This Week’s Events: French Wine Dinner, Blueshine, American Sommelier Seminar, More Than Honey Screening

Wednesday — The Well is hosting a French wine dinner, Black Tie is catering a farm dinner in New Gloucester, the Makers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory in the afternoon and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place in the morning.

Thursday — the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders is holding a wine and beer tasting event.

FridayMaine Craft Distilling is holding a launch party for their newest spirit, a blueberry moonshine called Blueshine.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — the local chapter of American Sommelier is holding the first in a series of wine seminars. This first class will focus on viticulture, vinification and tasting.

More Than Honey — the Cumberland County and Sacopee Valley Beekeepers Clubs are hosting this screening of the movie More Than Honey on October 4 at the Portland USM campus. Tickets are available online.

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.

Review of Boone’s

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Boone’s.

Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room is a great addition to Portland’s list of seafood restaurant options. With (limited) on-site parking, two outside decks and a cavernous interior that manages to feel intimate despite its depth, this is the place to go for downtown seafood.

The Guardian: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay in Maine

The Guardian has tapped a set of Maine-based bloggers to weigh-in on the best places to eat, drink and stay in the state:

Dine, Feed, Wolf, Nosh (and Sip)

de_oct2013The October issue of Down East features an article entitle Dine, Feed, Wolf, Gorge, Much, Nosh about the “62 places to eat your way through Maine’s hottest dining trends”.

Elsemere BBQ, Miyake Farm, the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club (shown right, click to enlarge), Flanagan’s Table, Gorgeous Gelato, Maple’s Organics, MDI Ice Cream, Beal’s, Gelato Fiasco and food trucks Love Cupcakes, Mainely Treats, Bite into Maine, Small Axe, Mainely Burgers and Wicked Good were all included.

The article isn’t yet online but you can find a copy of the October issue at your local newsstand.

Hunt & Alpine: Bon Appetit & Dinner Party Download

Hunt & Alpine Club bartender/owner Andrew Volk was quoted in article in Bon Appetit about the advantages of batch prepared libations.

Additionally, Volk was interviewed by Dinner Party Download for a humorous piece about the government’s mid-century Hurricane Modification Program as part of their ongoing and “rarely imitated history lesson with booze” series.

First Reviews of Piccolo

Wines; Tasted! and The Golden Dish have both published a reviews of Piccolo.

I’m really excited about Piccolo, not just because it’s southern Italian cuisine is a new addition to Portland and different from the northern and Tuscan Italian we already have.  Damian and Ilma both seem to be technically talented chefs; however, what made the food memorable to me is that it tasted like they were really passionate about it and excited to finally be able to share it with people.  That’s what I love about food and wine: the connections, emotions, history, and culture that’s bound up in it. [Wines; Tasted!]

The couple who joined me for dinner had, however, mixed feelings about the food as we progressed. Portlanders, they also live in Tuscany and are well versed in the cuisines of Italy. The husband thought the cooking could have been more robust while his wife, as did I, disagreed completely, loving every bite and morsel. It’s subtle, it’s elegant but passionate cooking. [The Golden Dish]