Independent Restaurateur has published an interview with Peter Zinn, owner of Po’Boys & Pickles on Forest Ave.
Peter Zinn of Portland, Maine, never started out to own a restaurant, but these days, you’ll find him hard at work behind the counter of Po’ Boys & Pickles, his Louisiana-style sandwich shop.
Peggy Grodinsky (LinkedIn, Google) has been hired by Maine Today Media to serve as the new food editor for the Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram and Maine Today. From what I’ve heard, today is Grodinsky’s first official day on the job.
Grodinsky was the Executive Editor of the Cook’s Country Magazine (a publication from Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen), prior to that she served as the Food Editor at the Houston Chronicle and Editor of the James Beard Foundation. She’s also taught food writing at the Harvard University extension program and at New York University. Check out her LinkedIn profile for more detail on her resume.
Among other responsibilities the new food editor will be working to launch a new farm-to-table section that will appear weekly in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Booze, Fish & Coffee has posted an interview with Tao’s chef/owner Cara Stadler. Among other topics, they discuss Stadler’s plans to launch a Chinese dumpling shop in Portland later this year (late night hours, full bar, likely launching in late spring/early summer). Stadler also provides a rundown of some of her favorite eating destinations in Portland.
I Love Portland Maine has published an interview with Chris Beth, owner of Ohno Cafe.
What inspires your menu, and do you have any personal favorites from over the years?
Chris: Again, I am lucky to have inherited an amazing menu. But the old saying is true: “if it ain’t broke, dont fix it.” In five years we have only added 2 menu items., and none of the other menu items have been removed. Ohno has very loyal customers and it seems as though every person has a sandwich they can identify with. So, the weekly specials is what gives us a change to get creative and make something different. Most of those are born by what we feel like eating that week or items that have been really successful in the past. The #1 is as close as what we have to a “signature sandwich.” My personal favorite is pretty simple #4 which consists of salmon which is super fresh and smoked right here in town at Browne Trading.
The Bangor Daily News has published an interview with chef Shannon Bard from Zapoteca.
The chef-owner at Zapoteca in Portland is starting the year off on a high note. She will cook at the James Beard House in New York City at the end of January, will compete on a new Food Network show in February and is working on a cookbook. In the fall, the Kennebunk resident plans to open her third restaurant — Spanish spot Toroso in Portland — with her husband, Tom Bard. Not bad for a woman who didn’t go pro until she turned 40.
Eater Maine has published an interview with Bill Leavy and Karl Deuben. They spoke about Small Axe’s food truck and the plans they have to launch a brick and mortar restaurant.
You’ve talked about plans to open a brick and mortar establishment. How is that progressing?
BL: We’ve been getting a lot of interest from folks who would like to help us out. We’re always looking for properties. We haven’t found one yet, but we will. It’s an ongoing search.
KD: We’re looking to create a neighborhood feel in a restaurant. We’re looking in the Deering area, in town as well. But we want it to be a neighborhood spot with a nice bar and have it be focused on comfort, food served in a comfortable environment.
The Boston Globe has published a profile of Briana Warner and her Portland bakery the Maine Pie Line.
The Halverson’s Humble, which is a chocolate pie, started with a bet. Thirty-year-old Briana Warner, owner of Maine Pie Line in the East Bayside neighborhood here, had lost a wager to her then-colleague Adam Halverson while the two were serving as diplomats for the US Department of State in Guinea. As retribution, he challenged her to make him a “humble pie.”
Today’s Press Herald features an article about the new restaurant Vinland, and chef/owner David Levi’s dedication to local ingredients.
“For me, (this) is not coming from a puritanical mindset,” he said. “To me, it is about creating a beautiful and interesting form within which to work, which happens to also maximize our local support to farmers and fishermen and foragers, to cheese makers and artisans.”
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a report on food insecurity among Maine’s senior citizens.
Across Maine, there’s an increasing number of people like Jim and Nancy Pike of Alfred, seniors whose declining health and limited finances have put them among the so-called ‘food insecure.’ ‘They are the hidden hungry … and they don’t want anybody to know.’
For more information on hunger and Maine or if you want to make a donation, visit the Good Shepherd Food Bank website.