Today’s Portland Daily Sun reports on the Community Development Block Grant funding received by Hot Suppa and Local Sprouts.
“In our application we said it would produce five full-time jobs between two businesses, but Local Sprouts alone over the course of the last year since we opened in June has produced about 11 full-time jobs,” Fertig said Monday. “We have over 20 people employed right now with Local Sprouts, some of those people have an opportunity to become worker owners.”
In the latest installment of the Maine at Work series, Press Herald reported Ray Routhier spends the day at Coffee by Design with Paul Chiles to learn how to blend coffee beans.
SURPRISING FACTS: Coffee beans, before they are roasted, are green. Coffee beans from different countries have different textures — rough or smooth — depending on how they were extracted from the coffee “cherry” they grew in. Coffee By Design roasts about 400,000 pounds of coffee a year.
PERKS: Unlimited cups of coffee, any flavor or blend; for a coffee fan, the satisfaction of helping make a quality product other coffee fans will drink; the aroma of coffee beans and roasting coffee.
Monday — Deux Cochon is hosting an all-day Grand Opening Shindig Hootenanny Party.
Tuesday — Blue is holding their monthly wine and cheese event.
Wednesday — Black Tie is teaching a cooking class and there will be a Bourbon Tasting at The Salt Exchange.
Thursday — Bard Coffee is hosting their monthly Latte Art Throwdown. Food Historian Sandy Oliver will be speaking at the Inventing Tradition: Good Maine Food wine dinner. The Great Lost Bear will feature beer from Marshall Wharf Brewery for their weekly Thursday night showcase. There will be a hard cider and cheese tasting at the Public Market House. LeRoux holding a baking demonstration.
Friday — Both BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe and SMCC are holding wine dinners.
Saturday — the first Deering Oaks Farmers Market of the season is taking place.
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.
The Seagrass Bistro in Yarmouth received 4 stars from a review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Eight pan-seared scallops, nicely crusted outside and tender inside, surround braised fennel, all placed atop a piquant tomato sauce ($24). It’s a simple dish that’s beautifully prepared.
Eat Here. Go There. has published a review of Bull Feeney’s.
Overall, we thought the food/atmosphere at Feeney’s was great! We escaped with a $40 tab. It would have been relatively cheap had it not been for our $6 beers, so I think it’s worth giving a try. Though it’s far from authentic Irish food, it can satisfy one’s banger craving. It’s a cool place to grab some pub grub, have a good beer (because life’s too short to drink crap beer), and people watch. So, sometime do yourself a favor, go to Bull Feeney’s order an O’hara’s and some bangers…I feel pretty confident you’ll be glad you did.
The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Pat’s Meat Market.
In the era of “Big Joe” Vacchiano, Jaime’s great-grandfather who immigrated to Portland from Italy and started a butcher’s shop at the base of Munjoy Hill, there was a meat market in every neighborhood. Over time, Pat’s Meat Market held on while others vanished. Jaime Vacchiano said the business pressures are demanding, yielding little in profit, which may explain the scarcity of private butcher shops today. He also theorized that a 24/7 world is inhospitable to an old-fashioned family business built on quality over expediency.
Here’s a set of under construction updates:
The Golden Dish has published a review of Bar Lola.
Why I never cottoned to the place in the past is a mystery. I think I felt the ambiance too dull and the room uncomfortable. This time the experience worked on all levels. The service is thoughtful and the kitchen keeps up to speed. I’m glad to add it to my list of five or six Portland restaurants that I go to regularly for pure gustatory indulgence.
Today’s Press Herald includes a report on Shipyard Brewing which is expanding their brewing capacity to meet demand.
The new equipment will enable the company to brew 180,000 barrels of beer yearly, up from its current capacity of 140,000 barrels, said Alan Pugsley, Shipyard’s master brewer.
He said Shipyard has been running at full capacity recently and scrambling to fill orders.
The Blueberry Files has published a brunch review of District,
But for brunch in Portland? District. Go to District. I ordered a Bloody Mary to start and perused their short-ish menu, which has a mix of breakfast and lunch items. Was tempted by the Soft Shell Crab Benedict special (until I saw the big X through it), but then landed on All You Can Eat Chicken and Waffles.
and John Golden has revisited Otto’s and posted an updated review. Golden’s first review was critical of Otto’s and a revisit seems to have attenuated his opinion somewhat but not to the degree that he’d agree with the result of the Phoenix readership poll which rated Otto’s the Best Pizza in Portland.
The Portland Phoenix Best of Portland Readership Poll results are now available online. There are more than 100 categories, 41 of which are in the Food & Drink section.
A few businesses won in more than one category: