Review of Taco Escobarr

| Posted in Reviews

From Away has published a review of Taco Escobarr.

The food at Taco Escobarr is much, much better than the garish name and concept art would have you believe.  If you can push past the obnoxious cartoons, ignore the triple-pun forced into the name of the restaurant, keep the longhorns hanging above the open kitchen out of sight, ignore the jukebox playing Kings of Leon, and just order a basket of tacos, you will be happy with the results. It’s not “authentic,” but it almost doesn’t matter. Taco Escobarr is cranking out some delicious, inexpensive, mostly well-executed tacos, that show a real knowledge and appreciation of their source material, paired with fiery salsas and simple side dishes. There’s finally a real taqueria right smack in the Old Port, and I look forward to going back.

Plentiful Fish for Your Plate

| Posted in Fisheries

Today’s Press Herald reports on an effort by local restaurants and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to (re)kindle eating interest in fish species that are plentiful.

In the past year a group of chefs, restaurants and fishermen have been working with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to put under-used fish species on consumers’ radars. The idea is not only to take the pressure off over-fished species, such as flounder and haddock, but also to open up new markets for Gulf of Maine fishermen.

New Blogs: Urban Jungle Honeybees & Mainely Eating

| Posted in Openings

A pair of new entries have been added to the PFM blog list:

Expectations and Enjoyment

| Posted in General News

Columnist Natalie Ladd at the Portland Daily Sun muses on the impact our own prior expectations have on our enjoyment when eating out.

This is certainly not the case in business as we expect things to meet or exceed our standards based upon experiences tucked away in our “frame of reference” file. In a restaurant for example, we may be disappointed in a perfectly delicious, beautifully prepared, half-pound, medium-rare burger served with a mountain of hand-cut fries for $17, as this price point may seem offensive and unwarranted. Even if the food meets or exceed the standards of quality tastiness, the overall end result becomes null and void by the number of zeros on the meal ticket. I witnessed this very incident while sitting at a bar of a well known, carnivorously-oriented hot spot just last week.

Reviews of Sonny’s & Petite Jacqueline

| Posted in Reviews

Front Row Eats has published a review of a multi-course tasting menu at Sonny’s,

It turned out to be a very memorable meal from start to finish and Sonny’s truly became the highlight of our trip to Portland. Not only was the food superb, but it was some of the best service I have had in a LONG time too (and I go out to eat a lot!!!). Trust me when I say this…no matter where you are from, Sonny’s should officially be on your radar. I traveled 400 miles roundtrip from Providence to Portland and I would go back in a heartbeat. In my opinion, you can’t go to Portland without stopping by Sonny’s. Just tell them Front Row Eats sent ya!

and the Maine Magazine Blog has published a review of Petite Jaqueline.

My final course is the roasted chicken, served with baby carrots cooked in tarragon and a traditional pan sauce. Many cooks agree that you can judge the quality of a restaurant by the way it treats the bird, as it is a very simple yet often botched procedure. Tonight they have been quite successful, with perfectly crispy skin covering tender and juicy meat, floating in a pool of juices flavored with pan drippings and herbs.

Seasonal Fall Beers

| Posted in Beer

The What Ales You column in today’s Press Herald talks about seasonal Fall beers.

Sebago’s Local Harvest Ale, one of my favorite beers from last year, came out last Friday, and I stopped by Sebago’s Portland brew pub after work to try it out.

This beer is brewed with two-row barley grown in Aroostook County and with hops grown at Irish Hill Farms in Monroe and at various local gardens.

New England Distilling Co.

| Posted in People, Profiles

Mainebiz has published a profile of Ned Wight and his new company New England Distilling.

Ned Wight comes from a long line of distillers. His forebears made whiskey for about 100 years in Maryland until the 1950s, when the Wight family distillery was finally sold. Now, more than half a century later, he’s returning to the family trade and opening a small craft distillery in Portland, hoping to profit from a reawakened thirst for artisanal spirits, or what is sometimes referred to as boutique booze.

Apples, Restaurant Wine and a Vegan Marathoner

| Posted in People, Farming, Wine

The Food & Wine section in today’s Press Herald includes several articles about the Fall apple season: a report on the 2011 harvest, a list of apple events across the state, a guide to finding 40+ different varieties, and an article about John Bunker and his quest for rare Maine apples,

For years, John Bunker has been traveling around Maine on “fruit explorations,” hunting down old trees in out-of-the-way orchards and abandoned farms that may have been bearing fruit for 100 years or more. He lectures around the state, always encouraging his audiences to bring in apples they’ve found in their old orchards so he can try to identify them and solve the mystery of where they originated.

Those lucky enough to have secured a share in Bunker’s rare apple CSA this year will be picking up 7 different apple varieties today: Charette, Garden Royal, Milton, September Ruby, St. Lawrence, Wealthy and Whitney Crab.

Also in today’s Food & Wine section is an article about wine service and wine lists at Portland restaurants,

Today, I’ll use reader comments in order to explore some challenges to the health of our little wine culture here in southern Maine.

My hope is that you’ll come away from the following remarks feeling that you’re not alone, and that your own curiosity and investment in wine will be most highly rewarded if you actively push your friends, restaurant servers and retailers to treat wine less as a passively traded commodity and more as a pathway to rich experience.

and an interview with a vegan who is running in the Maine Marathon.

Because she follows a vegan diet and is training to run the Oct. 2 Maine Marathon, Angela May Bell of Portland occasionally gets questions from concerned friends who worry she’s not getting enough protein. It turns out her whole foods, plant-based diet gives her plenty of protein, but comes up a bit short on the extra carbs long-distance runners need.