Eater Maine has published an interview with David Levi.
Vinland, the highly anticipated and long-in-the-works 100% local restaurant coming to the Arts District, is shooting to open on Dec. 6, according to chef/owner David Levi. Much progress has been done on the interior: an ultra-efficient heating/cooling unit has been installed, plumbing, electrical and fire suppression systems are mostly complete, and the kitchen is nearly operational.
The Press Herald has published a bar review of The Inn on Peaks Island.
It’s not yet 5 o’clock and the bar seats are filled with regulars. Some cradle a heavy clay mug in one hand, others nurse pints of beers or house cocktails. Plates of food – haddock sandwiches, burgers, bowls of chili – faithfully make their way out of the kitchen. The space is cozy and familiar and the servers know almost everyone by name.
The Press Herald has opened a new position for a Food Editor to “direct its coverage of food – and specifically of the farm-to-table movement, which is becoming a major part of Maine’s culture”.
According to the help wanted ad on JournalismJobs.com,
Our newspaper is preparing to launch a major initiative in 2014 centered on the farm-to-table movement, and we need a dynamite editor to lead it all. This is a fantastic, unique opportunity for the right candidate. You will oversee the weekly Food section as well as a brand-new Sunday section.
The Blueberry Files has published her annual Thanksgiving turkey buying guide with pricing and additional details on the turkeys available from: Hannaford, Shaws, Whole Foods, Rosemont, Trader Joe’s, Frith Farm, Wolfe’s Neck, Sam’s Club, Valley View Farm and Spring Brook Farm.
It’s once again time to talk turkey! Options abound for frozen and fresh turkeys in the greater Portland area. I want to help you make the right decision in purchasing a bird for your holiday meal – whether you’d rather have the cheapest, biggest bird available, the tastiest breed, or the most local. So here’s 15 options for turkeys in Portland
For additional reporting see also the turkey article in yesterday’s Press Herald.
This week’s Farm-to-Table episode of Maine Calling with Jennifer Rooks is now online at MPBN. Chef Sam Hayward, author Kathy Gunst and food policy expert Amanda Beal joined Rooks for the show.
The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Mi Sen,
Mi Sen, one might say, serves food fit for a king. The Thai restaurant opened last July at 630 Congress St. Benjaporn “Ben” Chandpen is from Bangkok, Thailand, and has cooked for the royal family there. She moved to Maine in 1997 with her husband, Chu Chandpen, and their sons, Darit and David.
and the Sun has published part 2 of their series on restaurant comment cards.
Portland-based Finest Kind Tea (website, facebook, twitter) is one of 15 new food companies from across the country that have been selected to participate in the 2013 Next Big Food Thing competition.
The winner will receive $10,000 and their products will be sold through the online grocer Fresh Direct. Competitors are being judged on the their product idea as well as the amount of crowdfunding they raise in the next 28 days and how they interact with public throughout the competition.
Finest Kind is trying to raise $20,000 to
expand our business and develop a new organic, 100% GMO-free & ethically sourced flavor as part of our commitment to natural products and sourcing the best ingredients from around the world. The money we raise will help us fund the process for tracing our tea from field to bottle using established, internationally accredited certifiers.
Owner Jay Lombard launched the company earlier this year with two tea concentrate flavors (blueberry white tea, black tea and lemonade) and is developing new flavors for launch in 2014. You can find Finest Kind Tea on the shelves at Whole Foods.
You can learn more about Finest Kind Tea and make a pledge to help them reach their goal on the RocketHub crowdfunding site.
Tandem Coffee is a finalist in the 2014 Good Food Awards competition for their Aylele Yirgacheffe coffee.
Coffee finalists were selected because they had,
…exemplary flavor – sweet, clean, well developed body, balanced acidity and phenomenal aromatics. To qualify for entry, roasters and coffee farmers must emphasize fairness and transparency from seed to cup. This year’s entry criteria seeks to accommodate the enormous cultural diversity of coffee production…
The final awards be announced on January 16th.
The Ink & Pine podcast has posted an interview with David Levi about his restaurant Vinland.
Listen in to hear how top chefs in Italy and Denmark influenced Levi’s decisions about Vinland, how to fill a Maine kitchen with exclusively Maine foods, why lard has a bad rap and much more. Here, David Levi will discuss everything from a future Portland culinary school to foraging for edible mushrooms in New York City’s Central Park to the gourmet preparation of reindeer lichen. What food staples could be locally grown in Maine, but aren’t?
Left coast food blogger Feed the Monster has made a return trip to Portland, having last been here October 2012. From this trip he’s published reviews of the Dry Dock, Grace, Local 188, Local Sprouts and Vaughan Street.
The Moster was particularly taken with Grace,
There are restaurants nestled in Franschoek wine country that take your breath away. Places in the farthest reaches of Peru that are Valhalla amidst the ordinary. Restaurants along the Amalfi only accessible by boat that are pure heaven. And then there is Grace in Portland, Maine and it is every bit as transcendent.