Haitian Dinner, Others Profile and Perspectives from Former Restaurant Staff

| Posted in Events, People, Profiles

Friday’s Portland Daily Sun included a report on the Culinary Immersion Feast series that taking place on Thursdays at the Museum of African Culture,

If you’re hungry to learn about Haitian culture, and don’t mind feasting on a meal while delving into a Haitian-themed art exhibit, the Museum of African Culture may offer the perfect pairing. The museum is serving culinary immersion feasts, where the meal is an extension of the art on exhibition.

a profile of Others! in Monument Square,

At Others! a great deal of intent is evident in all aspects of the operation. The effect on the environment is a prime consideration, to be sure. The coffee stirrers, believe it or not, are strands of uncooked organic spaghetti. Bio-degradable coffee stirrers. And the to-go coffee cups and lids are state-of-the art bio-degradable as well. You wouldn’t believe the research Brad did to come up with them.

and perspectives from former restaurant workers on their old careers in the hospitality industry.

Nancy Farrell-Baker, Portland, 29. “I’d still be waiting tables if I hadn’t just had a second child. Even though my husband works days and my job was mostly nights, it was too stressful. He sells cars and does pretty well, but I still made more money and loved the people I worked with. Yeah, that’s the hardest part, not being around such great people.”

Development in East Bayside: Bomb Diggity and Pure Pops

| Posted in Under Construction

This week’s edition of the Portland Phoenix features a behind the scenes look at the new 5,000 square foot space being developed in East Bayside by Eli Cayer, owner of Urban Farm Fermentory.

Exploding out of the mind of Portland idea-man Eli Cayer, 39, and with financial backing from his Urban Farm Fermentory, is the conversion of a former East Bayside taxi garage into a home for food processors and preparers right on the Portland peninsula.

With his eye ever fixed on the Next Big Thing for the Forest City (he’s had his hand in everything from public transit to community engagement to booze), Cayer is not only projecting the February 1 opening of the yet-to-be-named new space, which will house an expanded space for Bomb Diggity Bakery and an all-natural fruit-popsicle maker — he has also offered the Portland Phoenix a behind-the-scenes look at how ideas like this one arise, develop, change, adapt, get wrecked, get salvaged, and ultimately, if the stars align, actually happen.

Changes at Bresca

| Posted in General News

According to a report on Maine a la Carte, Bresca started serving lunch yesterday.

The new lunch menu will be “smallish,” and the chef will change it up when she gets an idea of what guests prefer, but she promises there will always be a good price point for the quality of the food. Most of the dishes on Wednesday’s menu were between $9 and $12.

That’s not all. She’s also planning to make pastries for eating in or take-out (think tarts, eclairs, etc.), and Bresca will probably start opening even earlier when that part of the plan is ready to launch. Desjarlais has floated similar plans in the past, but says she has now found “the nerve” to actually make the changes. She said she wants the new version of her restaurant to grow organically, and hopes to find her own niche in the Portland lunch scene.

Map & Menu: Best of 2012

| Posted in Reviews

Map & Menu has published a summary of their favorite meals of 2012.

Michael & I are thrilled to share the next part of our 2012 favorites with you all – the best dining experiences in our beloved Portland, Maine. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all of our local favorites, only a recap of the places that we shared with you all in the last year. Upon finishing up a meal in town we more often than not talk about how lucky we are to live in a city with such incredible culinary offerings. After reading this post, I think you’ll see what we mean!

Reviews of Veranda Asian Market & Novare Res

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a review of Veranda Asian Market,

I decided to stick with takeout, which is prepared to order in a kitchen in the back of the store. On my first visit, I tried a plate of grilled sliced beef, jasmine rice and salad for $12.95. The beef was tender, the rice well-cooked, and the salad much tastier than I expected it to be on first glance.

and Novare Res.

There are plenty of bars in Portland that offer an extensive selection, but none quite like Novare Res Bier Cafe. The drink menu is literally a book listing 25 rotating taps, two hand pumps and more than 500 varieties of bottled beer.

Royal Rose Cocktail Syrups

| Posted in Profiles

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald has an article about Royal Rose cocktail syrups.

The result was Royal Rose (royalrosesyrups.com), a company that handcrafts simple syrups in small batches, about 30 gallons at a time, using filtered water and 100 percent organic and fair-trade sugar. There are no artificial colors or preservatives, and Butler and Butters grind and toast all the spices used in the syrups themselves.

What sets the couple’s syrups apart, in addition to the quality of the ingredients, are the unusual flavors. In addition to a simple rose syrup, they also make cardamom-clove, lavender-lemon, three chilies, strawberry-fennel and tamarind.

For more information visit the Royal Rose website.