recent press release VIA, the Portland-based marketing agency, has kicked-off a Facebook campaign to identify an all-American toast.

There’s a front page article in today’s Press Herald exploring how the drought in the rest of the country will be impacting food prices at restaurants and markets here in Maine.

But Tom Barr, one of the owners of Nosh Kitchen Bar and Taco Escobarr in Portland, noted that food prices have already been fluctuating a lot over the past couple of years, for a variety of reasons. He and his partners monitor rising prices, and just charge what they need to in order for the restaurants to survive.

“Basically the philosophy we take is you have to achieve certain margins to keep working,” Barr said, “and as long as we keep putting out quality (food), people keep coming.”

And in the Op/Ed section is a funny (and fictional) piece about the creative economy,

“Do you know that Portland has a higher chefs-to-accountants ratio than any other U.S. city with a population under 160,000? Do you know that 42 percent of the lobstermen who tie up at the docks are also taking Web design classes at SMCC? Do you know –” she started to tremble — “do you know that the Kokomo Tribune said our food carts were second only to Singapore’s and Berlin’s? No, you don’t, do you?!”

Maine-based blog Delicious Musings has posted some details from her recent visit to Eventide.

An article in today’s Portland Daily Sun reports on Ms. Wheelchair America contestant, Sarah Rosenblatt, and the work The Holy Donut is doing to help Rosenblatt raise the funds she needs to participate in the competition.

Today’s  Portland Daily Sun includes some advice for servers on getting better tips and the history of tipping.

Interestingly, “the how-to-get-better-tips-tips” do not apply to men. Unless at Mardi Gras or a special event or occasion, I wouldn’t expect to see red lipstick on my friends Jacques or Greg (well, maybe Greg), and the same industry research mentioned above says male servers actually receive nine percent less than their female counterparts if they draw smiley faces on guest checks.

After 2 seasons of scouring byways and backwoods of Maine for good food and good times the team behind Food Coma TV has decided to wrap up and move on to other things. Different visions for the series played a part in the end of FC TV. According to a post by producer Alex Steed,

Worry not, none of us are going very far! The Food Coma entity is not going anywhere as Joe will continue to blog and he’ll undoubtedly keep being Joe. The production team (Kurt, Zack and I) are creating a digital media production firm where we will be working with other FCTV regulars Thomas Starkey and Beth Taylor, and we are working on creating a documentary together. Joel will keep being fabulous, no doubt.

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about the end of the TV series.

The cast and crew of FCTV became known in Maine and beyond for visiting towns and locales in the state outside of well-known food enclaves like Portland and Mt. Desert Island, to investigate and partake in the restaurants, bars, institutions and events that give them all local color. From firing guns and eating ployes in Fort Kent to shining the spotlight on Downtown Bangor‘s burgeoning food and nightlife scene, FCTV helped showcase Maine as more than just a handful of towns that tourist visit, but as a vibrant, unique corner of the country, full of interesting, entertaining people and fun places to eat and drink. It’s also laugh out loud funny and unabashedly, gleefully profane.

As part of their coverage of the newly approved food truck provisions, WGME reports that the Mainely Burger intends on being “the first in line” to apply for a Portland food truck license. Mainely Burgers currently operates at Scarborough Beach.

Earlier this evening the Portland City Council, by a unanimous vote of all members, voted to approve the proposed ordinance to allow food trucks to operate in the city.

The changes take effect in mid-August, 30 days from today. Based on what I have heard from vendors interested in running food trucks, there will be a slow uptick this year with more targeting their openings in 2013.

For additional reporting see this article from the Bangor Daily News and this short news piece on the WCSH site and this article in the Forecaster and this one in the Portland Daily Sun

Mainely Burgers in Scarborough is polling their followers on Twitter for their level of interest in the burger truck opening in Portland.

Cabin Cove Oysters is planning on being on the Eastern Prom for the Mumford & Sons concert in August.

A Maine Voices opinion article in today’s Press Herald asserts that the proposed food truck ordinance is unduly protective of brick and mortar restaurants.

Why? The theory seems to be that food trucks have an unfair advantage over restaurants because of their mobility, and thus that restaurants need the government to step in to negate that advantage.

This theory is just that — a theory, and a foolish one to boot. If a restaurant needs protection from a food truck, then there is probably something wrong with the restaurant.