Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent

| Posted in Events

The Portland Museum of Art is screening Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent explores the remarkable life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy. Tower began his career at the renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1972, becoming a pioneering figure in the emerging California cuisine movement. After leaving Chez Panisse, due in part to a famously contentious relationship with founder Alice Waters, Tower went on to launch his own legendary Stars Restaurant in San Francisco. Stars was an overnight sensation and soon became one of America’s top-grossing U.S. restaurants. After several years, Tower mysteriously walked away from Stars and then disappeared from the scene for nearly two decades, only to resurface in the most unlikely of places: New York City’s fabled but troubled Tavern on the Green. There, he launched a journey of self-discovery familiar to anyone who has ever imagined themselves to be an artist. Featuring interviews by Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, Ruth Reichl and Martha Stewart, this delicious documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of America’s first celebrity chef, whose brash personality and culinary genius has made him a living legend.

Under Construction: Uncle Billy’s

| Posted in Under Construction

The Forecaster has published an article about the new Uncle Billy’s under construction at 166 Cumberland Ave.

Uncle Billy’s returns to a burgeoning food platescape with barbecue firmly entrenched in the city and South Portland. This time, he will serve more of a Texas style, headlined by beef brisket.

“I have also become fascinated with pork belly,” St. Laurent said. “I’m going to put pork belly on everything, baby.”

You can follow the progress of Uncle Billy’s Bar-B-Que on their website, and on facebook and twitter.

This Week’s Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – it’s Labor Day, and the 6th Annual Summer Ender Bender is taking place at the Inn on Peaks Island.

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

Friday – there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont on Munjoy Hill.

Saturday – there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

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, please provide details as a comment to this post.

Reviews: Maiz, Luis’s, The 5 Spot, Bayside

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has reviewed The 5 Spot,

I’ve never been to Philadelphia, so I don’t know what a “real” Philly cheesesteak exactly is, but I can tell you that what’s being served up at The 5 Spot is absolutely delicious.

the Portland Phoenix has reviewed Luis’s Arepera and Maiz Columbian Street Food, and

The Colombian arepa is bigger and softer — one step closer to a tortilla. But there is no mistaking it for something so thin and floppy, especially when you see the thick bumpy beauties served up at Maiz — which occupies the front section upstairs at the Public Market House. The menu is simple, with just five arepas and a cheese bread. It is all they need. While Luis’s arepas are stiff enough to maintain a jaunty tilt, the Maiz version sags a bit to form a sort of pocket.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed the Bayside American Cafe.

I was very happy with the food; both sweet and savory items were excellent which makes it easy to be confident that whatever I order in the future, it will be solid. In addition, I thought the drinks were good, and overall, the prices were quite reasonable.

BA: Where to Drink

| Posted in Reviews

Portland expat Adam Callaghan has penned a guide on where to drink in Portland for the Beer Advocate.

Maine’s reputation as Vacationland, and millions of yearly tourists, have allowed a food and beverage scene to flourish here in a way normally reserved for huge metropolises. In Portland alone, the state’s largest city at nearly 67,000 residents, close to 20 breweries ensure the world-class restaurants and bars lining the Old Port’s cobblestone streets have access to the best bottles of fruited sours, cans of pristine European-style lagers, and kegs of coveted New England-style IPAs reeking of trendy hops.

‘Outsized Food Town in a Small Package’

| Posted in General News

American Way magazine has published a well written article about the Portland food scene.

Portland certainly has the right ingredients for culinary success: a natural bounty from land and sea, a tradition of locavorism and a wealth of homegrown gastronomic talent combined with an influx from elsewhere, improving the quality and variety of food on offer. Sure, you could argue that the city has been on the nation’s food radar since at least 2009, when Bon Appétit named it “America’s Foodiest Small Town.” But in the years since (especially the last three), it’s upped its own ante, thanks to a second wave of chefs and a populace that’s literally eating it up.

The author interviewed Paige Gould, Andrew Taylor, Mike Wiley, Michelle Corry, Courtney Packer, Clayton Norris and Peter Hale for the article.

Island Creek Oyster Opens Today

| Posted in Openings

The Island Creek Oyster Shop (website, instagram, twitter, facebook) is scheduled to open today, noon – 8. Island Creek is serving an assortment of oysters from Maine and Massachusetts, littleneck clams, tinned seafood as well as beer and wine. They’ll also be selling shellfish to go.

Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

The Shop gives guests an opportunity to engage with local products in a casual setting, underscored by the deep understanding of aquaculture Island Creek Oysters is known for. Seasonal seafood offerings for purchase include local bivalves such as Little Island oysters from the Bagaduce River and Mookie Blues oysters from Damariscotta, Maine. Inspired by the heritage of Maine’s canneries, The Shop will feature a selection of international tinned fish and caviar. A rotating selection of champagne and wines by the glass will complement The Shop’s simple, ingredient-forward menu. With 75 total seating capacity inside and outside on the seasonal patio, The Shop is designed to reflect Island Creek’s stripped-down, product driven approach to farming oysters and the people who grow them – the oyster is the focal point.

Island Creek is located at 123 Washington Ave. They’re the latest of a string of new restaurants and bars that have opened on inner Washington over the last couple years, including Oxbow, Drifters Wife, Izakaya Minato, Hardshore, Maine Craft Distilling, Cong Tu Bot and A&C Grocery.