Zack Bowen, The Essay

Portland Food Heads has published a new installment of the site’s essay series. Photographer Zack Bowen is the author of this essay which speaks to his personal experience/history with food.

everyone — the chefs in Portland and my family back at home — adhered to the same core thought: food was meant to be communal and enjoyed and nourishing to more than just your belly. it is a social bond — our cells remember a time when we would gather around the campfire after a day of killing mammoth to share stories and compliment the chef on the tenderness of the mastodon shank. it transcends cultures and economic status.

Ocean Approved Kelp Aquaculture

Ocean Approved’s kelp farming venture in Casco Bay is the subject of a feature article on the front page of today’s Maine Sunday Telegram. The online article also includes a video segment of co-owner Paul Dobbins demonstrating how OA plants and grows their sugar kelp crop.

This week, Olson and Dobbins plan to install a submerged kelp-growing raft near Little Chebeague Island, where they say it will be out of the way of boat traffic and lobstermen. The state granted the company an experimental three-year lease for nearly an acre of the bay there, and Maine Technology Institute provided a $12,000 grant to help develop the technology.

This Week's Events

The Grand Opening for Binga’s Stadium is scheduled for this Thursday; the venue is holding soft openings on both Tuesday and Wednesday to ramp up the operation. I’ve heard that Veranda Noodle Bar is also planning to open this week but there’s no word yet on specifically what day of the week.
On Monday, Five Fifty-Five is holding an event to relaunch their Point Five Lounge. Both the weekly Piatto per Tutti cooking class and the Foodie Trivia Contest are also taking place Monday evening. The next Wine Flight 5k Training Run is scheduled for Tuesday night. On Wednesday The Salt Exchange is running their weekly wine and canapes event, and on Thursday Rob Todd will be at The Great Lost Bear for an Allagash Beer Showcase. A class on raising rabbits for meat is scheduled for Saturday. Portland’s weekly Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Sunday is Maine Open Creamery Day.

Video Interview with Mike Mastronardi

Portland Food Heads has published an interesting video interview with Mike Mastronardi the new owner of Fit to Eat.

Mastronardi: When people say Fit to Eat I want them to immediately salivate…I want them to be sitting at their desk thinking about the sandwich they had a couple days ago and just dying and saying I need that again. I want them to crave it, I want them to be addicted to it.

It’s Official…We’re the Foodiest

Bon Appétit has named Portland their 2009 Foodiest Small Town in America. In it BA Foodist blogger Andrew Knowlton explains what made Portland this year’s winner.

First, it’s got great product, from oysters to fiddlehead ferns. Second, the town has attracted stellar chefs who know how to turn these resources into great food. Third, it even has a signature meal, breakfast, that turns the first fare of the day into a celebration of all this bounty. And finally, it has citizens who expect a lot, and get even more.

Knowlton will be blogging about Portland the next few days and then is “off to Maine for the last weekend of the summer and as many lobster rolls as I can possibly eat.”

Tomorrow I’ll share the essential itinerary to Portland, Maine including my favorite restaurants and the best place to stay. Wednesday, I’ll tell you more about three things that Portland does amazingly well–beer, bread, and seafood. I’ll also post the cities that were runners up in this year’s competition. On Thursday, I’ll share some of my personal photos from my visits.

Maine Foodie Tours in Food & Dining

A front page article on Maine Foodie Tours is in the new Food & Dining section of today’s Press Herald.

This two-hour walking tour was launched in June and developed by Pamela Laskey, owner of a new company, Maine Foodie Tours. The Old Port Culinary Tour takes visitors to local merchants who make and sell artisanal foods.

There’s plenty of sampling to be had, and guides share a bit about the city’s history and its thriving restaurant scene along the way.

The newly redone Food & Dining section (formerly Food & Health) now includes the Taste & Tell reviews that had been in the Sunday paper, a restaurant dining guide and a promise from editor Rod Harmon that this is just the start. “But don’t think that just because we’ve made a few changes to the Food section we’re going to rest on our laurels. We’re constantly on the loookout for new ideas to help make this section better.”
Elsewhere in the paper was an article about Wolfe Neck Farm “losing it’s famed beef cattle“.

The company that is currently raising beef cattle there, Pineland Farms Natural Meats, plans to remove the livestock by September, its president confirmed Tuesday. Erick Jensen said the operation was no longer economical, in part because of the measures that would be needed to keep manure from washing away and contaminating nearby clam flats.

Under Construction: Public Market House

publicmarkethouse
The Public Mark House main entrance is blocked off while they install an elevator (you can still get in through the temporary entrances on either side). This part of the ongoing construction project to expand the market to the second floor which will be home to a number of small shops and cafes. They hope to have construction completed by mid-July.

Wine, Coffee, Labels and Growlers

Governor Baldacci recently signed into law LD 904. The new law will allow breweries to sell half gallon containers of beer (aka growlers). See Shipyard’s blog for photos from the signing in Augusta.
A bill that would relax the restrictions on direct shipment of wine to Maine (LD 1008) passed an initial legislative hurdle last week with a 107-39 vote in favor in the House.
The Legislature is considering LD 1259 which would require chain restaurants to display calorie counts for items on their menu. The Maine Sunday Telegram came out in favor of it in a recent editorial,

As the trend in home-prepared meals shows, people are trying to eat better but need support when they go out. That’s why the Legislature should pass a law requiring chain restaurants to post the calories contained in a food item on menus and other displays.

The Portland Daily Sun last week suggested that “[w]hen coffee is illegal, roadside tests are next“.

I don’t know when they’ll finally outlaw coffee, but I have an idea what the roadside uber-sobriety test will look like.
Okay, not totally “outlaw,” but get it onto an alcohol-like track before it’s too late.

The officer, noticing you driving too intently or maybe having noticed your car was outside Arabica for three house in mid-afternoon, will hit you with the pull-over lights.

They will approach with caution. Everyone’s heard the recent stories about caff-fiends losing control, spouting bad poetry and wreaking violence all over town.