Grace Reviews Start to Roll In

| Posted in Reviews

Just a couple days after it opened, the reviews for Grace are starting to roll in.  Both The Blueberry Files,

I am excited to welcome a great new restaurant in a beautiful space to Portland, especially because of it’s close proximity to my house! Between the two bars, there is plenty of bar space, ensuring that even as Grace grows in popularity, there will be a spot for my elbows and me to stop by and have a drink.

and About Town from the Portland Phoenix have published today.

Starters were really strong – even the lettuce in the salad seemed special, and the scallops tartare and fried clams (from the bar menu) were like none we had ever tried. The mains were also really great – the duck with quinoa, fingerling potatoes, and hibiscus-ginger jelly was among the best duck I’ve ever eaten. (And the only one I can think of that I’d class better had crispier skin and different sides.)

CSAs on an Upswing

| Posted in Farming, Fisheries

There’s a front page story in today’s Press Herald on the increasing popularity of CSAs in Maine.

The number of CSAs in Maine has roughly doubled to 140 in the past three years, said Melissa White Pillsbury, organic marketing coordinator for the Maine Organic Gardeners and Farmers Association. The public’s increased familiarity with CSAs and the growing number of farms in Maine are some of the reasons cited for the trend.

The CSA approach is also being applied to business beyond the farm.

Others involved in food production are also adopting the concept and tailoring it to meet their needs. In Maine, apple orchards, sheep farms, fishermen and bakeries are among those using the CSA model.

The Bollard’s Sausage Showdown II

| Posted in Cooking

The Bollard has published the result from its 2nd Smokin’ Sausage Showdown in the new issue.

Fresh Approach won in the sweet Italian category, “…herby and flavorful Sweet Italian. Sporting plenty of fat content, this sausage was juicy and delicious.”

Moran’s Market won in the hot Italian category, “…instantly juicy, peppery burst, but without the blistering heat we expected from that first bite.”

and Pat’s Meat Market won in the wild card category for their Lithuanian sausage which has a “nice, unique flavor, with the herbs and mustard seed cutting through“.

New Issue of Port City Life

| Posted in General News

portcitylife200907The new issue of Port City Life is now available at newstands. It includes a special Maine Eats section filled with restaurant recommendations, cool kitchen gadgets and 10 must eat foods in Maine and more. The food articles also spill over in the rest of this issue including a feature article on young organic farmers in Maine entitled Living the Good Life 2.0.
This is the last issue of Port City Life. The magazine was bought earlier this year by the publishers of Maine Home + Design. They’ll be renaming and relaunching the magazine but hopefully the flood of good food coverage will continue.

Vegetarian El Rayo Review

| Posted in Reviews

Diet for a Small City has published a review of El Rayo from a vegetarian’s perspective.

The menu included a good number of vegetarian choices.  I was disappointed to see, however, that most vegetarian options lacked protein; by this, I mean that few to none of the vegetarian entrees featured beans and/or rice.  For example, the one vegetarian burrito is described as: “Grilled portabello mushrooms, caramelized onions & poblano peppers with salsa.”  This sounds delicious, but these ingredients force health-conscious vegetarians to order side dishes.