Review of Miyake

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Magazine has published a review of Miyake.

The first course, three gorgeous pieces of Alaskan sockeye salmon nestled over a smooth lemon mayo sauce and topped with delightful fresh scallion and capers, was a hint of the treats to come. Next was a single very large scallop, browned to a crispy outside, sprinkled with bright red roe, and set to bask on top of tasty miso sauce. And then, an amazing plate of eight pieces of Edo-Mae nigiri, consisting of the finest salmon, yellow tail, fluke, red snapper, shrimp, scallop, and mackerel, all of it perfect, but the mackerel almost astounding with its subtlety and texture.

Closings: Maple’s & White Heart

| Posted in Closings

The White Heart has changed hands. The lounge will be open tonight but then will temporarily shutdown for a couple weeks before re-opening under the new ownership.

Also, according to a post from Original Portland, Maple’s has shutdown their store on Middle Street. The sign in the window says that “With the growth of our wholesale business we just aren’t able to give it the love it deserves” but Maple’s go on to promise that “BIG BIG BIG news [is] coming soon!”

Under Construction: Local Sprouts Cafe

| Posted in Under Construction

There’s an article about Local Sprouts Cafe in today’s Press Herald. The LSC staff held a community design event earlier this week to go over their plans and gather fresh ideas for the cafe.

The Local Sprouts Cooperative is lined up as the first retail tenant at 645 Congress St., the former site of a University of Southern Maine dormitory.

The cooperative expects to open its Local Sprouts Cafe on the first floor of the building in February or March, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with an emphasis on local and organic foods.

Cocktail Tomato Hour

| Posted in Events

Portland Food Heads has posted a report on Wednesday’s industry event at Grace to  to introduce Backyard Farms’ new product, the Cocktail Tomato.

The staff of Grace prepared a four course meal with each course using the cocktail tomato as the central element. The starter was described as a “tomato cocktail.” The blanched and peeled tomato quarter was pickled in Grey Goose and Bloody Mary spices. Served on a spoon with a garnish of parsley, it was a nice teaser for the palate. The taste of the vodka came through just as the sweetness of the tomato worked to keep it at bay. It was a tasteful start to a light meal and I have to admit I’m interested by the vodka pickling concept. Might even try it out myself.

IIK: Cambodian Bahn Chow

| Posted in Under Construction, Cooking

Lindsey Sterling has published another ethnic cooking adventures on her blog Inside Immigrant Kitchens. This time she’s cooking with Sopheap Im from Cambodia to make Bahn Chow.

The preparation I’ll take home with me is bahn chow, which I just tried making for a couple friends. The word is: thumbs up. Delicious. Said one: “I love the fresh mint, basil and cucumber. — Ooo! And I just got a little kick from the sauce!”

The article also explains that we’ll all be able to try Cambodian cuisine starting in October because that’s when Im plans on opening the Three Monkey’s world Cafe on Cumberland.

Fore Street in Gourmet Magazine

| Posted in Reviews

“Eating out has become more of a luxury than ever” declares Gourmet magazine and so they’ve put together a list of restaurants that “you can trust to provide exceptional food and a memorable experience every single time”. Fore Street made it on to the list along with 125 restaurants from across the nation. Gourmet writes that the dishes at Fore Street are “…simple but never boring, and often astonishing.”

This Week's Events

| Posted in Events

There are several events taking place tonight: Local Sprouts Cafe is organizing a public walk through of their new space followed by a meal and a collaborative design session to get the community’s ideas for their cafe, Master Preserver Beth Richardson is teaching a class on canning at Wolf Neck Farm, Stephen Lanzalotta’s weekly Piatto per Tutti cooking class, and the weekly  Food and Drink Trivia Contest at Bull Feeney’s. On Tuesday, the next Wine Flight 5k Training Run is taking place, the destination is Silly’s. There are wine tastings scheduled on Thursday at Old Port Wine Merchants, on Friday at the Munjoy Rosemont and on Saturday at Kitchen and Cork. The Salt Exchange is running their weekly wine and canapes event on Wednesday. Portland’s weekly Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. Friday through Sunday MOFGA’s annual celebration of all things sustainable/local/organic, the Common Ground Fair, is taking place in Unity. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.