This Week’s Events: Quinta do Romeu, PSO Wine Dinner, Abitare Project, Boston Lamb Jam, Seafood Celebration, Crofters & Artisan Market

| Posted in Events

Monday — SoPo Wines is sponsoring Good Wines for a Good Cause, a tasting of wines from 25 wineries, as a benefit for Cancer Community Center.

Wednesday — The Portland Symphony is holding their 15th Annual Wine Dinner, chefs from Evo, Union, The Honey Paw, Fore Street and the Harraseeket Inn are collaborating on the 5-course meal. Lolita, Maine & Loire and the Pomegranate Inn are collaborating on a dinner event to benefit Portland Stage.

Thursday — Joao Menéres from Quinta do Romeu will be at Eventide to talk about Q de R and their Branca Reserva, GMRI is hosting the 3rd Annual Gulf of Maine Seafood Celebration, and there will be an beer & cheese tasting at the Public Market House.

Friday — the first Abitare Project dinner of the season is taking place in Yarmouth, Rising Tide is holding an event featuring the newly released Maine Island Trail Ale and charcuterie from Otherside Deli.

Saturday — It’s the opening day of the Milk & Honey Herbal Farm Cafe, Geary’s is holding a party for the release of their Summer Ale, there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday — The grand opening of the weekly Crofters & Artisan Market is taking place, Chefs Nikos Regas from Emilitsa, Thomas Pisha-Duffly from The Honey Paw and Austin Miller from Mami are competing in the Boston Lamb Jam, and Home Catering and The Farm Stand are collaborating on a Spring Chicken Dinner.

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: Woodford F&B, Becky’s, The Armory

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Magazine has reviewed Woodford Food & Beverage,

This crossroads destination is truly a bright new gem.

The Golden Dish has reviewed Becky’s,

I go there often for a basic breakfast or lunch where at midday I enjoy a grilled American cheese sandwich on white with a cup of chowder.  Even Becky’s dinner menu has appeal: meatloaf with mashed potatoes and a roll, fried fish combos or roast turkey with sausage stuffing for  $11.95

and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed the Armory.

Still, the Armory is a great place to get some drinks.  And if you’re there to battle the work week and then get hungry, The Armory is a good place to grab a meal for short money too.

SaltBox Cafe Food Truck

| Posted in Openings

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Urban Eye reports that the SaltBox Cafe (instagram, facebook) food truck has moved to Portland.

The tiny house with a big taste will be on the Eastern Prom Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. After that the Saltbox roams the streets of Portland Thursday through Sunday. “I’d like to start doing popups and invite Portland chefs to take over the kitchen for a day,” said Glatz.

Photo Credit: Jay Lombard

Under Construction: 2nd Scratch Baking

| Posted in Under Construction

Scratch Baking announced yesterday (instagram, facebook) that they’ll be opening a second location in the former Getty Gas station on Broadway.

The new bakery will provide Scratch with expanded production space for their highly sought after bagels as well as a Toast & Bagel Bar with seating. Scratch will continue to operate the bakery in Willard Square unchanged. They hope to open the new spot in mid-Summer.

The Press Herald caught up with [co-owner Sonja] Swandberg about the announcement to learn more about plans for the new location.

Swanberg said she couldn’t guarantee that the new location will make the bagel lines disappear, but having a bigger oven in the Getty space should at least shorten the waiting time for a fresh, hot Maine sea salt bagel. She estimated “very conservatively” that the bakery will be able to churn out 25 percent more bagels a day.

Best of Portland Readership Poll

| Posted in General News

The Portland Phoenix has selected the nominees and voting has begun for the 2016 Best of Portland readership poll.

There are 50+ Food and Drink categories ranging from bagels and barbecue to wine tastings and wings for you to  vote in plus categories for City Life, Arts & Entertainment, Shopping and Services.

Portland Food Map is a nominee for Best Food Blog/Column (along with 207 Foodie and Eat & Run) and for Best Blog (along with Active Beer Geek, Black Girl in Maine, Eating Portland Alive and Hot Trash Portland).

Interview with Ralph Hersom

| Posted in People

Portland Magazine has published an interview with Ralph Hersom, the former sommelier at Le Cirque and now Portland resident working for Hannaford managing the wines, beer and spirits products at their supermarkets.

Hannaford shoppers have benefited from the updated and more sophisticated food selections available there in recent years. Is your job to do the same for beverages?
Exactly. I’ve been hired by Hannaford to help improve upon the selection of wine, beer, and spirits they currently carry. I’m fortunate that past [decisions] have established a great foundation for me to build upon. I’ll use my fine-wine, craft beer, and specialty spirits background to bring some excitement to the center-store aisles, helping to elevate it to the next level.

I had the chance to meet Hersom last month at the Piccolo truffle dinner and am looking forward to seeing his selection make an impact on the Hannaford wine shelves.

Under Construction: Izakaya Minato

| Posted in Under Construction

The Golden Dish has posted a report on the Izakaya Minato pop-up dinner that took place earlier this week at Bao Bao.

The cured sardines were beautifully presented: the body of the sardine was fried and towered over the slices of cured fish in a fan of neat slices.  The deeply fried bones were like eating candy.  This was a great dish that I would hope to see often at the forthcoming restaurant.

Food x Art

| Posted in Events

A pair of events are taking place next week that team the restaurant industry and two leading art organizations:

  • 15th Annual Portland Symphony Wine Dinner
    Chefs from Fore Street, Evo, The Honey Paw, Union and the Haraseeket In are collaborating on a 5-course dinner featuring wines from Spain.Call (207) 773-6128 to reserve a seat.
  • Portland Stage Overnight for the Arts
    Featuring a 3-course dinner by Lolita and Maine & Loire, attend a production of  My Name is Asher Lev, special backstage tour, a talk by executive director Anita Stewart and an overnight stay at the Pomegranate Inn. Call (207) 774-0465 for tickets.

2 Perspectives on Minimum Wage Referendum

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald has provided space on their op/ed page for both Five Fifty-Five co-owner, Michelle Corry, and a server at the restaurant, Heather McIntosh, to share their perspectives on the referendum to increase the state’s minimum wage.

The paper also followed up yesterday to interview them others about the opposing views on the issue,

The debate over the tipped minimum wage has restaurant workers and their employers – in some restaurants, anyway – talking about more than plating sauces and table turnover, especially when they are at odds with one another. The initiative would gradually increase the minimum wage paid to tip earners from $3.75 to $5 per hour in 2017, then add a dollar a year until tipped employees make the same minimum wage as other workers. That means by 2024, they would be earning $12 an hour.

Crofter and Artisan Market Launching

| Posted in Events

The Bangor Daily News has posted a report on the weekly Sunday Crofter and Artisan Market set to open April 10th in East Bayside.

Scores of vendors from across Maine are lining up for the chance to peddle their wares in Portland’s emerging neighborhood of brewers, coffee roasters and artists. So far, the interest is statewide.

Goat milk caramels from Copper Tail Farm in Waldoboro, Herbal Revolution’s mineral and fire tonics, Dulse and Rugosa seaweed body care, Shepherds and Such Homestead beeswax and wool craft and Portland’s Liquid Riot Bottling Company are all on board.