Tandem Coffee and Bakery will be featured on tonight’s episode of the Cooking Channel program Unique Sweets.
The episode airs at 10pm.
You Dine, We Donate
Hugo’s, Eventide and The Honey Paw are partnering with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital program You Dine, We Donate to raise $10,000 during the month of December.
5% of each check at the three restaurants will be donated to the hospital. Arlin Smith, Mike Smith, and Andrew Taylor, owners of Big Tree Hospitality Group, “will contribute a minimum of $10,000”.
Restaurant co-owners Andrew Taylor, Arlin Smith and Mike Wiley feel strongly about partnering about You Dine. We Donate. because they know how important the BBCH is to their local community. Taylor says, “My oldest son was a patient at The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital as an infant and the warmth and incredible care meant so much to my wife and I during a difficult time. This is such a great opportunity for us to give back.”
Co-owner Smith says the partnership was a no-brainer. “We have children. Our employees have children. We feel good about supporting such an important institution in our community.” As a non-profit hospital, the BBCH relies on community support to provide world-class healthcare to all children, regardless of their families’ ability to pay.
Interview with Chris Harris
The Portland Phoenix has interviewed Chris Harris, co-owner of Crooners & Cocktails.
LO: What do you feel makes your restaurant stand out from the other dining options in Portland?
CH: Attention to detail. I do my walkthrough of the dining room every single night. I measure the silverware. I measure the glassware. I measure how far the napkins are from the edge of the table. … We don’t want people to think it’s stuffy, because it’s not. But we are such professionals here, in every aspect. Everyone here is after the same goal, and that’s absolute perfection. We’re trying to do something special here in Portland, and there’s nothing else like us here.
Best Bars: Hunt & Alpine
Hunt & Alpine has landed on the Liquor.com list of the Best Bars in America.
Portland’s first craft-cocktail bar continues to shine with a deep cocktail list that spans from approachable to geeky. There’s a smoky spin on a Negroni made with Cynar, tequila, mezcal and Fernet Branca and the simple Green Eyes: a gin sour sharpened to a keen edge with a healthy splash of green Chartreuse.
Bar Review of Eve’s
The Press Herald has reviewed Eve’s.
Tucked away on the second floor of the Portland Harbor Hotel is Eve’s at the Garden, a warm and elegant hotel bar and restaurant that boasts a toasty fireplace nook, superbly comfortable bar stools, and peaceful views of the patio sanctuary, which transforms into an ice sculpture garden come winter. While the cocktail list is mediocre, this is the perfect place to enjoy a nice glass of Scotch, share a bottle of red, or order a warm Irish Dream Coffee.
Hunters for the Hungry
The Times Union has published an article about the state’s Hunters for the Hungry program, which provides a way for hunters to donate to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries.
It’s a cool fall morning outside a red brick warehouse in Maine’s largest city, and Don Morrison is facing a tall order. It’s time to turn 40 pounds of moose and deer meat into enough shepherd’s pie to feed 200 people by sundown.
Morrison, manager of the Portland anti-hunger group Wayside Food Programs, is happy to do it, in part, because of the source of the meat. Tonight’s dinner was acquired through Hunters for the Hungry, a state-run program that allows hunters to donate their game. It has grown exponentially in recent years.
For more information, visit this page on the state’s website.
The Rink at Thompson’s Point
Tomaso’s Canteen Now Open
Tomaso’s Canteen(website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is now open.
Tomaso’s is located in the former Sangillo’s building at 18 Hampshire Street. Owner Sam Minervino has fully renovated the space; a long bar runs along the right wall and a kitchen has been installed at the back. The opening night menu includes the Wings (buffalo, Thai chili, or dirt) as well as single, double or triple Flat-Top Burgers and sandwiches such as Blackened Haddock, Fried Chicken and Italian Sausage with peppers and onions.
Tomaso’s is named for Minervino’s great grandfather.
CEI $10k Matching Challenge
CEI—the nonprofit community development corporation Coastal Enterprise Inc—has received a matching challenge from Newman’s Own Foundation to raise $10,000 over the next 7 days. If CEI is successful, Newman’s Own will match the funds with an additional $10k.
CEI plans to devote the money to “help create economic opportunity for young farmers and food related businesses in rural Maine”.
Global food security starts on the farm and requires a strong and vibrant system that supports farmers, producers, the value chain, consumers and the environment. In the rural state of Maine, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) provides loans and technical assistance to smaller, low-income players in innovative farm-food businesses, helping them to increase production, create a livelihood, and connect to markets.
Reversing a generational decline, there are 2,000 more Maine farms with 100,000 more acres in production than 30 years ago. From 2007 to 2012, Maine farmers under 35 increased by 40%. Help us build the foundations of our local food systems to spur sustainable economic growth and revitalization.
You can help CEI meet their goal by making a donation online at Crowdrise. The deadline for the matching challenge is December 1st.
New Winter Farmers’ Market Location
The winter edition of the Farmers’ Market starts on December 5th. This year the market is moving to a new home at 84 Cove Street which is just around the corner in East Bayside from the Urban Farm Fermentory.
The winter market began February 13, 2010. In its first year it was located at 85 Free Street, for the next 2 years it operated out of the Irish Heritage Center and it has been held at the Urban Farm Fermentory for the past 2 seasons.