Easter and Passover Takeout

| Posted in General News

Some restaurants and markets are starting to announce takeout options for Passover and Easter:

  • Union – is offering a glazed ham dinner with a salad, quiche, three sides and carrot cake. $65 for two, $95 for four.
  • Chaval – has posted menus for Thursday through Saturday including a packed Easter dinnner.
  • Royal River Grill House – has spiral ham, pork crown roast, leg of lamb, prime rib roast, and truffle mac and cheese available for order in family size portions from their website.
  • The Black Tie Company – has a full menu of Easter dinner mains, sides and bakery/dessert items to go. You need “order by 5pm this Wednesday for pickup or delivery on Friday. 207-761-6665”
  • Luke’s Lobster – for pickup on Saturday. “you’ll get grilled lobster tails, slow roasted lamb shoulder from North Star Sheep Farm, local day boat scallops wrapped in bacon, potatoes, salad, and Bixby treats”, $45 per person. (207) 274-6097.
  • Buxton Common – has both Passover and Easter dinner menus.
  • Sea Glass – has a takeout Easter dinner menu.
  • The Good Table – has an Easter dinner takeout menu.
  • Other Side Deli – the butcher shop at Other Side Deli has lamb leg roasts, whole lamb racks, and house-brined and smoked hams. Orders must be in by April 7th.
  • Pat’s Meat Market – has meats for Passover and Easter. Order online.

If you know of any other restaurants offering Easter or Passover takeout please let me know.

Passover, Easter Chocolate, Bread Baking

| Posted in General News

The Food section in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes articles on bread baking at home by restaurant critic Andrew Ross,

About 15 years ago, however, I got caught up in the no-knead bread craze first popularized in this country by Sullivan Street Bakery owner Jim Lahey. Not only was his overnight-rising method simple and almost entirely labor-free, it worked beautifully nearly every time. I was so hooked, I asked for a Dutch oven for my birthday that year.

an article about where to get Easter chocolate,

Disappointed kids everywhere may be looking to their Easter baskets for comfort in the form of chocolate eggs, marshmallow chicks, jelly beans and other traditional goodies. Many Mainers have rallied behind struggling restaurants by buying lots of takeout. It’s time to do the same for your local sweet shop.

and how families are adapting to hold Passover Seder in the age of social distancing.

At the end of March, Jewish families in Greater Portland were just beginning to confront the new 2020 Passover reality (or year 5778, according to the Jewish calendar). Since actual get-togethers are off the table, many said they were trying — or their children or grandchildren were trying — to arrange virtual get-togethers over the conferencing app Zoom. As with all of our many much-anticipated now canceled, postponed and mutated events in the era of coronavirus, emotions ranged from disappointment to anxiety, from resignation to hope.

Free Meals for Food Service Workers

| Posted in People

WCSH has published a report on a collaboration between member’s of the Esposito (former owners of Espo’s) and Napolitano (owners of Maria’s) families and Yankee Ford to serve free meals to out of work hospitality workers.

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, April 10, Maria’s Restaurant is welcoming the first 100 food service employees to a free takeout meal of pasta, bread, meatballs, and salad. However, Esposito said she plans to prepare food for more than 100 people in case more than 100 people show up.

All Together Collaboration Beer

| Posted in Beer

All Together is a collaboration beer being produced by brewers around the world with a common recipe and labeling to raise money to support hospitality professionals.

All Together is a worldwide, open-ended beer collaboration created to raise support for the industry we love so much. It’s an effort to raise awareness and provide relief, even in the smallest way, to those who are struggling. We’re inviting any brewer, from any corner of the planet to participate. The recipe is open source, the artwork is public, and the name is yours to use. The goal is to provide you with the tools to make the beer at the lowest possible cost.

Maine brewers participating in the project include:

Andrew Ross on Takeout

| Posted in General News

Andrew Ross has temporarily put down his critic’s pen, to write about the takeout food available during the corona virus pandemic.

For the duration of this public health crisis (and please don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s anything other than a crisis), I will not say anything critical about any restaurant or food business. To do so in such a brittle economic environment would feel mean-spirited and irresponsible.

Instead, I’ll share a few of my personal experiences exploring how to dine (and drink) in, while still engaging with our state’s remarkable food-and-beverage businesses.

Note: Since this article was written Drifters Wife has put their food service on hold.

Pivoting from Craft Spirits to Hand Sanitizer

| Posted in General News

Maine distilleries are making a change from producing craft spirits to hand sanitizer:

Feeding the Frontline

| Posted in People

A growing number of local food businesses are signing on for Feeding the Frontline—a program that enlists the public to enable restaurants to provide free meals to healthcare providers, first responders and other groups impacted by and assisting with the current crisis.

Here’s a list of participating organizations:

    • Woodford F&B – got the ball rolling on FTF in Portland when they started delivering their delicious cheeseburger. Use their online form to contribute.
    • Batson River – will be delivering pizzas as part of their Feeding the Frontline program. They’re in the process of setting “Donate a Pie” option on their website.
    • Coffee by Design – has set-up up their Feeding the Frontline program through their Coffee By Design Cares initiative which will deliver brewed coffee and partnering with Bam Bam Bakery to offer gluten-free treats. Use their online order form to support their efforts.
    • LB Kitchen – “With your help, we’d like to offer as many lunches as we can per week to the courageous team at the Maine Medical Center Emergency Room and COVID Response Unit.” You can support their efforts online.
    • Luke’s Lobster – is delivering lobster roll kits. Call (207) 274-6097 to contribute.
    • Noble Pizza – “has partnered with Maine Medical Center in the coming weeks to provide square pies to their well deserved staff. If you would like to help #feedthefront you can buy a pizza ($10) on our online menu under the Feeding the Frontlines Menu Item.
      After three weeks of operating Noble Pizza we feel these square pies could be a perfect item to drop for the staff and hope you feel the same!”
    • Otto Pizza – is now participating. You can support their efforts by making a contribution online.
    • Rivalries – is donating a bowl of soup for every family dinner ordered.
    • Rosemont Market – is delivering meal boxes to healthcare works at Maine Medical Center. Fill out the Feed the Frontline section when placing your next order with Rosemont to contribute.
    • Solo Italiano – is delivering lasagne. Use their online order form to contribute.
    • Union – “Every takeout dinner purchased directly contributes to grab n’ go lunches for Maine Medical personnel that will be provided by UNION. If you order a meal from us, you are also giving a meal to a community member in the front line of this pandemic.”
    • Maine Flag Company – the Maine Flag Company is selling a Heart of it All and devoting profits to “help Portland restaurants feed healthcare workers on the front lines of the outbreak”.

For additional information on Feeding the Frontline in Maine, see this article from the Press Herald.

While not associated with Feeding the Frontline, some other businesses are doing what they can to help others. Here are a couple I have heard about recently:

Food Delivery Big & Small

| Posted in People

The Bangor Daily News has a report on a small volunteer organization delivering food in Portland,

Later that day, the group delivered some 600 meals worth of rice and beans on the doorsteps of people they identified in some of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods, such as Parkside, East Bayside and the affordable housing complexes in Sagamore Village and Munjoy South.

and the Press Herald has a report on how LL Bean is helping the Good Shepherd Food bank deliver to food pantries.

The outdoors retailer is partnering with Maine’s largest food bank, Good Shepherd. The company’s workers will sort and package food in boxes that the Good Shepherd Food Bank will ship to food pantries in all 16 counties.