A pair of new entries have been added to Food Map blog list:
- Vrai-lean-uh – a locally written cooking blog
- The Spiced Plate – one woman’s “journey into a gluten-free, ayurvedic-based, vegetarian cooking and health experience.”
Review of Bayside Bowl
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Bayside Bowl.
Where this plan founders is that bowling alleys rarely serve good food. That is why the pub at the Bayside Bowl is such an exciting development. It is the rare alley that takes its menu as seriously as it does lane wax. You know you are in a different sort of bowling alley dining room when you inquire about a mushroom and the chef swings by with a box of his favorites for show and tell. He gets them from Maine’s Tibbetts Mushroom Company, and the current crop features some great enokitake, among others.
2011 Phoenix Best of Portland Readership Poll
The Portland Phoenix has kicked-off their 2011 Best of Portland readership poll. The Phoenix has a a 2 step process:
- Step 1, nominate candidates you think are an especially good fit in any or all of the categories
- Step 2, based on the nominations, the Phoenix will publish a ballot next month summarizing the top nominees from each category for us to vote on.
- The final results are usually published in April.
There are a plethora of food and drink categories (Bagels, Bars, Barbecue, Beer Selection, Brewpubs, Brunch, etc) there’s even one for food blogs. A list of the 2010 winners is available online as a reference.
Community Kitchens TV
Yesterday’s Locavore column in the Portland Daily Sun was about the Community Kitchens local access cable TV show. Each episode the show visits and interviews cooks in their own kitchen. January’s episode of Community Kitchens was an interview with the creator’s of Otto Pizza. The article isn’t available online but you can watch full episodes of the show at the Community Television Network website.
PPH: Dueling Cocktails & Processed Food Protest
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes a detailed look at the dueling cocktail events happening on February 28: The Signature Event and the 2nd Annual Bartender’s Bash,
The confusion even trickles down to the bartenders themselves. Both events have John Myers.
John Myers from Fish Bones American Grill in Lewiston will be at the Cold River Bartenders Bash.
Another John Myers, a popular bartender at the Grill Room who lost last year’s top prize by just a whisker, will be at the Signature Event. (Did he jump ship this year since he won’t be at the Bartenders Bash? Or did he stay loyal by sticking with the Maine Restaurant Week event? It’s like a Zen koan, isn’t it?)
and the story of one woman’s efforts to make consumers aware of partially-hydrogenated oils in packaged foods.
The story told how a woman was going to her local grocery store and turning around products that contained trans fat so the nutrition label, rather than the product logo, was showing. [Erin] Judge was struck by the simplicity of the action, and began doing it in Maine.
Reviews: Figa and District
Portland Bar Guide has published a review of District,
If you are looking for a sophisticated place to take a date or meet up with business associates and friends with delicious hand-cured meat dishes and an abundant choice of beers, wines and drinks then make sure to add District to your favorite spots in Portland.
and Dine in Portland has published a review of Figa.
Overall, Figa Restaurant has a bright future. The staff appears to have been hand-picked, as are the ingredients, and the hard work of the chef (clearly visible in the open kitchen) will keep me coming back.
Oprah: Best Online Grocery Sites
Oprah magazine included Browne Trading in their list of The Best Online Grocery Sites.
A longtime supplier of the country’s best seafood chefs, they also sell retail—though you can only get smoked fish and caviar online; for fresh fish, you have to call about the daily catch.
Reviews of Figa, Walter’s
John Golden has written a review of Figa for his new The Golden Dish on Downeast.com.
Figa is a good addition to Portland’s dining lineup. We’ve got the trendy and the exalted in our midst—without too much middle of the road for relief—but Figa fits somewhere in the middle of these extremes: well conceived fare without an ounce of culinary pretention but awfully fine regardless.
An earlier review of Walter’s went live earlier this month.
Vignola Beer & Cheese Tasting Photos
PortlandTown has published a set photos from Sunday’s 5th Annual Beer and Cheese Tasting at Vignola.
Photo Credit: Michael Barriault
Serious Eats on Maine Pizza
Serious Eats has published recommendations on where to eat Pizza across the state of Maine. Otto, Micucci, Bonobo and Angelone are their highlights from Portland.
Italian grocer and restaurant supplier Micucci’s has a hidden bakery that serves some of the state’s most revered slices. Finding ‘The Sicilian Slab’ requires a little perseverance—it’s tucked in the back of the store, and often requires at least a short wait.