According to a report from the Portland Daily Sun, two lettuce bikini-clad PETA supporters were in the Old Port yesterday to promote veganism,
For the noon hour yesterday, the “Lettuce Ladies” — Tracy Patton and Hayden Hamilton, dressed in green bikinis with flaps that resembled pieces of lettuce — handed out vegetarian/vegan starter kits.
The Maine Restaurant Association has named Steve Corry the 2011 Chef of the Year, and the owners of Gritty’s, Ed Stebbins and Rchard Pfeffer, the 2011 Restaurateurs of the Year. The Bennett Family, owners of Oakhurst Dairy, were named Allied Member of the Year.
The awards will be presented at the MRA banquet this March in Portland.
East Ender opened tonight serving a limited menu of drinks and appetizers such as meat and cheese plates, salad, fries and deviled eggs. You can see a draft of their full menu on their website (click on the word Delicious at the bottom of the homepage).
East Ender is located on Middle Street adjacent to Duckfat in the space formerly occupied by Norm’s East End Grill. Megan Schroeter and Mitch Gerow who had worked together as the bar manager and sous chef at Evangeline are the owners of East Ender.
The Portland Daily Sun has report on the liquor license hearing for Rockin’ Ricky’s Tavern that took place earlier this week,
If the ideal of urban commercial districts is diversity, then Portland Street between the Post Office and the Preble Street Resource Center is a work of planning genius. Along with Rockin’ Ricky’s and other bars, you have two of Portland’s culinary landmarks: Bintliff’s American Cafe and The [Back Bay Grill]. There are church-focused service centers, independent businesses and a union hall on the corner.
For additional reporting see the Forecaster.
Today’s Press Herald includes a review of the South Portland branch of DiPietro’s,
For $8.65 — the price of one lunch at many sandwich shops and restaurants — I got a dinner-sized portion of spaghetti and meatballs with grated cheese, plus a loaded ham Italian sandwich.
And both were great.
and an article about food safety issues at Portland Shellfish,
Jeffrey Holden, president and founder of Portland Shellfish, said Wednesday that the 35-year-old company has made sanitation improvements at its crab processing facility on Dartmouth Street in South Portland and its lobster and shrimp facility on Waldron Way in Portland.
This week’s Portland Phoenix includes a commentary on socio-economic class and the grocery cart,
I often like peeking in people’s carts at grocery stores — my maiden voyage into Trader Joe’s a couple months ago was no exception. I found myself thinking that most of the patrons (myself included) had quite a lot of processed food items in their carts. These are people who by and large would never be caught in Wal-Mart buying some off-brand frozen burritos yet in the right and proper setting, buying such things is a sign of how hip you are.
and a selection of 11 eats to try in 2011,
While new restaurants intrigue food critics and patrons alike, it’s the tried-and-true, the places that have established themselves as mainstays in Portland, that shouldn’t be forgotten in all the hype. Here’s a list of places not to be missed this year. It won’t make you thinner, fitter, or wealthier, just a lot more satisfied…
Josh Christie has published the next installment in his series on The Beer of Maine. In part 7 he writes about Shipyard Brewing,
Among all the breweries and brew pubs in Maine, Shipyard is the big momma. Alan Pugsley’s brewhaus isn’t just the biggest in Maine, though it easily passes that test at over 80,000 barrels of beer a year. Shipyard’s massive production scale positions them as the 21st largest craft beer company in the US, ahead of well-known brands like Rogue, Victory and Long Trail. All this from an Englishman with a love for Ringwood yeast.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an interview with Fore Street’s chef Sam Hayward about his new line of Maine Fresh seafood pies,
“It took months of trials – mostly down here at Fore Street in my spare time, and also in my home – to come up with a format that worked for different seafoods, and we settled on four species that are harvested locally,” Hayward said. “So there are Maine shrimp, Maine scallops, Maine lobster and rock crab.”
and a profile of a Portland couple who have just finished a year of eating locally and blogging about it,
On the first day of the local eating adventure, Fuller and Madison showed this isn’t a deprivation diet. Their meals that day included a kale, onion, Gouda and goat cheese omelet with home fries for breakfast and a dinner of boiled lobster, roasted red beets and parsnips complemented by a wheat berry salad with delicata squash.
The signs and paper blocking the windows at 47 Middle Street are now down and pedestrians on Middle Street can now get a look in at the renovations underway for the EastEnder, the restaurant that’s taking the place of Norm’s East End Grill.
Wednesday — Grace’s Wine Revolution will be tasting wines from Optimus Imports with special guest Barney Schneider.
Thursday — The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Andrews Brewing Company.
Friday — a Rwandan Cooking demonstration is taking place and the West End Deli is holding a wine tasting. It’s also the January First Friday Art Walk and restaurants will be busy so be sure to make reservations now.
Saturday — it’s the opening day of the Winter Farmers Market, Wine Wise is teaching a class on Italian Reds, Sonny’s is celebrating their 1st year anniversary and LeRoux is holding a wine tasting.
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.