The voting has begun for Buy Local’s Indie Biz awards. Coffee by Design, DiMillo’s, Harbor Fish, Local Sprouts, Miyake, Portland & Rochester, the Portland Food Co-op, Rosemont, The Honey Exchange and Urban Farm Fermentory are all nominees.
Visit the Buy Local website to vote for your favorites in each of the 10 categories.
Wannawaf has announced that they’re closing their Portland location as of the end of this week due to lack of capital.
The 10 eateries looked up most often on PFM in September were:
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.
The Forecaster has published an article about Maine Pie Line.
[Owner Briana] Warner’s creations include Dave’s Decadence, a chocolate ganache pie made with a salted caramel sauce and an olive oil-based crust. Another concoction is Pelkey Peach, a pie the menu describes as “apricots, peaches or nectarines poached in white wine and sage and baked in an almond pastry cream.”
The menu lists 40 pies, which include a mix of seasonal flavors and 10 savory pies, such as The Portlander, which has caramelized onions, goat cheese and portobello mushrooms.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has published a review of Flatbread.
Flatbread now has 11 locations, with most located throughout New England, though there is one in Hawaii and one in Canada. That’s really branching out. But Portland was their second and you never forget your second. Isn’t that what they say? So I think it’s fair to surmise that our humble, little food town will always hold a special place in the hearts of Flatbread Company. Ah hell, who cares? They’ve got great pizza. Go grab one and see for yourself.
Jason Loring, chef/owner of Nosh, is partnering up with Stephen Lanzalotta to launch a new bakery. Loring tells me that the plan for the new business is to “set Stephen free” and to “let him do what he does which is amazing”.
They’ve picked out a really great spot for this new venture. I’ll share more on that once they sign a lease.
Tuesday — Maine Pie Line will launch their online pie ordering and delivery service.
Wednesday — 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 — there will be a cider and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and the Great Lost Bear will be showcasing Founders Brewing.
Friday — 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. It’s the first night of Caskfest at Novare Res, there will be a wine tasting at West End Deli, local food trucks will be assembling in Bayside for the monthly Flea Bites mobile food street festival—Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe (facebook, website, twitter) will be launching at Flea Bites.
Saturday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Sunday — the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will be holding a fermentation class at Gather, and the local chapter of American Sommelier is holding the second in a series of wine seminars.
Last night’s American Sommelier class at Vignola/Cinque Terre
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.
Insurance Guy Beer Blog has posted a summary of new breweries under development in Maine.
I know things have been a bit quiet around here but trust me things are about to get interesting. Fall is my favorite time of year in Maine and due to tons of activity in Maine beers scene the fall of 2013 should be a great one. In the next few months there are several new breweries that should be selling beer.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article by departing restaurant critic Nancy Heiser that shares some of her favorites from the last 2 years and answers some common questions she gets asked about her work for the paper.
Who chooses the restaurants you review?
I choose them, but I always run options by the features editor, who occasionally makes a suggestion, as does the newspaper’s food writer, Meredith Goad. The other reviewer for Dine Out Maine, Shonna Milliken Humphrey, does the same. We divvy up the new places. The goal is to include a mix of types of establishments, cover the whole state, and not repeat a review for at least three years. But generally, more than half of the restaurants are in the greater Portland area.
If you see the author of Edible Obsessions about town be sure to congratulate her. Earlier this month she passed a rigorous set of exams to become a Certified Cheese Professional—one of only 253 in the country.
She’s also announced the end of the witty and wonderful Edible Obsessions blog. I’ll be sad to see it go.