Maine Ahead magazine has published a Q&A with Jay Villani, chef/owner of Local 188 and Sonny’s.
First or early food memory: Smelling green bell peppers in the grocery store.
Early cooking experiences: I was washing dishes when I heard, “Hey, kid, get over here.” The sauté guy hadn’t shown up and suddenly I was a cook.
The latest edition of the Maine Culinary Podcast is now out. In it Dan Bodoff and his co-hosts interview Shannon and Tom Bard, the chef and co-owners of Zapoteca.
For the 6th episode of the Maine Culinary Podcast, host Dan Bodoff interviewed Jay Villani, owner of Sonny’s/Local 188, and Dan Kleban, co-owner of Maine Beer Company. They discuss plans for the upcoming Maine Beer Week and the experience of scaling up from a home brew set to a commercial operation.
Additionally, Villani lets the cat out of the bag on Bunker Brewing, a new brewery being set up by Villani in Bayside which will initially be sold at Local 188 and Sonny’s.
The 5th episode of the Maine Culinary Podcast is now out. Host Dan Bodoff leads a discussion with folks from David’s and Rising Tide Brewing.
David Turin and Beverage Director Patrick Morang from David’s Restaurant, as well as Nathan Sanborn, owner of Rising Tide Brewery, joined us to discuss the origins and purpose behind Maine Beer Week, as well as some of their menu items and pairings.
According to a report from the Press Herald, Taylor Griffin has died in a fatal car crash in California. Griffin is President of The Rogers Collection, a specialty food importer located in Portland.
Taylor Griffin, 40, whose talents and tastes were well-known in the restaurant world, died after he lost control of the rented Chevrolet Corvette he was driving Sunday night on Highway 20 in Upper Lake, Calif. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the car.
The Munjoy Hill Observer has published an interview with Abraham Lembarra, co-owner of Fez.
With a dish of chicken tangine sizzling in the background, Abraham explained how his culinary journey has led him from the coast of Morocco to Portland’s East End.
Bartender and cocktail historian, John Myers, was interviewed by Esquire magazine’s the Eat Like a Man blog.
My family owned a saloon outside of Chicago, like, the day after Prohibition, and they held it until about 1986. I just fell in love with watching the bartenders work. Even at ten years old, I said, “You know, that could not be a bad way to get through life.”
From Away has posted an interview with Marcia Wiggins, founder of Whoopsies! Gourmet Whoopie Pies.
Where/when did you first encounter a Whoopie pie?
I’ve always enjoyed baking whoopie pies as long as I can remember. When we moved to Maine, we discovered DiMillo’s Restaurant in Portland and I used to bring 2-3 dozen whoopie pies with us when we would go out to eat. The staff at DiMillo’s always raved about them. My daughter, Berkeley, who has an entrepreneurial spirit, urged me to start a whoopie pie company with her.
Michael Barriault passed away this weekend after a fight with cancer. Barriault was well known in the Portland food community for the photos he published on PortlandTown of special events and the every day happenings of the Portland food scene. He will be missed.
Services are taking place at Congregation Bet Ha’am in South Portland on Sunday.
The Forecaster, where he worked as a photographer, has posted an article today about Michael,
But it was all part of what made Michael who he was: dedicated, reliable, creative, passionate and one of a kind. It was what made having him around so entertaining and rewarding for those who worked with him. He only turned assignments down when he and Toby were traveling, or doing a large local show. We relied on him and always expected the unexpected from him.
Several customers of The Salt Exchange have posted their memories of Michael on the TSE Facebook wall and there is an online guestbook on Legacy.com.
An obituary for Michael appeared in the Press Herald and in The Forecaster,
Michael’s photos enlivened the pages of such publications as The Forecaster, Maine Magazine and Downeast as well as many restaurant websites. One of Portland’s most active food bloggers, his luscious images became an exciting addition to the local food scene through his blog: www.PortlandTown.blogspot.com.
Mainebiz has published a profile of Ned Wight and his new company New England Distilling.
Ned Wight comes from a long line of distillers. His forebears made whiskey for about 100 years in Maryland until the 1950s, when the Wight family distillery was finally sold. Now, more than half a century later, he’s returning to the family trade and opening a small craft distillery in Portland, hoping to profit from a reawakened thirst for artisanal spirits, or what is sometimes referred to as boutique booze.