Portland Whiskey

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails

The Portland Phoenix has published a feature article about Portland’s budding distilling industry that highlights many of the behind the scenes collaborations between distillers and brewers in Portland.

What’s a beer-loving city to do in whiskey trending times? Distill. And collaborate. With the current popularity of supporting local business and drinking whiskey in general, it is prime time for small-scale distilleries to follow the lead of the microbrew culture and create artisanal spirits. The beginning of this micro-distillery movement in Portland is evident with the work of New England Distilling and Maine Craft Distilling. As these local distillers work to perfect and define their craft, they are finding little or no competition from their distilling and brewing peers, but rather, endless opportunities for collaboration.

This week’s Phoenix also includes a whiskey cocktail crawl by restaurant critic Brian Duff.
Perhaps because its assertiveness stands up to mixing, Bulleit bourbon and rye whiskey show up in many Portland bars’ specialty drinks. In the Wally Hardbanger at Sonny’s, its spice shines through the anise of Galliano and the sour of lemon. In a hot toddy at Figa (now hosting special events like last weekend’s art bar), the Bulleit mellowed as it blended with honey and the expert mix of clove and cinnamon created by Figa’s neighbor, Home Grown Tea. It’s a great winter drink.

Reviews of Local Sprouts & The Frosty Pint

| Posted in Reviews

What’s the Soup has published a review of Local Sprouts,

I sampled two soups on my visit. The first soup was a lemon grass, garlic, and chicken soup; it was reminiscent of pho. The stock was homemade, simmered using free range organic chicken from A Wee Bit Farm. It was a vibrant, colorful soup with tinges of purple, orange, and green. Big pieces of chicken floated amongst rice noodles, pea shoots, cabbage, shitake mushrooms, and carrots. Cilantro lended a more complex layer to the soup. The flavor was light and clean. I really enjoyed the soup and felt like I was eating healthy as well.

and the Press Herald has published a bar review of The Frosty Pint.

One of the best things about The Frosty Pint is the ample parking. I spend too much time circling the streets of the Old Port for an on-street spot, and it’s nice to just pull into a lot, park and walk through a bar’s doors.

West End Deli Profile

| Posted in People, Profiles

The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of the West End Deli and owner Nancy Arnold.

Nancy Arnold, owner of The West End Deli, is not afraid to speak her mind about how tightly she runs her business, whom she choses to do business with, and how she feels about the customers who frequent the little deli, grocery, and beer and wine establishment she’s owned and operated for eight years.

Review of Crooked Mile Cafe

| Posted in Reviews

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Map & Menu has published a review of The Crooked Mile Cafe.

In cliche food blogger parlance, it was love at first bite. Serving up a variety of sandwiches, wraps, soups, and salads from their blackboard wall menus, and always with one or two tasty daily specials, The Crooked Mile is typically easy enough to pick out, just by the line of people out its front door.

Photograph courtesy of Map & Menu.

Food Photography & Eating for Two

| Posted in General News

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald interviews several local chefs to get their perspective on photography in the dining room,

“We get a lot of people who photograph the food,” says Krista Desjarlais, the chef-owner of Bresca in Portland. “I guess I have mixed emotions about it sometimes, but ultimately I’m glad that they’re happy and want to do it. At night it gets trickier, and we grimace if someone uses a flash, being such a small room. I think people are understanding how intrusive it is, especially at night, to use a flash.”

and the Natural Foodie article for a few months before Avery Yale Kamila heads out on maternity leave.

As a vegetarian for more than 20 years, I’ve had numerous people ask me if I’ve had cravings for steak or ice cream or nacho cheese. The answer is no, no and no.

Instead, my only cravings center around savory home-cooked meals that I sometimes can’t seem to get enough of. (Yes, I did go back for a fifth helping of black beans and brown basmati rice during a recent dinner.)

Under Construction: Chris Gould’s Restaurant

| Posted in Under Construction

Chef Chris Gould is making progress on the new Portland restaurant he has under development and is aiming for a July 1 opening day. Gould tells me he’s very close to signing a deal for a location in the Old Port. In the meantime he’s spending time lining up contractors, suppliers and key staff so the work of building and fitting out the restaurant can get off to a fast start once the space is secured.

Gould plans on serving a menu of international small plates that will in part draw on his interest in Spanish cuisine. 44 North will be creating a custom blend for the coffee service. The name for the restaurant is still under wraps. Might & Main, the folks who developed the branding for Eventide, have been hired to handle marketing for the restaurant.

Gould is currently working at Eventide with his friend and former colleague chef Andrew Taylor. He moved to Portland last year from Boston where he worked for Ken Orringer’s restaurants Uni and Coppa.

He was the winner of the 2012 Shucks Maine Lobster Chef World Series with a dish of “butter-poached lobster with ragout of sauteed knuckles, roasted fingerling potatoes, cinnamon-roasted carrots, roasted corn and sweet miso puree, and piquillo pepper”.

This Week’s Events: Sonnet, Chopped, Share Our Strength, Chinese Laundry, Pocket Brunch, Figa, Valentine’s Day

| Posted in Events

Monday —chef Damian Sansonetti is holding a Sonnet pop-up dinner.

Tuesday —chef Rob Evans is appearing on Food Network for an episode of Chopped Champions. El Rayo is kicking off their language exchange program; every Tuesday 3-4 pm El Rayo will host this event to connect English and Spanish native speakers. Participants will have a chance to learn from each other while enjoying half-priced drinks from the bar.

Thursday — the Great Lost Bear is showcasing Bray’s Brewpub.

Friday —in a continuation of their monthly international dinner series Eve’s is featuring Aphrodisiacs from Italy and Greece.

Saturday — Rosemont is holding a wine tasting, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — chefs Sam Hayward, Rob Evans and Chad Conley will be cooking at Flatbread to raise money for Share Our Strength, The Chinese Laundry will be serving up tea and dumplings at Speckled Ax, the (sold out) February edition of Pocket Brunch is taking place,  Petite Jacqueline is screening Sabrina, Two Fat Cats is teaching a baking class.

Figa — starting this week Figa is reopening, by reservation only, on Fridays and Saturdays.

Valentine’s Day — restaurants have started posting their plans for Valentine’s Day. The holiday falls on a Thursday this year and nearly every restaurant will be open. Here are the one’s planning Valentine’s Day menus or events:

  • Anthony’s, 5-course dinner and Rat Pack Valentine’s Day show, $39.95
  • Bar Lola, 5-course prix fixe, $55 per person.
  • Five Fifty-Five, 5-course tasting menu, $88 per person with optional wine pairing for $35 or $50.
  • Hugo’s, 7-course dinner, $80 per person with optional wine pairing at $55.
  • Nosh is celebrating a Love Affair with Bacon.
  • Novare Res is collaborating with Sweet Marguerite’s to serves a set of beer and chocolate pairings.
  • Petite Jacqueline, 3-course dinner, $55 per person with optional menu supplements, wine pairing and champagne flights.
  • Roost and Modern Vegan are collaborating to offer 5-course series of chocolate and wine pairings, $25 per couple.
  • The Holy Donut is making a strawberry glazed donut drizzled with 60% dark chocolate.
  • The Salt Exchange, 6-course Midnight in Paris menu, $65 per person.
  • Twenty Milk Street, 3-course menu.
  • Zapoteca, 4-course dinner “Celebrating the Love of Asian Influenced Mexican Cuisine”, $50 per person.
  • Maine Restaurant Week has posted their recommendations for Valentine’s Day parsed by relationship status.

Modern Vegan Cooking School — throughout February and March, Modern Vegan is teaching a series a cooking classes on winter soups, cooking for weight loss, cooking with greens, vegan entertaining and more.

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.