Month: March 2014

Chopped Challenge Tickets on Sale

| Posted in Events

Tickets are now  on sale for this year’s Chopped Challenge event, a benefit to raise money to fight hunger in Maine. This year’s competitors are:

  • Chris Gould  from Central Provisions
  • Jason Williams from The Well at Jordan’s Farm
  • Karl Deuben from Small Axe Truck
  • Shannon Bard  from Zapoteca

Many other local restaurants and vendors will be serving tastes of their food and products at the event. For more information see this listing on Eventbrite.

Chopped Challenge is once again being hosted by Grace and is taking place Sunday May 4 at 5 pm.

Review of Mi Sen

| Posted in Reviews

The Bollard reviewed Mi Sen.

At $11, my friend’s chicken massaman curry, also on the special menu, was our biggest splurge. A Thai dish of Persian origin, this curry is slow-cooked, making for meltingly soft potatoes, onions and carrots, and a tender cut of chicken that my friend pronounced “so amazing.” But the sauce itself was the highlight, with its creamy coconut base and undertones of tamarind.

This Week’s Events: Food in a Networked World, Chocolate Lover’s Fling, Gasharoo

| Posted in Events

Wednesday — Professor Myron Beasley and Joe Appel from Rosemont will be leading a a discussion at Space Gallery on the topic of Food In a Networked World.

Thursday — Murray Carpenter, author of Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit Helps, Hurts, and Hooks Us will be at Longfellow for a book signing, The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Rogue, GMRI is hosting a tasting event with their culinary partners.

Saturday — First Friday Art Walk is taking place.

Saturday — Vena’s Fizz House is teaching a bitters class, there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux, Novare Res is holding their annual Gasharoo celebration of beers from Allagash, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

Sunday — Chef Steve Corry will be headlining at Flanagan’s Table, the 28th Annual Chocolate Lovers Fling is taking place, and Toast on the Coast, a benefit for the Easter Seals, is happening at the Ocean Gateway Terminal.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Reviews: C-Squared & Eventide

| Posted in Reviews

Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed C-Squared,

…the C Square Restaurant and Top of the East Lounge offer chic trappings in which to have stylish American bistro fare and expertly crafted cocktails. The kitchen strives to use locally sourced ingredients and prepares them simply and thoughtfully. Standout starter dishes at dinner include the charcuterie board, oysters three ways, panko crusted goat cheese and a good New England clam chowder. Entrees include pan-seared duck breast, day-boat scallops, brined pork tenderloin, sautéed Maine lobster and grilled beef tenderloin.

and The Golden Dish has reviewed Eventide.

All gushing aside, Eventide is  as good as ever, and maybe one day they can expand next door or upstairs or somewhere so one can get in, sit at a table and eat in a civilized manner.  On the other hand, shoulder to shoulder with everyone else clamoring to wine and dine there also makes the intensely delicious food seem just right.

Hugo’s Yankee Swap Series

| Posted in Events

yankeeswap_logoHugo’s has announced a new guest chef dinner series called The Yankee Swap,

We’re thrilled to announce The Yankee Swap Dinner Series, a collaborative dinner series where Chefs Andrew and Mike will swap kitchens and host dinners with some of New England’s most talented young chefs. We can’t wait to show Portland diners what’s going on in other great restaurants in our region, and to bring Hugo’s food to neighboring states.

The first two dinners at Hugo’s are with:

Yankee Swap Dinners include a cocktail reception and multi-course meal for $100 per person. Optional wine pairings are $65.

Tortilleria Pachanga

| Posted in Profiles

The Portland Phoenix has published a profile of Tortilleria Pachanga.

Rowe has expanded her tortilla operation into a production space on Industrial Way in Portland next to established brewers Allagash Brewing and up-and-comers Foundation and Bissell Brothers Brewing Companies. A new machine, purchased with funding from a successful Indiegogo campaign, is capable of pressing and cooking 12,000 tortillas per hour. Rowe has learned to talk about “fixed overhead costs” and “profit margins,” while ensuring she stays true to her mission of using Maine-grown corn to produce fresh tortillas.

MECA Offering Culinary Classes

| Posted in General News, Uncategorized

meca-logoThe Maine College of Art is offering a set of Culinary Arts classes this Summer as part of their continuing education program. Here’s the list of the Summer options:

  • The Art and Craft of Food Writing taught by Susan Axelrod from the Press Herald
  • Pastry Perfection taught by Tara Smith from Standard Baking
  • Farm to Fork Workshop taught by chef David Levi, owner of Vinland
  • All About Cheese taught by Sarah Wiederkehr from Winter Hill Farm
  • Microbrewing taught by Chresten Sorensen from Bunker Brewing

According to the release:

To help orchestrate this new realm of programming, MECA has engaged the expertise of Culinary Consultant and former Executive Vice President of The International Culinary Center (formerly The French Culinary Institute), Christopher Papagni, Ph.D. According to Papagni, “Some of the best of Portland’s culinary scene has been selected for this first round of MECA classes. Keeping up with new food trends and the rapid growth of artisan talent in Maine, will insure dynamic programming for a long time to come.”

Papagni is now working to recruit instructors for the Fall semester at MECA.

Brewer:Farmer Connection at Risk

| Posted in Beer, Farming

The Bangor Daily News, MPBN and Press Herald have all reported on the impact of proposed federal rules that would limit the ability of farmers to source spent grain from brewers to feed their livestock.

Commercial beer makers are seeking a reprieve from a proposed federal rule that they say will cost them a lot of money, and also hurt local farmers. For centuries, brewers have been handing over their spent grain – a byproduct of the beer-making process – to farmers to use as cattle feed. But they’re worried that mutually beneficial arrangement could soon come to an end.