Getting a Summer Restaurant Job

| Posted in General News

Forecaster columnist Natalie Ladd has put together advice on how to land a summer restaurant job.

During an interview, dress as if you already have the job. Personal appearance and hygiene are key, but that’s not all. In urban-chic Portland, piercings, tattooed arm sleeves and purple hair are all part of our foodie-by-the-sea charm. The bummer is, mature people, regardless of how experienced, have been known to lose out to trendy buff guys and sweet young things with half the professional competence.

This Week’s Events: Rosen’s, Rum Riots, Crawfish Boil, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Jolly Pumpkin

| Posted in Events

Monday — today is Memorial Day.

Tuesday — Rosen’s Deli, aka Full Belly Deli, is opening their new location in Westbrook at 10:30am, and Vinland is hosting a pop-up dinner in collaboration with chef Chris Newton.

Wednesday — The Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday — there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire., and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from the Boothbay Craft Brewery.

Friday — Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is doing a tap takeover at Pai Men Miyake.

logo_smallSaturday — Standard Baking is celebrating their 20th anniversary, Rosemont is  running a Spanish wine event, RSVP is holding a rose tasting, the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place. It’s also the start of the 2015 Rum Riots festival, Saturday’s program includes a class on how to make bitters, shrubs and syrups at home taught by Owl & Whale, a cocktail book history lecture by Don Lindgren and John Myers, and a tiki cocktail workshop taught by bartenders from The Yachtsman in Philadelphia.

Sunday — Po’Boys and Pickles is holding their 4th Annual Parking Lot Crawfish Boil, and Rum Riots continues with a lecture on the history of Chartreuse, a class on bar technique taught by Jeffrey Morgenthaler and USBG bartending competition.

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: Lolita, Ebb & Flow

| Posted in Reviews

The Blueberry Files has reviewed lunch at Lolita.

One of the $10 lunch specials was an open-faced sandwich with a speck, arugula, and smoked tomato aioli on grilled sourdough bread. It’s like Lolita in a sandwich: sliced Italian meat and a smoky flavor from their wood-fired grill. The sandwich came with a side of seared Shishito peppers, and I did encounter a few delightfully spicy ones. 

Drink Up and Get Happy has done a happy hour review of Ebb & Flow.

We liked the happy hour at Ebb and Flow so much, that we’ve already been back before getting this review done. The second visit just proved that it was no fluke. Delicious wines and free bites, albeit not quite as plentiful as the first time, make for an enjoyable happy hour. This time we were given a bite of brie topped with compote and a small basil leaf. 

WSJ: Tandem Coffee

| Posted in Profiles

An article from the Wall Street Journal highlights Tandem Coffee as one of Coffee’s Next Generation of Roasters.

Populated by veterans of those first pioneering brands, this new guard isn’t reinventing coffee so much as continuing a transformation already underway. Small, creative and hyperlocal, they’re sourcing even more adventurously and sustainably, importing the best beans from the farthest corners of the earth. And they’re opening in ever-smaller cities, turning America’s long-brewing revolution into a full-blown indie coffee diaspora.

Competitive Pressure

| Posted in General News

This week’s Portland Phoenix explores the question Can Portland sustain the opening of another restaurant?

“The truth is, cream rises to the top — the best restaurants will stay open and the not-so-good restaurants will close,” says Jason Loring, co-owner and chef of Nosh and Slab, who recently shared his thoughts about the number of restaurants in Portland. “Competition is a good thing, it forces us to put our best food forward.”

For an historical perspective check out this report from 1977.

Review of Muthah Truckah

| Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized

The Press Herald has reviewed The Muthah Truckah.

First, my teeth sank into the slices of griddle-fried ciabatta bread. Then came the layers of bacon jam (bacon literally pulverized into jam), bright orange BBQ potato chips with ridges, turkey, cheddar cheese, pickles and BBQ aioli. There were some pretty strong flavors in there, yet no single one shone above the rest.

It was crispy, buttery, chewy, crunchy, tangy, sour and creamy, all at the same time. It was like a blockbuster Broadway musical, dancing in my mouth.