Edible Obsessions has published a set of photos from last weekend’s Pocket Brunch.
Food Trucks: Mainely Treats
The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Mainely Treats, a new food truck from the owners of Mainely Burgers.
The decadent creation, called The Buckeye, is one of three gourmet ice cream sandwiches being sold on the streets of Portland this week from the city’s newest food truck, Mainely Treats.
Run by childhood friends Jack Barber and Ben Berman of Cape Elizabeth, the ice cream sandwich, sundae and root beer float truck is the third mobile canteen in their fleet.
Foodie Word Rant
Working Waterfront has published a “rant about ‘foodie’ words” by prominent food historian Sandy Oliver.
As cooks, we shouldn’t drizzle anything. Most of us who live along the coast are terribly familiar with drizzle. It happens outdoors, often in winter and spring, and leaves our hair damp, and us in a bad mood, if it goes on for many days. It is done by nature, with water, that fine barely visible mist in the air that we feel on our faces, but when we hold out our hand, does not make drops.
Maine Distilling, Part 1
The Root has posted the first of a three part series on Maine’s distilling industry.
Over the course of the next two months The Root will dip into the subject of Maine’s craft distilled spirits industry by profiling three distillers who are distinguishing themselves using primarily Maine sourced ingredients in the form of grains and/or fruit in the liquor making process. For these three posts, The Root is collaborating with Andrew Volk, a native New Englander, and nationally award-winning bartender who is opening Portland, Maine’s first craft cocktail bar, the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club this summer.
An Appreciation for Restaurant Industry Staff
Bourbon Portland Beer Politics has published a “little Independence Day appreciation for my friends in food service“.
Today, on America’s birthday, I want to thank the servers, bartenders, caterers and everyone else in the food and beverage industry as they do so much to contribute to the greatness of this nation and their efforts go relatively unsung.
10 Years at 555
In his latest post The Golden Dish takes a walk down Portland’s restaurant memory lane and describes Five Fifty-Five’s recent 10-year anniversary dinner.
The rest, of course, is history and last Friday the restaurant celebrated its 10 year anniversary with a special 10-course dinner to commemorate the event. I’d like to chronicle the dinner here rather than offer a typical critique and to look back at some of our old stars and current tastemakers.
Review of JP’s Bistro
Peter Peter Portland Eater has published a review of JP’s Bistro.
JP’s Bistro clearly has a following. There’s no doubt they are doing something right. The food was very good and my app was among the best stuffed mushrooms I have ever had. The wait staff was extraordinarily well-versed on the menu. They worked together better than the staff at most restaurants, helping each other when necessary and never seeming rushed at our table even though they were very busy. But there were some mistakes made on the night we were there. The biggest mistake was obviously the delayed food…
OPT on Portland Coffee Shops
The Old Pine Tree has posted a survey of her favorite coffee shops in Portland. (via Vrai-lean-uh)
My favorite spot is probably Arabica. I say probably because it’s hard to pick a favorite these days. I like Arabica for their coffee. It’s solid. It’s always good. It’s never burnt tasting. I’m not sure if it’s the absolute number one best, but it is consistent, and consistently good, and that counts for a lot. I also like Arabica for the atmosphere. It always feels inviting there…
Interview with Maine Craft Distilling
WCSH has aired an interview with Luke Davidson, head distiller at Maine Craft Distilling.
“We are a farm to flask distillery. We are using as much of the Maine grain and other products as we can and putting them into the bottle,” said Davidson.
Their Blueberry Moonshine, which will hit store shelves soon, provides a glimpse into how they hope to help Maine farmers find new markets for their products.
“So we are using a Maine grown barley to make a white spirit that is then infused with our region’s blueberries and sweetened just a little bit with some maple syrup,” he explained. “It is sort of like liquid pancakes with a kick.”
The new distillery opened for business this week in East Bayside.
Review of Portside Picnic
The Press Herald has published a review of the Portside Picnic food truck.
Portside Picnic seems to have a lot of lobster for a truck, so I tried the lobster taco. It came in a warm and very fresh flour tortilla. The lobster meat was sauteed and topped with fresh, thinly sliced red cabbage, tomatoes and a great homemade salsa.
The taco was great, with just a little kick of spice. (There is a shelf of hot sauces and condiments to choose from if you want more heat.) For just $1, I also got a small order of organic french fries, which were hand-cut, fresh out of the fryer and full of potato flavor.
You can find Portside Picnic in the Back Cove parking lot where they’ve leased a permanent location from the city.