OAD Fresh List

| Posted in Reviews

Central Provisions (30), Eventide (32) and Caiola’s (97) have made it on to the Opinionated About Dining Fresh List.

The FRESH List celebrates the 100 best American restaurants that feature; F – Farm-to-Table cuisine; R – Regional American Cuisine; E – Ethnic Cuisine; S – Sustainable Ingredients; served with American-style H – Hospitality.

The list is a response to readers who regularly ask for dining advice about where they can find reasonably priced restaurants that offer an interesting take on American regional and ethnic cooking. It’s the perfect list to use to help plan your summer vacations.

This Week’s Events: Harvest Dinner, Sake Tasting, Vermoth/Bitters Tasting

| Posted in Events

Monday — Crooners & Cocktails is serving a 7-course Harvest Dinner at Rooted Earth  Farm in Casco.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday — there will be a sake and cheese tasting the Public Market House.

Friday — Rosemont on Brighton is holding a vermouth and bitters tasting.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday — MJ’s Wine Bar is celebrating their 2nd anniversary.

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.

Telling Room Reviews

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald has posted a set of reviews written by kids who participated in The Telling Room summer camp program.

Cassandra Albano and Andrew Miller wrote about The Honey Paw, and Ella Briman and Elinore Kosak wrote about Rosemont Market.

Fifteen students set out across Portland this month visiting art venues, a food market and a popular new restaurant to offer their critiques and hone their skills as writers and reviewers through a summer camp program with The Telling Room.

Old Port Slice Bar Open

| Posted in Openings

The Old Port Slice Bar opened earlier this week. The new pizza shop is located at 420 Fore Street in the space that had been the home of Joe’s NY Pizza before a fire damaged the building in 2013.

Review of Evo

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Magazine has reviewed Evo.

Chef de cuisine Matthew Ginn (executive chef is Brendan Hicks, also chef at Chebeague Island Inn) calls Evo’s menu “refreshing–less butter and cream, more olive oil and sumac.” Succulent sautéed chicken livers ($10) from nearby Sumner Valley Farm are prepared with fresh pomegranate and lemon juices, olive oil, and sumac and served with bite-sized crackers inspired by a 10th-century recipe involving crushed walnuts, pomegranate, and vinegar.

190 State St

| Posted in General News

190StateIf you’ve taken a look at the commercial real estate listings on Craigslist recently you might have been surprised to spot 190 State Street, the home of Petite Jacqueline, among the spaces available. I checked in with co-owner Michelle Corry who explained that due a rise in rent and interest in expanding the restaurant, they’ve begun looking for a new space. No change in their location is anticipated until 2016.

58% Culinary Tourism

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald has published a report on culinary tourism in Maine.

Culinary tourism already appears to be strong in Maine, according to a 2014 Maine Office of Tourism study conducted by DPA, a digital research firm in Kennebunk. According to the report, 58 percent of the tourists who came to Maine last year and stayed overnight identified culinary or beverage interests as their reason for coming. Overall, there were 17.3 million overnight visitors in 2014 versus 16.6 million in 2013.