Paste has published an interview with Will Pratt, co-owner of Tandem Coffee Roasters.
Paste: What’s important to Tandem from the perspective of buying beans?
Will Pratt: The coffee has to have a story. Most of our coffee comes through importers, but we’re starting to travel a little bit with them, too. The people that we work with have been doing it for a long time; they’re vetted, and we know their principles.
Two Maine businesses have been recognized by the Specialty Food Association:
Tuesday — Tiqa is hosting a (sold out) Wiggly Bridge women-only tasting event.
Wednesday — Lolita is holding a Burgundy wine dinner, Steve and Kate Shaffer of Black Dinah Chocolatiers will talk about Making the Leap to a Bigger Facility at this month’s Pub Hub in Mechanics Hall, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — it’s the opening day of the New England Cocktail Conference, and the BDN and Vena’s are collaborating on a cocktail tasting event.
Friday — Cellist Steuart Pincombe will be performing 3 Bach cello suites at Rising Tide; each is piece is paired with a Rising Tide beer.
Saturday — Bissell Brothers are opening their new facility on Thompson’s Point at noon, and both the Vegetarian Food Festival and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market.
Sunday — products from a number of local vendors will be on sale at the weekly Crofters & Artisan Market.
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.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about Sara Rademaker and the interesting work she’s doing to develop a Maine-based eel fishery.
Three years ago she began studying European and Asian systems for growing elvers into eels in contained areas, asking herself the question, why not here in Maine, the biggest source of American baby glass eels in the country?
Although she’s just starting her third year developing her eel aquaculture system, she’s gearing up to bring her first eels to market this summer, with plans to tap into the local sushi market to begin with.
The Golden Dish and Peter Peter Portland Eater have reviewed Solo Italiano,
We should welcome Solo Italiano to our fold of Portland dining because it’s time has come. The cooking is quite sophisticated with a true lightness of being that completely embraces the eternity of fine dining. [TGD]
the Press Herald has reviewed Portland Mash Tun,
Mash Tun is a relaxed, 40-seat bar on Wharf Street in Portland with 18 rotating drafts including anchor breweries like Bissell Brothers, Foundation, Maine Beer Co., Rising Tide, Allagash and Oxbow almost always on tap. There’s a $6 grass fed burger, other bar food, and $5 mimosas every day.
and Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Sonny’s.
Sonny’s is a great place and their happy hour just gives us one more reason among many to go visit it. Don’t worry if happy hour segues right into dinner. They’ve got you covered. Go check them out. You’ll soon find yourself there much more often.
The New York Times has published an article about The Honey Paw.
The original premise, of a global noodle-centric spot, has given way to a focus on Asian flavors, but with culinary techniques borrowed from across the world. The chef de cuisine, Thomas Pisha-Duffly, is of Chinese and Irish descent, with roots in Indonesia and Massachusetts. All of that is reflected in the changing menu at the Honey Paw, where shrimp toast, a dim sum standard, has morphed into a lobster-and-scallop mousse tartine. “That was one of the first dishes that we conceptualized for the space,” Mr. Pisha-Duffly said. “It kind of epitomizes the way we think of cuisine.”
Urban Eye has posted an update on the BRGR Bar which is slated to open on Brown Street in the former Margarita’s space later this summer.
A Portsmouth restaurateur closed on the first floor of the shuttered Margaritas in downtown Portland Wednesday. The grassfed-adult-milkshake-themed BRGR Bar is expected to open on Brown Street in late August. “We are excited by the location and getting to know Portland better,” said Carolyn Gregory, director of operations.
For more information on BRGR Bar see their instagram account, website, and facebook page.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article on the shortage of experienced chefs in Maine.
Owners of clam huts on the water and James Beard-winning spots in Maine’s foodiest city alike are straining to find cooks for the summer surge.
Bissell Brothers has announced plans to open their new Thompson’s Point brewery on June 4th at noon.
The May issue Dispatch asks whether it’s still possible to eat cheaply in Portland
But can it still be done? Sure, but you’ve got to dig deeper, pick your spots. We gathered 10 options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner where you can still get a delicious, super-filling meal on the cheap. (And tossed in five happy hours for good snacking measure.) Yeah, it’s always possible to grab a slice or cave for some goopy fast-food bomb, but there are better, more authentically Portland options out there. Dive in.
and pays a visit to the Cumberland County Jail.
I show up at the Cumberland County Jail at 4 a.m. on what is most certainly the darkest, coldest January morning of the year — registering at -8 degrees. I’m here to meet Richard St. Onge, manager of food services, as his shift begins.
Unlike the vast majority of correctional facilities in the US, the kitchen here hasn’t farmed out inmate meals to a large company like Aramark. It still maintains its own independent program, and I wanted to find out more about what that mammoth task must be like.