Maine Strawberry Season

| Posted in Farming

Today’s Press Herald reports about this year’s strawberry season.

This year, says David Handley, a small-fruit specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Monmouth, Maine is “actually having the closest thing to a normal year we’ve had in a while as far as plant development is concerned.”

“The size looks good, the quantity looks very good, and the pest problems were very few this year,” he said. “So I’m thinking we’re looking at a very good crop year.”

The article also includes a list of farms where you can pick your own strawberries, a list of strawberry festivals across the state and a list of strawberry based dishes at Maine restaurants.

Review of JP’s Bistro

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Magazine has published a review of JP’s Bistro.

My partner’s chicken and eggplant parmigiana, with layers of gently fried chicken filet and eggplant slices baked with rich sauce and mozzarella, is a well-prepared casserole dish that comes with a side of pasta topped with tasty marinara and earns audible plaudits all around ($17).

This issue also includes articles about Maine chefs, Portland’ s happy hour options and lobster bakes which are not available online.

This Week’s Events: Domaine de Rimauresq, Graze, The Festival, Veg Food Festival, Lyra, Hot Wings Challenge, Noshbow Block Party

| Posted in Events

Monday — Bar Lola is holding a wine dinner featuring Domaine de Rimauresq.

Tuesday — a Local Foods Networking Breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.

Wednesday — Wine Wise is leading a Sparkling Wine Walk, Black Tie is hosting the first of their Graze Farm Dinners at Pineland in New Gloucester, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beers from The Festival, there will be a wine tasting at Aurora Provisions, El Corazon will be the featured food truck at Rising Tide, and Bier Cellar is hosting Prairie Artisanal Ales from Oklahoma and Allagash for a pre-Festival tasting.

Friday — the first tasting session of The Festival is taking place, Allagash is holding a Victoria Ale premiere party at the Victoria Mansion, and Sebago is releasing the 2013 edition of their Single Batch Series beer, Hop Swap.

Saturday — the next two tasting sessions of The Festival are taking place as is the 9th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival and the 2nd Annual Maine Hot Wing Cook-off Challenge, Mainely Burgers will be the featured food truck at Rising Tide and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — the 8th Annual Taste of the Nation is taking place, Rising Tide is hosting a Brewers Brunch to celebrate the bottle launch of their new beer Lyra, Hugo’s is the featured restaurant at Flanagan Farms in Buxton, Nosh and Oxbow are teaming up to put on the NoshBow Block Party on Oak Street.

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.

Bresca and the Honey Bee Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Krista Kern Desjarlais’s new venture in New Gloucester, Bresca and the Honey Bee, opened for business on Saturday with a limited menu of ice cream and drinks. When I stopped by on Sunday she had available a beer-flavored ice cream made with honey porter in honor of Father’s Day.

Krista will be getting the kitchen fully operational over the next few days and will have a full menu ready for Wednesday and the coming weekend.

Bon Appetit: Praise for Leslie Oster

| Posted in Reviews

Bon Appetit calls the meal prepared by Aurora Provision’s Leslie Oster the standout dinner at the Kennebunk Festival.

But it was the cooked dishes that proved chef Oster’s skill. Anyone can give you fresh-from-the-dirt produce and you’ll love it, but Oster followed through, sending out nice seared duck and, later, a slab of pork belly (equally fatty, salty, and sweet) that was as good as I’ve had in a long time. The farm-to-table conceit was cute, but it wasn’t just a stunt. This was a real meal. I can’t wait to see what she (and everyone else) does next year.

Small Axe Truck Now Open

| Posted in Openings

smallaxe_truck

Small Axe Truck (website, facebook, twitter, instagram) opened this morning in the parking lot beside Tandem Coffee and Bunker Brewing (aka the Bunker/Tandem Campus). Small Axe is the creation of Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy. It will be very interesting to see how they translate fine dining skills honed at Alinea, Hugo’s, Miyake, Back Bay Grill to a more informal and mobile platform.

After finishing up breakfast, Small Axe will drive around the corner to Rising Tide be the brewery’s featured food truck starting at noon.

smallaxe_sandwich

Under Construction: Central Provisions and Compass Rose

| Posted in Under Construction

The Portland City Council meets Monday when two new restaurants will be asking for approval of their liquor license applications:

  • Central Provisions, Chris Gould’s restaurant, is under construction at 414 Fore Street. Gould just closed on the property earlier this week. Central Provisions plans on serving “seasonally inspired small plates that will be accompanied by local draft beer, a variety of wine and craft cocktails.” You can see the draft menu for Central Provisions on pages 59-60 of the meeting materials. Floor plans for the restaurant are on the subsequent two pages.
  • Compass Rose is under construction at 339 Fore Street in the space formerly occupied by Siam Grill, Shima, Apsara and Sebastian’s. Compass Rose aims to be a “quick service, casual style restaurant that specializes in authentic homemade meals and serve cocktails with flair.” A rough draft of the menu is on pages 83-85. A more finished looking copy is posted in the window of the restaurant.

Review of Little Tap House

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Little Tap House.

The burger is a good one, the bun a soft sweet brioche with a good dark crust. The juicy burger, ground in-house, had been loosely packed just to that right spot where it holds together but does not get too dense. The terrific Maine potato fries seemed double-fried, and come with a choice of sauces — both in the style now familiar from Duckfat. An entrée of roast chicken was juicy and herby, with a just-crisp skin. The accompanying mashed potatoes and snap peas were quite good, unmarred by a compulsion to jazz up their classic appeal.