Review of the East Ender

The Golden Dish has published a review of the East Ender.

For main a course my friend had to have the Swedish meatballs served over American-style house-made wide noodles. What a sixties dish, perhaps  better served as a first course in a smaller portion.  Even so, they were beautifully presented and the flavor was intensely rich, the noodles  al dente and the spinach leaves a nice touch.

Not So Hush Hush

andrew

Not So Hush Hush took place yesterday at Eventide. Portland Hunt & Alpine Club (website, Facebook) owner Andrew Volk produced a menu of excellent drinks while the Eventide kitchen crew sent out a stream of hors d’oeuvres to the packed house. Here’s the cocktail menu for the event, the Winslow Sour was the favorite among those I spoke to:

  • Munjoy Punch – lemon juice, green tea, gin and pineapple juice
  • Cumberland Punch – lime juice, brandy, rum and cava
  • Winslow Sour – bourbon, lemon juice, apple bitters, egg white
  • Ebb and Flow – manzanilla sherry, gin, Royal Rose saffron syrup
  • Shooter – aquavit, worcestershire sauce, horseradish, oyster

Portland Hunt & Alpine Club recently leased a space on Market Street and plans on opening their craft cocktail bar this July.

For additional photos see the ones posted by Zach Bowen and Sean Thomas.

Bard Coffee in the New Yorker

Bard Coffee got a shout out in a New Yorker article about the specialty coffee conference that took place last weekend in Boston.

“This is what coffee tasted like in nineteenth century!” Peter Giuliano exclaimed, holding a cup of Bard coffee’s Sumatra Wahana Natural as we talked at a small stand near the entrance of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, where the Specialty Coffee Association of America was holding its twenty-fifth annual exposition this past weekend. “I’ve never tasted anything like it.”

SoPo Farmers Market

The Press Herald and the Forecaster are reporting that South Portland City Council has voted to allow the farmers market to return to Hinkley Drive in 2013.

City officials had been reluctant to grant the market permission to operate on the site next to Mill Creek Park and a credit union because the busy road would have to be closed for several hours every Thursday.

But after the city’s Planning Board voted last week to give the farmers’ market a special exception permit, councilors voted Wednesday night to allow the road closure.

American Lamb Pro-Am

Maine-based food blogs Sweeter Salt and From Away and chef Mitchell Gerrow from East Ender are participating in the American Lamb Pro-Am:

  • Step 1: 12 food bloggers have posted original lamb-centric recipes for us all to vote on. From Away has submitted a recipe for Indonesian Lamb Rendang and Sweeter Salt has proposed a recipe for Caribbean Roast Leg of Lamb
  • Step 2: bloggers who authored the top recipes will be paired up with chefs from Boston, Providence and Portland to collaborate on the dish
  • Step 3: a public event in Boston on May 19 where the results of the blogger/chef collaborations are available for a public tasting

Under Construction: Bresca and the Honey Bee

Krista Kern Desjarlais, chef/owner of Bresca, is working on a new venture which she plans on calling Bresca and the Honey Bee. This week she closed on the purchase of Outlet Beach on Sabbathday Lake in the town of New Gloucester. The property includes docks, boat rentals, a beach and a snack shack (in operation since 1929) which she’ll be converting into her new eatery.

Bresca and the Honey Bee will be open 7 days a week from Memorial Day straight through to Labor Day. The menu “will be picnic inspired with a focus on pastry and ice cream with hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, salads and snacks.”

I’ve always been a big fan of Bresca and look forward to visiting Krista’s new venture. A trip (or two or three) to New Gloucester this summer are going to be on my calendar.

bresca_snackshack bresca_beach

First Review of The North Point

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of The North Point.

It’s a menu that says: my kitchen is tiny but I care about food — an experience familiar to many New Yorkers. There are lots of cold meats in the form of patés and charcuterie, and a nice selection of cheeses. A pheasant paté was quite good — sweet but peppery with some gaminess, with a texture more meaty than creamy. Even better was a trio of juicy sausages — a spicy-smoky andouille, a sweet and fatty kielbasa, and a peppery rabbit — served with four sauces.

Review of Eventide

Lobster Gal has published a review of the lobster roll at Eventide.

Even fresh picked, tasty lobster on a perfectly grilled grocery hot dog bun can start to seem, dare I say, ho-hum.  Creativity can go wildly wrong with lobster rolls.  I can see why the chef at Eventide is considered a culinary genius.  Don’t question brilliance, just go with it, it just might blow you away.  My only regret is that I didn’t summon up the stomach space to try the warm, rum butter option.  Mmm, can anything be wrong that involves the words “rum butter”?