Wine Wise Profile

| Posted in Uncategorized

Maine Today has published a profile of Wine Wise.

Erica [Archer] leads regular Wine Wise events – including Wine Walks through the Old Port, wine dinners, and First Friday session at The Wine Bar during Portland’s monthly Art Walk. There’s even a Wine Wise cruise in Casco Bay during the fall when the weather’s accommodating (something about being surrounded by ocean makes everything taste even better). Each event has specific theme, be it reds and whites of Bordeaux, perfect wines for summer, sparkling wines, Spanish reds, or great value wines for under $15.

Best Food Towns: Portland #4

| Posted in Reviews

GoLocalProv has produced a list of the New England’s 25 Best Food Towns, Portland weighs in at #4.

Talk about a food town. There is no city of its size that contains so much independent cooking and notable dining than this beautiful city just two hours from Boston. Walking the streets of Portland’s Old Port district is like walking any street in New York City’s West Village or Soho, and without the attitude and high prices. Portland is a food-lover’s pure pleasure, and its Top 5 standing in New England is proof…You’ll need more than a week.

Review of Saigon

| Posted in Reviews

Edible Obsessions has published a review of Saigon.

But, the surprise of the meal, though was an appetizer special of steamed rice pancake, ground pork, pork skin, onions, pickled daikon and carrot, basil, lettuce, cucumber and fish sauce. It looked like a deconstructed Banh Mi, minus the baguette and mayonnaise…

Under Construction: Local 188 Bakery & Boone’s

| Posted in Under Construction

188Bakery_space

Two of Portland’s best known restaurateurs continue to extend their reach in the city:

  • Jay Villani launched Local 188 in 1999, opened Sonny’s 2010, and has a barbeque restaurant under construction at 915 Congress Street called Salvage BBQ & Smokehouse. He’s now leased 742 Congress Street and is turning the space into a bakery he hopes to open sometime this summer. The space was most recently the Bubble Room Laundrymat.
  • Harding Smith’s newest restaurant under development on Custom House Wharf is going in a location that for 107+ years was the home of Boone’s Restaurant. According to an ad in the March issue of Maine magazine, he’s naming it Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room.

For more details on all the new food businesses under development see the Under Construction List.

This Week’s Events: Latte Art Competition, Incredible Breakfast Cook-off, Maine Restaurant Week, MOFGA Event

| Posted in Events

Wednesday — The Merry Table is serving a 5-course French wine dinner.

Thursday — Bard is hosting the monthly latte art barista competition, Grace is restarting their wine education program, there will be a mead and cheese tasting at the Public Market House, and the Great Lost Bear will be featuring beers from Victory Brewing.

Friday — the Incredible Breakfast Cook-off is taking place, Wine Wise is teaching a class on Port, there will be wine tastings at the West End Deli and Rosemont, and a Gritty’s tap takeover at Taco Escobarr. It’s the first day of Maine Restaurant Week and concurrently Grace is raising money to fight hunger in Maine by donating $1 for every 3-course $30 meal ordered March 1-8.

Saturday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and LeRoux Kitchen, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — MOFGA’s Meet Your Farmers and Fishermen event is taking place at Woodfoord Church, and Two Fat Cats is teaching a baking class.

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.

Review of J’s Oyster Bar

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of J’s Oyster Bar.

Remember that J’s is a joint. Entrees are ample and tasty, and diners won’t leave hungry, but it’s not fine dining. It’s a sleeves rolled up, slurp some oysters with basic horseradish and shoot the (expletive deleted) over a few beers locale. Placemats are paper, and house rules are clearly stated on cards at each table.

And that’s part of J’s charm.

Veranda Asian Market

| Posted in Profiles

The Bangor Daily News has posted a video tour of Veranda Asian Market.

And you can get stuff that’s definitely not in your average local grocery store, like Vietnamese mints, Chinese celery, Thai basil, Thai okra and an array of bok choy and cabbage-like greens. There’s fish, like blue marlin, spanish mackerel and giant featherback, found only in Southeast Asia. There’s quail eggs, duck eggs and black chicken, which is indeed a chicken that’s completely black, right down to its bones…

Review of Caiola’s

| Posted in Reviews

The Golden Dish has published a review of Caiola’s.

Commandeering the kitchen is co-proprietor and Chef Abby Harmon who makes this all happen.  Her kitchen is like a laboratory of invention—the whole kit and caboodle of culinary cause and effect that isn’t so easily classified. But attempting to I’d have to resort to words like Mediterranean-influenced with a dash of Downeast home cooking and a serious dose of comfort food savoir faire.

Maine Magazine: The Food Issue

| Posted in Reviews, People, Fisheries

mainemag201303The annual Food Issue of Maine magazine arrived in subscriber’s mailboxes yesterday. Inside you’ll find: