The Portland Phoenix has published the list of nominees for the ’09 Best of Portland award for you to vote on. The food categories range from Best Bagel to Best Wine List and everything in between.
This year there’s even a category for Best Food Blog. Portland Food Map is a nominee as are Accidental Vegetables, Commune Tested City Approved, Portland Psst! and Type A Diversions.
This Week's Events
If you want to learn how to cook Italian this week then you’re in luck, Piatto per Tutti, Paciarino and the Institute for Italian Studies are all teaching cooking classes this week. The Slow Food Book Group is meeting on Monday to discuss Wrestling with Gravy by Jonathan Reynolds. On Tuesday WMPG is hosting their 14th Annual Fat Tuesday Celebration and Cajun Cookin’ Challenge. There are two wine dinners this week at Bar Lola on Tuesday and the Foreside Tavern on Weddnesday. There are two wine tastings scheduled this week at Browne Trading on Thursday and Kitchen & Cork on Saturday. RestaurantWeekME kicks off on Sunday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
Sunset Farm Organics
Sunset Farm Organics in Lyman run by MOFGA board member Paul Lorrain provides “gorgeous greenery” and vegetables to a number of Portland restaurants (Street & Co, Fore Street, Flatbread, Local 188, etc) throughout the winter months, according to this new eGullet Forums post by johnnyd.
Photo Credit: John Dennison
World's Largest Lobster Roll
The West End Neighborhood Association plans on making a 60 foot long lobster roll at this year’s Old Port Festival. Their goal is to raise money for neighborhood projects and make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Whittaker said the association will name a panel of experts to develop a recipe for a lobster roll that’s enormous, delicious and authentically Maine.
It will be made with fresh Maine lobster meat and mayonnaise. It won’t include fillers such as chopped celery.
“That’s a no-no,” Whittaker said. “We haven’t decided whether we’ll use lettuce, which is mostly added for aesthetic value.”
The association is looking for a bakery that’s willing and able to bake a hot dog-style roll that’s at least 60 feet long.
Casa Novello Review
Casa Novello received 3½ stars from this week’s Taste & Tell column in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram.
This utterly solid resource for inexpensive Italian-American dinners, so welcome in the winter, has the added attraction of exceptional service.
Co-ops are Sprouting
Both Local Sprouts and the Portland Food Co-op got ink in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram as part of an article on the increasing interest in co-ops.
Chicken Farmers Corner Grace
There are several articles of interest in today’s Portland Daily Sun:
- A feature article on the new restaurant initiatives that are proceeding during a downturn in the economy. The optimists behind The Corner Room, The Farmer’s Table and Figa were all interviewed for the piece.
- An update on Grace, the new restaurant being built in the renovated Chestnut Street Church.
- An article on Portland’s local food movement and the new Portland chicken ordinance.
Portland City Council
This week’s meeting of the Portland City Council resulted in the passage of an ordinance to permit Portlanders to raise chickens, denial of a liquor license for Cactus Club (which will stay open pending an appeal), and passage of liquor licenses for two new establishments, Pearl and The Farmer’s Table.
Borealis Review
Borealis Breads received 3 stars from this week’s Eat & Run column in the Press Herald.
Whoever made this chowder did everything right. The flavors were well-balanced, and the consistency just right. The herb wasn’t overwhelming, and the potatoes were neither over- nor undercooked. And did I mention there was lots of shrimp? At $6.50 for a 12-ounce bowl, it was worth every penny.
I was less impressed with my sandwich. The roast turkey with onion jam and cream cheese (sounds good, doesn’t it?) came without the onion jam because they were out of it that day. Some kind of caramelized onions was substituted.
Later, I also discovered there was no cream cheese.
Blue Spoon Review
The Portland Phoenix has reviewed the prix fixe option at Blue Spoon.
Our salad offered an even more generous helping of mushrooms — in this case an interesting variety from the mushroom-masters at Oyster Creek, where they combine foraging and cultivation. The best was the earthy-sweet hedgehog mushroom, shaped like an ugly fist. The subtle bitter of baby arugula would have worked better with the earthy fungi if the vinaigrette dressing had been a bit less sweet.