Under Construction: Hella Good Tacos

| Posted in Under Construction

Hella Good Tacos is planning to scale up their successful food cart operation into a brick and mortar restaurant. Owner Josh Bankhead is raising $25,000 online to start up this new venture. If you’re a fan of Hella Good, then head on over to Peerbackers.com to learn more about his plans and make a pledge to help him out.

Online crowd-funding has been an increasing popular model for local food businesses to raise funds. Food Coma TV, Union Bagel, Roost are a few of the ones that have successfully used this approach to get the financial backing they needed to start-up.

Breakfast FAQ & Silly’s with a Twist

| Posted in General News, Reviews

This month’s edition of The Bollard includes a Portland breakfast FAQ,

“I just want a regular breakfast at a regular diner. Is that OK with you, Mr. Fancy Brunch Guy?”
Go to Steve and Renee’s (500 Washington Ave., Portland). You won’t find a better basic breakfast. The prices are low, and there is no friendlier service anywhere, period. And that’s a fact.

a bar review of Silly’s with a Twist,

In keeping with the more-is-more philosophy at Silly’s, the drink menu is four pages long. A fair amount of real estate is devoted to shakes, which can be made with ice cream and milk from cows, rice or soy. They also serve shakes with booze, like the Ragin’ Ruby (made with ruby port), Twist & Stout (contains Guinness) and the more traditional Mudslide. I tried the Sherry Baby ($7.50), which is made with Sandeman Amontillado. The fruits of the medium-dry Spanish sherry came through nicely and complemented the ice cream well.

The Maine Brew Bus

| Posted in General News

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the The Maine Brew Bus,

In addition to the new Pour Tour, he offers beer-only tours of breweries and brew pubs York County and Portland. He began the business because he sensed a money-making opportunity in shuttling people around from brewery to brewery for samples and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the brewing process.

For more info visit www.themainebrewbus.com.

Chinese Laundry, Dim Sum Pop-Up

| Posted in Under Construction

Erika Joyce, co-creator of the Cloak & Dagger supper club, has announced Chinese Laundry, “Portland’s first dim sum pop-up”.

At the moment, the Chinese Laundry is ran by two folks from ‘Nam, myself included.  We’re hoping to start popping up in the late winter, early spring.  If you are interested in getting involved- ie, making dumplings/buns, donating space, marketing, etc., shoot me an email, as we hope to get more hands to aid ours!

Growing Ginger in Maine

| Posted in Farming

This week’s food Portland Phoenix reports that several farms in Maine are now experimenting with raising ginger which is normally a crop for warmer climates.

Most ginger comes from Asia. Hawaii is the only US state with a real commercial crop. So when I recently relocated from Oregon to Brunswick, I was surprised to find Kennebec Flower Farm selling tropical ginger — and its cousin, fresh turmeric — at my local farmers’ market. But at least half a dozen farmers with that good ol’ Yankee gumption here in Maine, and farther south, down the East Coast through Florida, are warming up to this novelty crop.

Reviews of Amigo’s & Vaughan Street

| Posted in Reviews, Beer

The Press Herald has published a review of Vaughan Street Variety,

First, the positives: The breakfast sandwich was very good, and for $2.50, it felt like a bargain. I ordered it on an English muffin, which was lightly toasted. The egg was cooked thoroughly, without a runny yolk. The bacon was crisp and plentiful, and the white American cheese was drippy and gooey. It came tightly wrapped in tinfoil, and emitted steam when I unfolded it back home. Perfect.

as well as a bar review of Amigo’s and a report from last weekend’s Maine Brewers Festival.

Chef on Thanksgiving, Vegan Conversion, Thanksgiving Wine

| Posted in General News, Cooking, Wine

The Press Herald checked in with 10 Southern Maine chefs about what they typically do on their Thanksgiving day off,

Do they hang up their pots at work only to have to take them down again at home? Does their family expect them to create some spectacular spread every year like the ones you see in the Thanksgiving issues of glossy food magazines?

Or are they allowed to chill on the sofa, for once, and watch football while someone else does all the work?

The Food & Dining section also includes an article about WGME news anchor Jeff Peterson’s conversion to a vegan diet,

The change to an all plant-based diet literally happened overnight. He and his wife, Laura, watched the 2011 documentary “Forks Over Knives” in February of this year and it opened their eyes to the health consequences of the standard American diet and the healing powers of vegan food.

“I remember looking at my wife and I thought that would make a good story for News 13,” Peterson recalled.

and Joe Appel’s wine column makes recommendations for your Thanksgiving meal.

You get a twofer today. I want to introduce more people to an importer of exceptional French wines, Cynthia Hurley, and it’s time to think of wines for Thanksgiving. Happily, several of Hurley’s wines I’ve recently drunk are not only remarkable in their own right, they also will make a splendid show at a Thanksgiving table.