Soju Review & Allagash’s Rob Tod at The Bear

| Posted in Reviews, Beer

Soju received 3 stars from today’s Eat & Run review in the Press Herald.

…I opted for chicken breast teriyaki ($7.50) from the Japanese side of the menu and kimchi bokum, a pan fried pork, from the Korean side ($8.50).

Both were satisfying, but I far preferred the chicken teriyaki. Served over a bed of steamed white rice and a healthy mix of carrots and sprouts, the tender chicken tasted sweet and slightly sesame — subtle and not overwhelming.

Also in today’s paper the weekly What Ales You beer column went to The Great Lost Bear for last week’s craft brewing showcase where he got the chance to talk to Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing.

“When I started in 1999, Maine already had breweries making great beer, British and German style,” Tod told me when I got him to join me on the Bear’s patio. “Geary’s and Shipyard and some others were already making great beer, so I wanted to try something different.”

A Pair of Festivals

| Posted in Events

Today’s Food & Dining section in the Portland Press Herald includes a feature article about the Greek Festival,

Maria Economos held court at the stove in the parish hall of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, a pan of hot canola oil awaiting her next piece of delicate pastry dough.

“You’ve got to have the knack, and I do,” insisted the 87-year-old Economos as she surveyed the kitchen table behind her and fastidiously hand-picked the next square of dough to fry. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old.”

and an article about the Vegetarian and Vegan Food Festival which is also taking place this weekend.

“There are plenty of opportunities for people to get their feet wet if they’re thinking about a plant-based diet,” said Beth Gallie, the co-chair of this year’s event. “One thing that makes us happy is people who come who aren’t vegetarians but who want to add meatless meals to their diet.”

Now in its sixth year, the free festival serves up oodles of food samples, a roster of speakers and a host of vegetarian-focused organizations.

Review of El Rayo

| Posted in Reviews

Edible Obsessions has posted a review of El Rayo. It’s a follow-up to her review from last July,

The rest of our meal (strawberry refresco, negra modello, beans and rice bowl w/chicken, guac. w/chips, pescado and al pastor tacos) was easily the best I’ve had to date, though still only ‘ok’. The chips were nicely warm, the refresco was lived up to its name and the tacos were hearty and filling. We were enjoying ourselves for the better part of it, though the wait for the food and drinks was a bit long but all of that went to shit when the Mrs. made the mistake of ordering the flan for dessert.

Greek Heritage Festival

| Posted in Events

The Tuesday Portland Daily Sun includes a pair of articles about the Greek Heritage Festival that kicks off on Thursday this week.

There were dozens of mothers and daughters in the kitchen at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church this past week: measuring out flour, stuffing dates and sprinkling confectioner’s sugar. The recipes that once fed families of ten have been scaled up to feed ten thousand. Going into its 28th year, the Greek Food Festival is three days of Hellenic hospitality under a big top tent at the corner of Pleasant Street and Park Street, just around the corner from the art museum.

Wanted: Chefs-in-Residence

| Posted in General News

Quimby Colony, the artist-in-residence program established in Portland by Roxanne Quimby, is looking for “accomplished or emerging culinary artists demonstrating creative excellence and a commitment to career development”. According to the information on the Quimby Colony site,

artists will be provided with living quarters, meals, a travel stipend, and the opportunity to pause from the harried pace of a commercial kitchen to allow time to reconnect to inspiration and innovation in our state of the art facilities. While in residence, you may choose to explore a new direction for your culinary  repertoire, or experiment and refine a style based on regional and sustainable ingredients.

The program is headquartered in the old Roma Cafe in the West End at 769 Congress Street.

A Very Busy Week of Events

| Posted in Events

Monday — the Monday Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square.
Tuesday — Susan Hecht from FG. Scheider & Sohn will be at Novare Res for “an evening of stellar wheat beer and radish peeling”.
Wednesday — the midweek Farmers Market is taking place in Monument Square and a Wine Wise class at The Wine Bar.
Thursday — opening day of the Greek Heritage Festival, Vignola’s Escape to Spain tasting of 25 Spanish wines, wine tastings at Browne Trading and Black Cherry Provisions, the monthly Thursday Night Throwdown latte art competition at Bard Coffee, a wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and a summer beer showcase at The Great Lost Bear.
Friday — the second day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a showing of the movie Beer Wars and a Spanish wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton Ave.
Saturday — the weekend Farmers Market is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, the last day of the Greek Heritage Festival, a wine tasting at Scarborough Wine Outlet, the annual StrawberryFest in Cape Elizabeth, the 2nd Annual LobsterFest and the 6th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival.
Sunday — the 5th Annual Taste of the Nation and a Wine Wise program in Portland Harbor aboard the Casablanca.
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.

Maine Wineries

| Posted in Wine

The big new Summer issue of Portland magazine includes a feature story on Maine wineries.

Some of Maine’s vintners make the so-called “fruit wines” with fruits other than grapes–mainly blueberries, apples, cranberries, raspberries, and pears. Some make wine from grapes or grape juice brought in from out of state. And quite a few, especially the newcomers, are growing their own grapes, something many people believed could not be done in Maine. Several are experimenting with growing and fermenting techniques and with new, especially hardy types of grapes designed to survive the state’s cold climate. Many of these varieties are hybrids created by university scientists and did not exist as recently as five years ago.

Many of the state’s 20 wineries are open to the public. Visit www.mainewinetrail.com for a map and links to winemaker’s websites.