Portland Food Co-op

| Posted in Profiles

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about the Portland Food Co-op and their efforts to scale up and open a retail store.

In a warehouse in downtown Portland, scores of people share a secret. Two nights a week, a local farm-fresh cornucopia including beets, chard and free-range chickens are packed into boxes and sent out the door.

Is it the best farmers market you’ve never heard of?

Not quite. It’s the Portland Food Co-op, and it hopes soon to be a visible part of this food-centric city.

Reviews of Piccolo and Zapoteca

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Magazine has published a review of Piccolo,

Patrimonio ($24) features “Abruzzi style” pork sausages that simply melt in our mouths. Think an ever so lightly orange touch, with a subtle mix of herbs and no gristle. Alongside creamy polenta and fennel, this is a dish worth remembering and ordering again.

and the Press Herald has published a bar review of Zapoteca.

Zapoteca’s tequila menu, which features more than 60 varieties, will definitely impress. And the tequila flights – 12 different flight combinations to choose from – are three half-ounce glasses of special samplings, which include blanco, repossado & anejo, served with Zapoteca’s own tomatillo sangrita (a non-alcoholic shot meant to cleanse the palate).

Tandem/Rosemont: Kabaj Tasting

| Posted in Events

Map & Menu have posted a report from last week’s Kabaj wine event. The wine and food tasting was a collaboration between Rosemont and Tandem.

Learning a new cuisine in the weeks leading up to the event proved to be an easy task for the talented chef, and we were fortunate to enjoy meats that he had cured himself, a regional bean, pork, and cabbage soup, potica nut rolls, and a tasty salted bread that accompanies many Slovenian meals. The night was capped off with an optional cup of the best espresso in town, and as Meredith and I made our way home that evening, we couldn’t help but think of what an enjoyable date night these pairings might make in the months to come.

An Insiders Look at Tip Pooling

| Posted in General News

Portland Daily Sun columnist Natalie Ladd provides a behind the scenes look at the practice of tip pooling at restaurants.

3) One upside to pooling (which conversely is the downside as well) is you never know who’s going to be in your audience. Rotating tables and even reservations are always the luck of the draw. I can have a great night where my section is full of drinkers and overeaters, while my colleagues have the water (with lemon, please) and appetizer people. My experience is that it all comes out as a wash. In other words, the next shift it’ll be my turn to randomly wait on the entree-splitters and decaf drinkers.

Portland Beer Week

| Posted in Events, Beer

Today’s edition of the Press Herald includes an article about Portland Beer Week and a comprehensive calendar of all 75 PBW events.

Portland Beer Week begins Friday and runs through Nov. 10. It’s only the event’s second year, but last year’s Beer Week was so successful there was never really any question that it would have an encore. Allison Stevens, owner of the Thirsty Pig on Exchange Street, owns the event and began meeting last January with about 10 other organizers to evaluate the best and the worst from last year and plan activities for this year.

For more information check out the Portland Beer Week website.

Little Bigs

| Posted in Profiles

The Bangor Daily News has published a profile on Little Bigs bakery.

Set up like an open kitchen, Pamela makes dough in one area while her husband prepares fillings in another. Little Bigs takes customers off guard. Is it a shop or a commercial bakery?

It’s neither.

“We call it a food studio. A place where we come to work and it just so happens that we sell the stuff that we do,” James said. “We are both very happy to do what we do.”

Review of Miyake and Pai Men Miyake

| Posted in Reviews

Booze, Fish & Coffee have published a review of Miyake and Pai Men Miyake.

This week Bo and Brian deliver a double dose of Masa Miyake, to give you the scoop on the new menu items at both Miyake and Pai Men Miyake in Portland. For you home cooks, the boys share secrets of Japanese pantry items and also how to avoid the top three mistakes in cooking pork loin. And as for drinks this week, they sip sake and teach you how to craft a nifty beverage gift.

Under Construction: Slab

| Posted in Under Construction

Today’s Press Herald includes a front page story on Slab, a new bakery/pizzeria headlined by Stephen Lanzalotta.

Slab will operate in the spot once occupied by Scales, a seafood restaurant that anchored the public market. The space has 30-foot-high beam ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. If approved by the city, the layout will include an outdoor beer garden with 20 taps and 160 seats.