This Week’s Events: Port Tasting, Absinthe Spoon Show, Bitters Workshop, Chili and Chowder Challenge

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Rosemont is holding a Port Tasting at their Commercial Street location.

Wednesday — Outliers is holding a French wine dinner.

Thursday — Wendy & Eric Brown, authors of Browsing Nature’s Aisles will be at Longfellow Books for a talk and book signing, and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Funky Bow.

Friday — the Bar of Chocolate Cafe is hosting a “absinthe spoon show” called Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Founder for First Friday Art Walk.

Saturday — Vena’s Fizz House is teaching a bitters workshop, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

Sunday — the 20th Annual Great Chili and Chowder Challenge is taking place at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

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.

Black Dinah Moving to Portland

| Posted in Under Construction

Black Dinah Chocolatiers (facebook, website, twitter) are planning to  move to the Portland area, according to a report from the Bangor Daily News.

After a Christmas season of rough weather and doubling sales, the owners of Black Dinah Chocolatiers on Isle au Haut are charting a course for Portland.

“Resources are difficult and limited here,” said Steve Shaffer, who has run the high-end chocolate business with his wife Kate Shaffer on the Penobscot Bay island for eight years. “We have to bring everything out here, take everything off the boat. Our utilities and insurance are three times as much as the mainland.”

For more detail on new restaurants and food producers under development in Portland see the PFM Under Construction list.

Review of East Ender

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed the East Ender.

The quintessential gastro-pub, with a lusty, varied menu of creatively prepared fare. Must-haves include the deviled eggs (with various fillings), the lobster poutine, trout fritters, the East Ender burger and a very good lobster salad sandwich. For starters and main courses, standouts include the mussels in green curry coconut milk, nachos with lobster, smoked hen, Montreal smoked brisket and hanger steak with bacon-bourbon butter…

Today’s Telegram also includes an article about Maine’s mushroom farming industry.

Review of Andy’s

| Posted in Reviews

Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Andy’s Old Port Pub.

The atmosphere at Andy’s is cozy and laid back.  It’s a place where everyone seems to know everyone.  Many were taking the chance, while waiting for the ferry, to have a snack, a drink, and enjoy friends company.  The place rung with laughter.  They also feature live music throughout the week and on weekends from local musicians.

Our verdict is that Andy’s is a great spot to meet up with friends over some good brews.  You also might make some new friends!

ABV Prohibition (Updated)

| Posted in Beer

Maine Today has a report on the Maine law which prohibits bars from posting the alcohol percentage of the beers they serve.

Maine Law prohibits bars from posting the ABVs. (But wait, bars all over the state post the ABVs on tap menus and chalkboards all time. Yeah. But technically, they’re not supposed to.) It’s an archaic law that’s getting a lot of attention on Three Tide’s Facebook page. When David Carlson, an owner of Three Tides, got a call from his liquor inspector saying it’s not OK to list the beers’ alcohol-by-volume numbers, he posted to the company’s page so that customers would know.

Update: See this article in the Bangor Daily News for additional reporting on the law and the efforts to change it.

So far his plea has reached the ears of several lawmakers, including Rep. Louie Luchini, D-Ellsworth, the co-chair of the Veterans and Legal Affairs committee, which deals with matters of alcohol sales. He said Friday that earlier that day he had submitted a bill request in an effort to quickly resolve the legal problem.

Allagash x Speckled Ax Coffee Bean Collaboration

| Posted in General News

BDN’s new Portland culture blog Urban Eye has a report on a collaboration between Speckled Axe and Allagash.

Armed with 40 pounds of green beans (at their most absorbent before roasting), [Speckled Ax owner Matt] Bolinder walked into the brewery’s cold cellar, stacked high with wooden barrels of aging triples, and took over two empty vessels.

“Instead of adding coffee to the beer, I’m adding elements of brewing to my coffee,” he says with a runaway smile.

Oakhurst Sold

| Posted in General News

Oakhurst has been sold to a dairy farm cooperative, according to an article in the Press Herald.

Oakhurst Dairy, which has been owned by a Maine family since the company was founded in 1921, has been sold to a national cooperative owned by farmers.

Oakhurst was acquired by Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative owned by more than 8,000 farms in 48 states. The deal, negotiated for about eight to nine months, closed Friday.

Central Kitchen’s Focuses on Local Foods

| Posted in Profiles

The Forecaster has published an article about the new central kitchen that serves Portland’s public schools and increasing amount of local foods being used by the school district.

Increasingly, the food students eat is grown on farms throughout Maine. A small amount comes from students themselves.

Last year, the kitchen served 50,000 pounds of local produce and 15,000 pounds of local meats. This year, the kitchen is on track to double those amounts, according to Blair Currier, the School District’s local food specialist.