Interview with Steve DiMillo

| Posted in People

Today’s Press Herald includes a ShopTalk interview with Steve Dimillo, manager of DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant.

Q: How many in the family are in the business?

A: My mother, Arlene, two aunts, Jeanette and Jay, two brothers Dan and Johnny, my twin sister Stephanie, me, my two kids, my brother-in-law Tony Quatrucci, who runs the kitchen. That would be 10. The most recent family member to join is Steve Junior; he’s the banquet manager. Stephanie does the bookkeeping. The primary management team is my brothers and I, and my mom works with the three of us. Another brother, Chris, doesn’t work in the restaurant, but he runs the marina. I’m one of nine kids, I think I mentioned. Gene now has his own place, G & R DiMillo’s, and my sister Vicki has hers, Bruno’s.

Review of The Picnic Basket

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of The Picnic Basket.

So I was glad to try the Picnic Basket in the dead of winter, when there is no reason not to settle in at one of the eclectic set of tables in the cozy second room. The room has a wall of wine and lots of artisanal jars of this or that jam or mustard. It has a very Stonewall-Kitcheny look. There are twigs clinging to the track lighting.

PBJ in the Press

| Posted in Profiles

The Portland Daily Sun has published a profile of Peanut Butter and Jelly Time, the PB&J sandwich shop and breakfast cereal purveyor located on the second floor of the Public Market House.

The combination of Borealis multi-grain bread, cashew butter and raspberry preserves is the most popular sandwich at Peanut Butter Jelly Time, but everybody has their favorite.

Steve Miner, owner of Peanut Butter Jelly Time, reported logging his 500th customer in only three weeks of operating on the second floor of the Market House in Monument Square.

Press Herald: Chef Kaldrovich, Gus' Gluten Free, Fox Urine

| Posted in General News, Profiles

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes profiles of chef Mitchell Kaldrovich from the Sea Glass Restaurant

“I met the real cooks (in Maine), I have to say,” Kaldrovich said in a thick accent that carries traces of Spanish and French, the other two languages he speaks. “Working for hotels in California and Florida, I just met French chefs doing fancy stuff. But there was not a soul cook. Here, there are soul cooks.

and of Pam Wellin from Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co.

As a busy mom of three boys, Pam Wellin admits she’s doesn’t devote much time to promoting her business. She started Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co. three years ago in her Falmouth Foreside kitchen as a way to provide her youngest son Gus, who’s now 17 and has had celiac disease his whole life, with treats that don’t contain gluten.

There’s also a Bill Nemitz column on the strange fox urine incident that took place Sunday at a protest by ROC-ME outside The Front Room.

We can only assume that when Portland’s fledgling Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine holds its first “summit” next month, it will be high on the agenda: “Fox Urine: The Untold Story.”

It happened Sunday night outside The Front Room on Munjoy Hill, where protestors from so-called ROC-ME gathered for the second time in as many months to demonstrate against owner and chef Harding Lee Smith.

Press Herald: Chef Kaldrovich, Gus’ Gluten Free, Fox Urine

| Posted in General News, Profiles

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes profiles of chef Mitchell Kaldrovich from the Sea Glass Restaurant

“I met the real cooks (in Maine), I have to say,” Kaldrovich said in a thick accent that carries traces of Spanish and French, the other two languages he speaks. “Working for hotels in California and Florida, I just met French chefs doing fancy stuff. But there was not a soul cook. Here, there are soul cooks.

and of Pam Wellin from Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co.

As a busy mom of three boys, Pam Wellin admits she’s doesn’t devote much time to promoting her business. She started Gus’ Gluten Free Baking Co. three years ago in her Falmouth Foreside kitchen as a way to provide her youngest son Gus, who’s now 17 and has had celiac disease his whole life, with treats that don’t contain gluten.

There’s also a Bill Nemitz column on the strange fox urine incident that took place Sunday at a protest by ROC-ME outside The Front Room.

We can only assume that when Portland’s fledgling Restaurant Opportunities Center of Maine holds its first “summit” next month, it will be high on the agenda: “Fox Urine: The Untold Story.”

It happened Sunday night outside The Front Room on Munjoy Hill, where protestors from so-called ROC-ME gathered for the second time in as many months to demonstrate against owner and chef Harding Lee Smith.

This Week's Events

| Posted in Events

Last week’s famine of food events has turned into a 13 item feast this week:
Tuesday — B. Nektar Meadery is at Novare Res for a tasting, Churchill Catered Events is teaching an Italian cooking class, wine dinners are taking place at Bar Lola and Walter’s.
Wednesday — Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class and Black Cherry Provisions is providing a class on wine and food pairings for Indian cuisine, spicy foods, bloomy cheese and smoked meats.
Thursday —Kitchen and Cork is holding a wine tasting and there will be a wine dinner at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth.
Friday — BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe is holding a wine dinner.
Saturday — Wolf Neck Farm is hosting an apple preservation workshop, Vignola’s 4th Annual Beer & Cheese Tasting is taking place, pick-up for the Port Clyde Fresh Catch Maine shrimp CSF is at El Rayo in the afternoon and the 3rd performance of the Dual Site psychogeographic dinner theater is Saturday night.
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.