Star Chefs has posted a profile of Ilma Lopez, the pastry chef and co-owner of Piccolo.
From comfortingly familiar Italianate desserts like budinos and zeppole, to unexpected Sunday Supper finales incorporating everything from wasabi to bone marrow, this petit chef brings her special brand of refinement and ingenuity to every level of the Piccolo operation, delivering big city flavor to her small city patrons.
I Love Portland Maine has published an interview with Salt + Sea owner Justine Simon.
I’m a fish lover, and I eat it a few times a week. What are the major differences between the fish I would see in my supermarket to what you sell?
Justine: Well there are a few differences. Fresh fish doesn’t smell like fish, it smells like the ocean. A lot of people think they don’t like fish, but they’ve never really had fresh fish before. It’s a whole different thing. We have a strict policy of not holding fillets. Our fish is cut the day of delivery, while most fish you see in the supermarket has been sitting around, filleted, for sometimes days at a time. We also never soak our fish in chemicals like bleach or tripoly…
The Root has published a 2 part interview (part 1, part 2) with Bob Garver, owner of Bard Coffee.
“We believe that as time goes on and our relationships continue to deepen and strengthen, the impact on quality will only amplify,” Garver wrote in an email to me. “This is part of our general approach to our coffees as one in which we are using “best practices” at every step in the coffees journey, which include not only practices on the farms and in processing the coffees at origin and our involvement there (sourcing), but in our roasting, our preparation/brewing and finally how we present them to our customers.”
Fighting the Tides has published an article about Fishermen’s Grill and its owner Mike Nappi.
The charming hole in the wall seafood joint, tucked unpretentiously across the street from Baxter Woods in an area that’s traditionally been hard on restaurant owners, is known for their large portions and fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
As of last week they’re also becoming known for their national ranking of 60th best restaurant in the entire country and the number one (I repeat, NUMBER ONE) seafood restaurant in all of New England.
Maine magazine has published an interview about his return to Portland and perspective on the food scene.
I was not entirely aware of the full extent to which this reputation had spread until I spent a year away in Boston. Whenever I told people where I’d come from, they reacted as though Portland’s streets were paved with gold, a place where every single bite of food was ambrosial and everyone ate like kings…
The Perennial Plate has published this short video interview with Eli Cayer, owner of the Urban Farm Fermentory.
Eater Maine has published an interview with Press Herald blogger and restaurant critic John Golden.
How do you chose the restaurants for review?
I try to chose those that haven’t been written about in a long time. Obviously, there’s the new ones. I don’t write about them in a review until they’ve been around at least two months. I’ll do my first look on the blog, but you have to give them some time. Some of it is what I’m in the mood for. This past month, I’ve been doing inexpensive places. That’s been fun but I can’t wait to go to good restaurants again.
The Portland Daily Sun reports that Local Sprouts co-founder Jonah Fertig is leaving the restaurant to help other organizations become cooperatives.
Jonah Fertig, who co-founded Local Sprouts seven years ago, is moving on from the food cooperative to plant new seeds. “I am leaving … to now help other people start cooperatives and community projects in the Maine food system,” he said on Facebook at the beginning of the month. “I’m sad to leave and excited to start a new journey in life.”
The Bier Cellar has posted an interview with Peter Bissell.
Tell us about The Substance and where it came from. The name comes from an experience in the Nevada desert on a road trip we took in 2009. A story for another time, perhaps. The beer has been a work in progress for almost as long as we’ve been planning the brewery. It’s everything we love about beer – soft, bursting with flavor, crushable, and most importantly, possessing a flavor profile that’s distinct and unique.
The Bier Cellar has also announced that they’ll have Bissell Brothers beer The Substance for sale in cans starting on Wednesday.
Joseph Esposito passed away Friday at the age of 84. Among his many business interests, Esposito also founded Esposito’s Restaurant (now Espo’s Trattoria) in 1976.