Booze, Fish & Coffee has published a review of Oscar’s New American.
Chef Nick Krunkkala just opened this farm-to-table place on Route 1, where Seagrass Bistro used to be, and he’s done a great job crafting small plates with bold and creative flavors…We definitely recommend Oscar’s. If you’re looking for upscale bar food, this is the place. Our top 3: (1) pan seared scallops, (2) butter poached lobster sliders, and (3) wild mushroom and truffle popcorn. Yep, that’s right: popcorn.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an overview of Harvest on the Harbor (HotH website) and some observations on how it could be improved,
Once again, there’s much to love about this year’s Harvest on the Harbor food and wine festival.
There’s also a little to be annoyed about, and some things that make you go hmmmm.
So, before I dive into the delicious details, here’s what I think they get right this year, and areas I think could be improved upon in the future…
and in his column this week Joe Appel calls for Portland to take a step forward in its appreciation, knowledge and love of wine.
There are two plausible reasons for this passivity: chefs, servers and critics don’t know anything, and/or they don’t care. The new program being offered in Portland by American Sommelier, a New York-based wine-education institute that hosts seminars and course series, is a terrific step toward addressing the former problem. The latter challenge has a more complicated but not insurmountable set of solutions, and more on that below.
The Portland Daily Sun, Bangor Daily News, The Forecaster and Press Herald report that, at last night’s meeting, the City Council unanimously voted to revise the city’s food truck ordinance.
The amendments to the ordinances related to food trucks — which were passed unanimously — will allow trucks to be parked with 65 feet of each other but not an open restaurant; restructure the permitting process and fee; increase the size limits on trucks; and ease the time restrictions for trucks set up in metered parking spaces, giving them an extra two hours. [PDS]
Living, Eating and Aging has published a review of Bite into Maine.
Finally, if I’m in the mood for a great lobster roll, maybe something different from the basic mayo on a grilled roll, complete with a second-to-none view and a very reasonable price, I head over to the Bite-Into-Maine lobster roll food truck located at Fort Williams Park…
Maine a la Carte reports that the owners of Zapoteca, Tom and Shannon Bard, are planning to open a Spanish restaurant in Portland next year.
Tom Bard confirmed today that he is working on a location and hoping to open in early summer, 2014. Depending on the space, he said the atmosphere could either be quite casual (he mentioned Boston’s super-hot Toro as a reference), or somewhat more upscale than Zapoteca, the Bards successful Mexican restaurant in Portland.
Today’s installment of The Golden Dish pays a visit to Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe and B.Good.
I tried the Southern Sugar. Here the donuts are covered in a maple-bourbon drizzle, filled with a maple pastry cream and topped with candied pecans. I had a double box, which I brought to a dinner party I was attending afterwards. As soon as I arrived everyone saw what I had in my hands and made a mad dash for these fabulous looking pastries. They were gone in a flash before we even had dinner.
BBC New has posted an article about Maine Mead Works.
Long relegated to the dusty corners of history, mead – the drink of kings and Vikings – is making a comeback in the US.
But what’s brewing in this new crop of commercial meaderies – as they are known – is lot more refined from the drink that once decorated tables across medieval Europe.
Monday — Rob Evans is the featured chef for a farm dinner at Flanagan’s Table in Buxton.
Tuesday — GMRI is hosting a lecture on commercial trawl fishing.
Wednesday — Freeport Coffee Roasting and the Bier Cellar are collaborating on a coffee and beer tasting, Black Tie is catering a farm dinner in New Gloucester, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place in the morning.
Thursday — there will be a wine tasting at the Rosemont on Brighton.
Friday — apple expert John Bunker will be at Rosemont Produce for a book signing and apple tasting.
Saturday — The Honey Exchange is hosting a mead making workshop, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Sunday — it’s the Maine state Open Creamery Day, and the Holy Donut episode of Donut Showdown will be airing on the Cooking Chanel.
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.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Salvage BBQ.
Salvage BBQ is an overall good experience. What Salvage BBQ gets right, is quite good, especially the atmosphere, the drinks, and most importantly – the meat. Stick with the basics, and enjoy!
Eat Maine has published a review of The North Point, and
As Noah Talmatch points out, there are a lot of fantastic places to eat in Portland, but those aren’t necessarily the spots you go to kick back and socialize. And while we have some great neighborhood bars, even the best pub grub can feel heavy after a few too many UFOs (unidentified fried objects). It was with this observation that The North Point, a casual yet decidedly Parisian flavored restaurant, was born.
Maine a la Carte blogger Meredith Goad has written about the cheese selection at Piccolo.
They’ve only been open about three weeks or so, and this was my first visit. I decided to indulge in the cheeseboard, and these cheeses, imported from Abruzzi by Bob Marcelli of Marcelli Fromaggio, were so outstanding I thought I would share them with the other cheese lovers out there so you can go try them if you want.