Interview with Salt + Sea

| Posted in People

I Love Portland Maine has published an interview with Salt + Sea owner Justine Simon.

I’m a fish lover, and I eat it a few times a week.  What are the major differences between the fish I would see in my supermarket to what you sell?
Justine:  Well there are a few differences.  Fresh fish doesn’t smell like fish, it smells like the ocean.  A lot of people think they don’t like fish, but they’ve never really had fresh fish before.  It’s a whole different thing.  We have a strict policy of not holding fillets.  Our fish is cut the day of delivery, while most fish you see in the supermarket has been sitting around, filleted, for sometimes days at a time.  We also never soak our fish in chemicals like bleach or tripoly…

Police Trying to Shutdown Sangillo’s

| Posted in General News

The Portland police have made a recommendation to the City Council not to renew Sangillo’s liquor license, according to a report from the Press Herald. The Council will consider the recommendation on March 17.

On March 17, the City Council will consider the department’s recommendation to deny a renewed liquor license for Sangillo’s Tavern on Hampshire Street. “We feel public safety is jeopardized by the continuing operation of this establishment,” says the department’s recommendation.

The reporter checked in with owners of Dean’s Sweets and Hugo’s as well as a local resident, none of whom expressed any concern about Sangillo’s.

Carmela Difazio of Hampshire Street has never been inside Sangillo’s but has lived two doors down from the bar her whole life.

“There’s hardly any problems, only every once in a while,” she said. “I don’t see any reason why it should have to close.”

Forbidden Crauxnuts

| Posted in General News

The owners of Little Bigs have recently been contacted by the NYC creators of the trademark Cronuts with a cease and desist order, according to a report from Maine a la Carte.

The NYC baker who created the Cronut had the name trademarked, and according to James and Pamela Plunkett’s Little Bigs Facebook page, he’s sent the bakers a cease-and-desist order. It seems the name crauxnut is, legally speaking, just a smidge too similar to the trademarked name.

This Week’s Events: Þorrablót Beer Dinner, Warren Bobrow, Wine Tastings

| Posted in Events

Monday — it’s the last day of the 2014 Maine Restaurant Week.

Wednesday — Black Tie is teaching a cooking class.

Thursday — Vinland is hosting a Þorrablót (wikipedia) Beer Dinner in collaboration with Rising Tide, there will be wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House, a book signing at Longfellow Books with Warren Bobrow author of Apothecary Cocktails, and The Great Lost Bear will be featuring beer from Banded Horn.

Saturday — there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

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.

Wannawaf Needs Help to Waffle On

| Posted in General News

Wannawaf has sent out an appeal asking for help to recapitalize their business. According to the message, the effort to launch 2nd store in Portland impacted the financially viability of the enterprise.

So here it is, Wannawaf in Boothbay harbor is going to go out of business because of my mistakes in Portland. I bled our consistently profitable Boothbay store in order keep Portland going a little bit longer, and as a result I do not have the capital to reopen this year.

If you want to help Wannawaf out go to their page on Go Fund Me.

Interview with Bob Garver

| Posted in People

The Root has published a 2 part interview (part 1, part 2) with Bob Garver, owner of Bard Coffee.

“We believe that as time goes on and our relationships continue to deepen and strengthen, the impact on quality will only amplify,” Garver wrote in an email to me. “This is part of our general approach to our coffees as one in which we are using “best practices” at every step in the coffees journey, which include not only practices on the farms and in processing the coffees at origin and our involvement there (sourcing), but in our roasting, our preparation/brewing and finally how we present them to our customers.”