Congratulations to Julien Langevin

| Posted in People

Congratulations to Julien Langevin (USCC bio) on winning the Cup Tasters competition at the 2022 US Coffee Championships. Langevin works as a coffee roaster at Coffee By Design.

In the Cup Tasters event competitors “test their sensory skills by discerning taste differences in a ‘triangulation.’ The competitor with the ability to taste, smell, concentrate, and recall, those with the most correct answers in the shortest amount of time wins.”

The national coffee championships were held over the weekend at the Specialty Coffee Association annual conference that took place in Boston. Langevin will represent the US at the World Coffee Championships later this year.

Erin French, Reviews Return

| Posted in Reviews, People

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Erin French, the chef/owner of The Lost Kitchen in Freedom,

Longtime Freedom resident Wilson Hess said that French’s passion for her multifaceted role at The Lost Kitchen and her charming hospitality is the restaurant’s secret sauce. “She’s a gracious personality and a wonderful storyteller,” said Hess, who has dined at The Lost Kitchen. “Everyone in the room feels like they’re at home when they’re there.”

and an announcement by restaurant critic Andrew Ross about the upcoming return of restaurant reviews to the newspaper and insight into the ways his approach will differ from pre-pandemic days.

If you haven’t worked it out yet, be patient, reader: Please remain seated and keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times – we’re about to start reviewing again.

As I gear up for a return to thinking critically about restaurant dining, I’ve also been realizing how different writing a full review will be. It’s pure denial to insist that our world is normal again, so why should we expect our food writing to be the same as it once was?

Curbside Comforts

| Posted in Under Construction

Curbside Comforts, a food truck that launched last May serving a menu of plant-based foods, has announced they’re leased a space in Gorham and will be transitioning from a mobile to a brick and mortar business.

The new Curbside Comforts will be located at 680 Gray Road in Gorham in a building formerly occupied by the Sweet Life ice cream shop. They hope to open sometime in May.

Women in Wine Dinner

| Posted in Events

Portland Wine Week has released the details for their opening day 5-course Women in Wine Dinner. The event brings together chefs Matt Ginn from Evo, Paolo Laboa from Solo Italiano, Jef Wright from Crown Jewel, Paige Gould from Central Provisions, and Victoria Nam by Siblings Bakery along with 10 sommeliers.

Each course will be paired by two of the sommeliers and the diners will have the chance to vote on which wine best matched each dish and which sommelier came up with the best pairing overall. Participating sommeliers are:

  • Nikaline Iacono, Vessel & Vine
  • Cecily Upton, Friends & Family
  • Lizzie Legre, Helm
  • Jessie Robb, Broken Arrow
  • Kelly Nelson, Fore Street
  • Kimberly Lund, Regards
  • Brittany Saliwanchik, Magnus on Water
  • Siobhan Sidoni, Wayside Tavern
  • Stella Hernandez, Lolita
  • Erica Archer, Wine Wise

Tickets are now on sale on the Portland Wine Week website.

Twin Swirls in Nason’s Corner

| Posted in Under Construction

A new ice cream shop called Twin Swirls (instagram) is under construction at 865 Brighton Ave in what used to be an XtraMart.

Owner Sarah Palmer plans to serve hard serve and soft serve cones and dishes, milkshakes, sundaes and coffee. She’s hoping to bring a new business to life that’s a good fit to a community of young families in the neighborhood.

The name Twin Swirls is inspired by Palmer’s twin six year old girls, Alex and Sage. Palmer hopes to open Twin Swirls this summer.

Interview with Sayvepen Sengsavang

| Posted in People

The Lao Food Foundation has published an interview with chef Sayvepen Sengsavang who is the chef and co-owner of Le Mu Eats (instagram) in Bethel, Maine.

Q: What does innovation of Lao cuisine mean to you? Why is it important?
A: To me, innovation in Lao cuisine is all about telling my own personal story, as a first generation Lao American, through food; taking the Lao cuisine I grew up with, understanding it, respecting where it comes from or why something is done a certain way, but then using the ingredients and tools that are more readily available. I’m not making food that is “authentically” Lao, but making it authentically to me and my experience as a Lao American. I’m the child of Lao refugee immigrants, but I was born and raised in the United States, so I’m not going to make food that looks exactly like my parent’s food…It’s important to tell your own story; trying to tell the story of traditional Lao food doesn’t make sense coming from me. I still use the flavors of Laos, Lao techniques, Lao foods that are available because they are a part of my story, but they are not the entirety of my story.

Read the full interview on the Lao Food Foundation blog.

Casa Novello Indefinitely Closed

| Posted in Closings

Casa Novello in Westbrook has closed indefinitely, and perhaps finally. According to a facebook post on Sunday,

We are sad to say that the legacy of Casa Novello has ended. We appreciate all of your support and will miss you all. We are closed due to staffing issues.

They followed up with a second post that read,

We appreciate all of your comments we have been trying to find staff for over 8 months. I have called schools, friends, told customers tried everything. We are hoping for a miracle.

In total the two posts have received more than 400 comments.