USM Goes Local

| Posted in General News

Coffee by Design won out over the competition in a coffee taste test by a “roughly two-to-one” margin among USM students.

Wicked Joe came in second and Pura Vida was last. “The overwhelming choice of our customers was Coffee By Design,” he said. “It was very clear people didn’t like Pura Vida.”

Additionally, the USM food service vendor has switched from Hood to Oakhurst.

USM’s food service provider, Aramark, decided to switch milk to Oakhurst Dairy in their effort to be more environmentally conscious. Retail locations on the Portland and Gorham campuses already sell Oakhurst Dairy products. The change USM will see is in Gorham’s residential dining hall.

Review of Bresca

| Posted in Reviews

The Blueberry Files has published a review of Bresca.

I hope between my careful consideration and these photos, you understand why Bresca is a sure thing for a nice dinner out in Portland. The food is spot on, the prices are reasonable, the wine list extensive, and the desserts excellent. You’ll feel special eating here, but comfortable enough that you can make friends with your neighboring tables and drink a lot of wine.

Bazkari Catering & Portland Eats

| Posted in Reviews, Openings

There are two new additions to the Portland Food Map directory: Bazkari Catering and Portland Eats.

Bazkari runs a daily lunch delivery service and starting today are serving their Spanish cuisine from one of the day tables on the 2nd floor of the Public Market House. The owner’s cooking is inspired by the time she’s spent in Peru, Bolivia as well as the Basque and Andalusian areas of Spain.

Portland Eats is a new food blog that’s just published a MRW review of Evangeline,

I’m glad that I am writing about dinner at Evangline as one of my first posts. Having dined at many restaurants over the past two years in Portland, Evangeline is one of my favorites. It’s not just the food (which is excellent), but the service, atmosphere, decor and general vibe of the restaurant that are all spot-on.

This Week’s Events

| Posted in Events

Monday — the 10 days of Maine Restaurant Week continues Monday through Wednesday. Also on Monday, Stephen Lanzalotta is teaching a Piatto per Tutti cooking class.

Tuesday — legendary editor Judith Jones will deliver the 2010 Bernard A. Osher Lecture at the Museum of Art.

Wednesday — Winemaker Lucio Mastroberardino will be at Old Port Wine Merchants for a tasting of Terradora wines (see Chow Maine for more on Mastroberardino and his visit to Portland), RSVP is holding a wine tasting, and Slow Food Portland is holding the annual Slow Food Writers Night with readings by prominent food writers and food by chef Lee Farrington of Figa.

Thursday — there’s a Terradora wine dinner taking place at the Sea Glass Restaurant, and chef Sam Hayward is giving a talk on sustainable seafood as part of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Sea State 5.0 lecture series.

Saturday — the indoor Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place, and there will be a Terradora wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton.

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.

Portland Barista to Compete at NERBC

| Posted in Events

Bard Coffee barista Justin McEdward will be in Boston later this month to compete in the North East Regional Barista Competition (NERBC) against other coffee professionals from across New York and New England.
According to Bard co-owner (and World Barista Championship judge) Bob  Garver, competitors need to produce an espresso shot, a cappuccino and a specialty drink of their own design for each of the four sensory judges in a 15 minute time frame. In addition to being judged on quality of their drinks, the competitors will be evaluated on efficiency and other technical issues with which they are produced. (See the official rules for more details)
Winning at the NERBC will entitle McEdward to represent the North East at the national competition later this year. Justin tells me that his motivation in entering the competition is not just to represent himself and Bard Coffee, but to bring attention to Portland’s growing coffee culture.
NERBC is taking place March 19-21 in Somerville, MA.