Middle Street, Dogfish Bar, Bunker Brewing

| Posted in Reviews, Beer

Today’s Press Herald has published a review of the Middle Street Cafe,

I had a similar sandwich at Mom’s Cafe for about a buck more, but with its dark green lettuce and thick-cut bacon cooked fresh on the premises, it was worth that extra dollar. The Middle Street Cafe version of a turkey club was fine as sandwiches go; it just didn’t wow me. And there’s certainly no law that says every sandwich should be a religious experience. Sometimes, a sandwich is just a sandwich.

as well as a bar review of The Dogfish Bar & Grille, and an article about Bunker Brewing.

Chef’s Table on 207

| Posted in Uncategorized

Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz were interviewed on 207 about their new book Portland Maine Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From Casco Bay.

Margaret and Karl are holding a launch party for their book Wednesday at the Portland Museum of Art. The launch party will feature food from Back Bay Grill, Silly’s, Otto, the East Ender and The Farmer’s Table which were showcased in the book.

Review of Tandoor Bread Bakery

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Tandoor on Forest Ave.

The beef version is a simple classic — the bread barely smeared with tahini and hummus, and stuffed with big chunks of tender meat, dark lettuce, tomato, and onion. The chicken shawarma has more complex seasonings, with the onions diced more finely, plenty of garlic, and a hint of something yogurty. A kabob sandwich fills the bread with dark patties of generously herbed ground beef.

Imbibe Portland

| Posted in Reviews

The new issue of Imbibe magazine high fives two Portland establishments:

  • Allagash’s coolship beers and Shipyard Pumpkinhead are both included in the cover story on “50 of the World’s Most Obsessed-Over Beers”.
  • Speckled Ax is highlighted in the Scene Scout section. “Named in reference to a Ben Franklin biography (owner Matt Bolinder had to make use of his English PhD somehow), this New England cafe brews with the best”

Wine Cellar Dining & Mushroom Hunting

| Posted in Profiles, Farming

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Dan Agro, an expert in foraging for edible and medicinal mushrooms,

After we make our way to the base of the birch tree, we gaze high above our heads at two dark, misshapen knots protruding from either side of the white bark. We all ponder the same question: is the growth the sought-after medicinal mushroom known as chaga or is it a wooden burl?

and an article on the wine cellar dining rooms at Caiola’s and the White Barn Inn.

Just last week, Caiola’s hosted a wedding in the cellar. It’s also been used for business meetings, birthday celebrations, marriage proposals, and lots of rehearsal dinners. “With the music going,” Vaccaro said, “it’s pretty romantic.”

Review of Otto Pizza

| Posted in Reviews

Map & Menu has published a review of Otto Pizza.

You can order any of Otto’s flavors as entire pizzas, but one of the coolest parts of Otto is the ability to grab a few of their extra large slices and mix combinations. Like any pizza joint, Otto offers the standard pepperoni or cheese (and mighty fine versions of both), but where they truly excel is in the unique flavor combinations of pizzas like the bacon, mashed potato, and scallion (where the potato is the base), the four cheese tortellini and fontina, or the butternut squash, cranberry, and ricotta.

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

The Foie Gras Advantage

| Posted in General News

The new issue of Portland magazine interviewed chef/owner Krista Kern Desjarlais and other Maine chefs about their use of foie gras now that California has banned the ingredient.

We’re not saying Maine’s trendy restaurants are spiking the ball, but Bresca serves a foie gras ice-cream sandwich [$10]. Says chef Krista Kern Desjarlais, 2012 James Beard award nominee for Best Chef Northeast: “Our variation is foie gras ice-cream with a toasted almond chocolate torte and pan-seared apricots with warm caramel sauce.”