The September issue of Down East includes:
In the September issue of Food & Wine you’ll find:
Today’s Press Herald includes a report on Filipino chef Yana Gilbuena and the pop-up dinner she’s holding later this month in collaboration with Dave Mallari, chef/owner of The Sinful Kitchen.
Nominations for this year’s Buy Local Indie Biz Awards are now open. You can submit the names of local businesses in any or all of the 9 categories:
Nominations will close on September 2nd and after the final voting takes place the winners will be announced in late October.
The Press Herald has published an interview with Rob Tod, owner of Allagash.
Q: What attracted you to beer brewing?
A: It combined everything I loved. It had a bit of science, biology and chemical reactions and it had a big creative component with recipe-writing and a mechanical component with pipes and wiring and valves. It wrapped up everything I loved in one nice package and on top of it all, it was beer.
The Golden Dish has reviewed Crooners & Cocktails.
Still Crooner’s and Cocktails has its charms–a good mood for something different. This place has legs, and all it needs is a classic pump to lead the way.
The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Travis Colgan and Anna Connolly, the owners of Abilene in Woodfords Corner, and a tasting report on their menu.
I began with Anna’s favorite dish on the menu, an appetizer called Manchego Toast, which consists of homemade focaccia bread, doughy and warm, topped with melted Manchego (a Spanish cheese), garlic, shallots and fresh mushrooms, over a sherry and mushroom broth. The bread soaks up the broth, and you can dip the toast in as well. However you choose to eat it, it’s rich, hearty and satisfying. Anna mentioned that, as she and Travis were drawing up the menu, this was the first item they knew they had to include. The dish, she said, evolved from working with a Spanish chef in a restaurant down in New Orleans.
The Press Herald has reviewed Vivian’s,
It’s obvious that Vivian stays in business thanks to what I imagine are quite a few longtime, loyal customers, just like the Mr. Cranky Pants I encountered on the day I went. I can’t quite bring myself to officially rave about the place, but I sure as heck-fire appreciate that it’s there and that it’s been there for an eternity. What’s more, I am certain I’ll be back. Though I do wish they served french fries.
and has published a bar review of the Bar of Chocolate Cafe,
Bar of Chocolate is a laid-back martini bar serving house made desserts in the Old Port. A great place to hang after the theater, a concert, or just a low-key night out on the town, Bar of Chocolate offers terrific service and a cozy atmosphere. The martinis are very strong.
and the Portland Phoenix has published a survey of several newer food truck/cart options in town.
In the meantime, Portland’s new trucks let us get a taste of the future that awaits the plutocrats. It tastes pretty good.
Urban Eye and the Press Herald have posted updates on Ocho, the new burrito shop that’s being built at 654 Congress Street by the owners of Otto Pizza.
OCHO (which means eight in Spanish in case your lingo is a little rusty) won’t be your college co-ed’s burrito joint. “We’re interested in expanding the idea of what a burrito can be, and what can be in a burrito,” said Shepherd. “On any given day, there will a handful of specialty burritos to choose from. A few days later, you may see a completely different set of burritos.” [UE]
The Press Herald has published an interview with former Bon Appétit managing editor, Scott DeSimon about growing up in Cumberland and about the Portland food scene.
Q: Here’s the inevitable question: Where do you eat when you are in Maine?
A: The Portland restaurant scene continues to baffle and amaze me. How is that possible? How are there enough people in Portland to eat and keep these places going? Generally, I used to go directly from the airport to J’s Oyster and get a fish sandwich, a bucket of oysters and a beer. Less so now that I have kids. I really love Hunt and Alpine Club. I love Central Provisions. Everyone loves Eventide. I love Eventide. But it’s (expletive) annoying. It’s always too packed. There’s a late flight, a jet that gets in at 11. What makes me happy is that you arrive and Miyake noodles is open. And it’s crowded. It’s a signal that Portland has come a long way from when I was a kid. There are so many great places. It is hard to keep up. I try to go to a new place every time I’m in town, but I still try to go to J’s.