Reporter Ray Routhier works the production line at Oakhurst Dairy for this week’s Maine at Work column in the Press Herald,
Pick a milk jug, any milk jug.
It sounded easy, but the half-gallon milk jugs in question were speeding by me on a multilevel conveyor belt while being filled with milk at the rate of 121 jugs per minute.
Backyard Farms has been profiled in the new issue of Maine Ahead magazine.
What’s not to like about a tomato? It’s red-ripe and round, delicious and nutritious. You can’t make a BLT without the “T”. It’s the blood in a bloody Mary, the sauce on a pizza, the garnish on a backyard burger in the summertime. Cult movie history would be much different had a group of young filmmakers in the 1970s decided instead to make Attack of the Killer Cauliflowers.
This comes just a couple days after a feature article on Backyard Farms appeared in the New York Times.
There’s a profile of Bella Cheese Cakes in the Food & Dining section in of today’s Press Herald. Bella’s cheesecakes can be found in Portland at Simply Scandinavian Foods and the Good Eats Boutique and he’ll be debuting a new flavor next weekend at the Chocolate Lover’s Fling.
But other cheesecakes in his repertoire go beyond the standard flavors. Dominicus has a talent for taking the original idea of a food or favorite drink and transforming it into a cheesecake.
If you harbor fond memories of eating a cold orange creamsicle on a hot summer day, Dominicus has an orange creamsicle cheesecake with vanilla wafer crust and whipped cream topping that will whisk you back to your childhood.
Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Bogusha Pawlazyk and her Polish deli on Stevens Ave.
This past week Bogusha Pawlazyk and Andrzej Rzycki of Bogusha’s Polish Restaurant and Deli on Stevens Avenue have been busy with preparations for the inevitable torrent of customers in search of culinary holiday authenticity. There are pastries from the European Bakery in Worcester: makowiec (poppy seed cake), orzechowiec (walnut cake), cream cakes, and various cheese cakes. Of course there is Easter babka, which celebrates the return of eggs to the diet after the Lenten restrictions in a sweet cake made with more than a dozen eggs yolks.
Check out this month’s edition of Portland magazine for a profile of Yordprom Coffee, the new coffee shop that recently opened on Congress Street in the West End. Yordprom serves Doi Chaang, an organic fair trade coffee from Thailand.
Also, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Maine magazine for some tips on where to eat (and shop and be entertained) in South Portland.
Neither article is online but both magazines are now out on newsstands.
Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Bazkari Catering, a food delivery and catering service specializing in Spanish and Latin American cuisine.
Susan Colinet of CDS in South Portland said, “This is food that I actually take time to savor. I do this because it is delicious, but also because I know that it is prepared with care, passion, and pride for the culture and the ingredients that go into each item. The portions are perfect and the freshness and wholesomeness can be savored in each bite. Speak with Ana for just two minutes about the food and you will understand!”
There’s also a report on the renaming of O’Naturals remaining store in Falmouth. The restaurant will now be known as Stoneyfield Cafe.
Tuesday’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Master Beekkeeper Erin Forbes and her business Overland Apiaries,
Last year, the honey that Erin collected from hives in six towns amounted to 6,000 pounds. That’s three tons. This year the hundred hives she now has under management are likely to yield 10,000 pounds. Before Scott began dabbling in beekeeping, Erin rarely used honey. A junky plastic bear from Hannaford languished in the depths of her kitchen cabinets. Now it’s white sugar that languishes there.
and an article about the TNT monthly latte art competition which is taking place at Bard Coffee this week on Thursday night.
With Bard, [Bob] Garver and co-owner Jeremy Pelkey are trying to change Portland’s perception of their daily dose of joe, and thinks that fostering a strong community of baristas will do much for the scene as a whole. “Many in this industry think coffee is an art form, a culinary experience as opposed to just ‘filling up’,” said Garver.
“I believe people are catching onto that now,” he added.
Tuesday’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Master Beekkeeper Erin Forbes and her business Overland Apiaries,
Last year, the honey that Erin collected from hives in six towns amounted to 6,000 pounds. That’s three tons. This year the hundred hives she now has under management are likely to yield 10,000 pounds. Before Scott began dabbling in beekeeping, Erin rarely used honey. A junky plastic bear from Hannaford languished in the depths of her kitchen cabinets. Now it’s white sugar that languishes there.
and an article about the TNT monthly latte art competition which is taking place at Bard Coffee this week on Thursday night.
With Bard, [Bob] Garver and co-owner Jeremy Pelkey are trying to change Portland’s perception of their daily dose of joe, and thinks that fostering a strong community of baristas will do much for the scene as a whole. “Many in this industry think coffee is an art form, a culinary experience as opposed to just ‘filling up’,” said Garver.
“I believe people are catching onto that now,” he added.
Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Joe Ricchio and his blog Portland Food Coma,
On a recent afternoon, Ricchio was enjoying lunch at Pizza Villa, reveling in it almost. Days earlier, he had survived an intense three-day kitchen lockdown to create “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall,” a Chinese meal that involves whole chicken and duck, abalone, quail eggs, bamboo leaves, dueling stocks and a shark’s fin. It was his 31st birthday and the occasion called for unbridled decadence.
and reporter Ray Routhier spent the day working at Wieners learning about what it takes to run the Commercial Street food cart.
I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.
But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.
My problem was, I trifled.
Ray Routhier tries to get the squiggle of mustard to look just so as he works the hot dog stand of Jess Cady-Giguere in Portland.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
Jess Cady-Giguere demonstrates her method for assembling a hot dog and condiments at her cart, Wieners, in Portland.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.
My problem was, I trifled.
Today’s Press Herald includes a profile of Joe Ricchio and his blog Portland Food Coma,
On a recent afternoon, Ricchio was enjoying lunch at Pizza Villa, reveling in it almost. Days earlier, he had survived an intense three-day kitchen lockdown to create “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall,” a Chinese meal that involves whole chicken and duck, abalone, quail eggs, bamboo leaves, dueling stocks and a shark’s fin. It was his 31st birthday and the occasion called for unbridled decadence.
and reporter Ray Routhier spent the day working at Wieners learning about what it takes to run the Commercial Street food cart.
I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.
But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.
My problem was, I trifled.
I would not have thought there was any engineering involved in preparing a hot dog.
Ray Routhier tries to get the squiggle of mustard to look just so as he works the hot dog stand of Jess Cady-Giguere in Portland.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
Jess Cady-Giguere demonstrates her method for assembling a hot dog and condiments at her cart, Wieners, in Portland.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer
ABOUT THIS SERIES
MAINE AT WORK takes an interactive look at iconic, visible or just plain interesting jobs done by folks in Maine. Reporter Ray Routhier shadows a worker or workers, reports what he sees and tries his hand at some of the job’s duties.
IF YOU’D LIKE to suggest a job to be explored in this feature, e-mail rrouthier@pressherald.com or call 791-6454.
THIS WEEK’S JOB
TITLE: Hot dog seller and owner of Wieners, a cart at the corner of Dana and Commercial streets on Portland’s waterfront.
WORKER: Jess Cady-Giguere, 27, of Portland.
HOURS: Roughly 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at least five days a week.
DUTIES: Towing the cart, buying supplies, preparing the cart, and cooking, selling and presenting hot dogs, sausages and chili.
SURPRISING FACTS: Cady-Giguere sometimes has to work in the rain just to make sure people know she’s still in business and to keep her spot. Also, putting a hot dog in a bun, with condiments, is surprisingly hard to do without touching them directly with your hands.
PERKS: Being outside on the waterfront on beautiful days and being able to take your dog to work.
But I realized quickly – as I tried to sell franks from a cart called Wieners on Commercial Street last week – that there definitely is. The spatial relationship between the dog, the bun, the onions, the relish, the ketchup and the mustard is a delicate thing that cannot be trifled with.
My problem was, I trifled.