From Away has published a review of The SoPo.
The entire experience ended up being fairly underwhelming. “Maine ‘Q” was what was advertised, and it’s what we got. It certainly wasn’t the worst barbecue from recent memory, served by an energetic, caring staff, in a family-friendly setting. But as Jillian and I sat in the car afterward, digesting silently, we knew we wouldn’t ever feel the urge to come back.
The Press Herald has published a review of Spartan Grill and Coffee.
I opted for the falafel sandwich ($6.25) in a grilled pita with a tahinni sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. But the stars of this sandwich are the plump, golden-fried falafel nuggets made with ground chickpeas and spices. Just a little crunchy on the outside, warm and creamy on the inside. They satisfy several different cravings all at the same time.
This week’s Portland Phoenix offers advice on what to drink with oysters.
Oysters are the ocean’s own raw bar. You slurp them, and their taste is wonderfully funky, as unique as any on the planet. As easy little food it doesn’t get a lot better. But what to drink? You don’t need to have wine as the perfect accompaniment. I like Allagash White Ale; its zesty flavor is a perfect foil with oysters. Gin is sublime with them, and vodka works remarkably well too. Perchance someone will come up with an oyster-flavored vodka. If you’re looking for wines, here are a few solid suggestions…
MSN included The Great Lost Bear in an article on bars with “dozens and dozens” of beers on tap.
The GLB features Maine and other Northeast microbreweries and–get this–four hand-pumped, cask-conditioned drafts like Geary’s HSA and Sheepscot Boothbay Bitter. This untouristy tavern’s taps draw from kegs like the Belgian Delirium Tremens, John John Dead Guy (a Maibock), and Gritty McDuff’s Black Fly Stout, a local favorite. What’s to eat? “Hearty, spicy junk food” and related thirsty-making fare. The Bear is about serious beer people who don’t take themselves too seriously.
GLB’s bar manager Mike Dickson was interviewed for the intro.
Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of Coastal Maine Popcorn on Exchange Street.
Offering off-beat flavors from root beer and toffee to wasabi soy and buffalo wing, Coastal Maine Popcorn Co. offers over 60 varieties of flavored popcorn both sweet and savory.
“It’s a cross between an ice cream and Jelly Belly jelly beans,” said Paul Roberts, who along with his wife, Julie, owns Coastal Maine Popcorn Co.
Food & Wine magazine selected Peeper Ale as the most “stellar spirit” in the Maine as part of a countrywide survey of regional beer and spirits.
Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the filming of a TV show at Otto’s,
The concept was interesting enough to catch the attention of the Cooking Channel — a relatively new affiliate of The Food Network — and on Tuesday a production crew was at Otto filming a segment on the mashed potato, bacon and scallion pizza. The Otto segment will be part of a one-hour special called “Pizza Outside the Box.”
an interview with John Ashton,
Ashton is executive chef for the weekly food magazine Relish, which runs in this newspaper and hundreds of others across the country, and has 15 million readers. In his travels around the country, he enjoys meeting those readers, visiting them in their homes and pulling them up on stage for cooking demonstrations.
and a report on the recent visit to Portland by Dr. Colin Campbell author of The China Study, a column on the pleasures of tasting wine, and an article from the Sun Journal on the Maine fiddlehead season.
The Portsmouth Herald has published a review of Bresca.
But I say, no. No, it wasn’t the hormones. It was that I had just enjoyed one of my best restaurant experiences in many years from beginning to middle and then, with the description of those desserts, those roasted black plums and then buttermilk panna cotta with passionfruit broth and white pepper and orange blossom sorbet with — I would later learn — all its cream and tang, brightness merged with mellow floral allure, I knew it wasn’t over. There was still more. This lovely evening was going to last just a little while longer.
Food photographer Stacey Cramp reports on using the recipe in Scratch’s Baker’s Notes to make her own batch of Scratch Baking bagels.
I made bagels. Impressed, aren’t you? Okay, to be honest, I had some help. Perhaps you’ve heard of the fabulous Scratch Baking Company, which happens to be located in my wonderful, little neighborhood? Well, they have just come out with the first edition of a gorgeous new bi-annual publication called Baker’s Notes, which contains stories, photos, illustrations and, most importantly, recipes for some of their popular offerings…including, yes, bagels!
The Portland Daily Sun interviewed the creators of Meet Your Farmer.
Debuting on Maine Public Broadcasting network on Thursday, May 19, “Meet Your Farmer” is a co-production of Pull Start Pictures and The Maine Farmland Trust and offers a series of eight short profiles of farms in Maine.
“The Maine Farmland Trust wants to help every aspect of agriculture, but the mission of the [film] is to try to profile a bunch of different types of farming in the state, and look at the diversity of agriculture in Maine,” said Jason Mann of Pull-Start Pictures.