Review of Chebeague Island Inn

| Posted in Reviews

Portland magazine has published a review of the Chebeague Island Inn.

I chose the duck, a dish I find to be amateurishly prepared in most restaurants. Rowe’s version turned out to be a professional slam dunk. Tender, glossy, and almost silky, the pan-seared Long Island duck breast ($32), ordered medium rare, practically melted in my mouth. The caramel-brown breast rested on a fluffy bed of nutty black rice and rich duck reduction sauce, with bright green spears of al dente asparagus draped over top.

NYT: 36 Hours in Portland, Maine

| Posted in Reviews

A New York Times travel article plugs several of our city’s restaurants, bars and markets: Bayside Bowl, Caiola’s, El Rayo, Farmer’s Table, Grace, Kamasouptra, Local Sprouts, Maine Mead Works, Novare Res, Peanut Butter and Jelly Time, Rosemont Market, Scratch Baking and Sonny’s.

PORTLAND, Me., is known for three L’s: lobster, lighthouses and L. L. Bean (O.K., make that four L’s). Here’s another: local. In recent years, this city on the coast of Maine has welcomed a wave of locavore restaurants, urban farms and galleries that feature local artists. Abandoned brick warehouses are being repurposed as eco-friendly boutiques. In the main square, a 19th-century building has been refashioned into a farmers’ market. And everywhere you look, this once-sleepy industrial town is showing signs of rejuvenation — usually by keeping things local.

For commentary on the piece from the New York Times read the article that appeared in the Portland Daily Sun.

Fed Official at Boyd Street Urban Farm

| Posted in General News

According to a report from the Munjoy Hill News,

Yesterday afternoon Under Secretary Kevin W. Concannon cut a ribbon at the Boyd Street Urban Farm at Kennedy Park.  His appearance here in Portland which began with a press conference at the city hall in the morning, was part of a visit to farmers’ markets all over Maine.  “We are encouraging farmers’ markets all over to use a Double Voucher,” he said holding up a blue plastic card – like a credit card.

Under Construction: Rosemont

| Posted in Under Construction

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about the new Rosemont Market retail space that’s under construction on Brighton Ave.

In September, that will change. Rosemont is expanding its bakery by opening a new retail store just across the street from its non-peninsula location, at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Colonial Road. The current (soon-to-be former) retail location will be dedicated to the bakery, doubling the size of its existing work area.

French Press & Pumkinhead

| Posted in Beer, Closings

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the closing of The French Press Eatery (see earlier news here)

James Tranchemontagne, a co-owner, said he ran out of money to keep the business going. The expansion cost an estimated $130,000.

“We have known for the last two months that it was touch and go,” he said. “It’s a wicked bummer. Food is my life. It’s everything you put your heart and soul into. For it to fail it’s hard.”

and a What Ales You article on Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale,

The spices immediately bring pumpkin pie to mind, although I don’t taste any actual pumpkin. There is a slightly sour aftertaste. It is a golden color, without much of a head. Although I like pumpkin pie, I don’t like the Pumpkinhead — mostly because, to me, that malt and hops flavors don’t survive the spices.

For additional reporting on the closure of The French Press Eatery see this article in the American Journal.

French Press & Pumkinhead

| Posted in Beer, Closings

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the closing of The French Press Eatery (see earlier news here)

James Tranchemontagne, a co-owner, said he ran out of money to keep the business going. The expansion cost an estimated $130,000.

“We have known for the last two months that it was touch and go,” he said. “It’s a wicked bummer. Food is my life. It’s everything you put your heart and soul into. For it to fail it’s hard.”

and a What Ales You article on Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale,

The spices immediately bring pumpkin pie to mind, although I don’t taste any actual pumpkin. There is a slightly sour aftertaste. It is a golden color, without much of a head. Although I like pumpkin pie, I don’t like the Pumpkinhead — mostly because, to me, that malt and hops flavors don’t survive the spices.

For additional reporting on the closure of The French Press Eatery see this article in the American Journal.