Category: People

The Forecaster has a report on Jung Hur, an artist and the chef/owner of Spread.

Artists exhibiting in restaurants, cafes and bars are fairly common in Maine, but the Jung Hur show at Spread is an exceptional marriage of fine art and fine dining in a setting that is itself largely created by Jung, including the bar, the pillows and the chandelier.

According to the article, Spread will offer “a four-course prix fixe dinner as the culinary manifestation of “Balance: The Paintings & Cuisine of Jung Hur”” from today through February 2nd.

Randall Chasse, owner of the Miss Portland Diner for 24 years and the Middle Street Cafe for 6 years, has passed away at age 71.

Mr. Chasse had dreamed of operating The Worcester Lunch Car Company No. 818 since he was a boy growing up in Portland. His father was a well-known sausage maker and the two would drive past the diner often. He bought Miss Portland Diner around 1980 and served breakfast and lunch seven days a week to a loyal following.

The Press Herald has published an article about a Kentucky man who’s traveling the country handing out $500 tips in memory of his brother.

An organization was founded, Aaron’s Last Wish, and about $50,000 was raised to keep the tips flowing. Collins said his goal is to leave at least one $500 tip in every state in the country by the end of January, and he still has about 10 Eastern states to go.

Update: Also see this article from the Bangor Daily News.

The Portsmouth Herald has published an interview with chef Shannon Bard.

Bard grew up in Oklahoma on the Texas border. She and her family sat together and enjoyed large meals prepared by her grandmother and mother. She joined them in the kitchen and spent hours making vibrantly flavored meals prepared from scratch. Meanwhile, her father and grandfather, both small farmers, imparted lessons on seasonal produce and the hard work and dedication farmers put into each and every crop.

“My grandmother had a Mexican restaurant before I was even born and I met my husband in San Diego, where there was a lot of Mexican food. It was my passion,” Bard says.

Today’s paper includes a Q&A with Nancy Jo Polito on the book she recently published about her father Armand Polito.

Armando Polito sailed to the United States in 1920, when he was 10 years old, with his mother and siblings. His father, Giovanni Polito, had been in America for eight years, successfully running the Napoli restaurants in Maine.