Review of Bayou Kitchen

| Posted in Reviews

Run for Breakfast has reviewed Bayou Kitchen.

The regular menu has many delicious options for both breakfast and lunch (Bayou serves breakfast and lunch only) and every one I have had has been fantastic.  From prior visits I recommend trying the Veggie Homie Plate (home fries smothered with veggies and cheese), the Breakfast Sandwich (traditional style, but for a real treat, order is with the Andouille sausage), or El Rancho Verde omelet (a medley of Cajun and southwest flavor).  If you are in the mood, Bayou Kitchen’s French Toast and pancakes are large and perfectly cooked. 

Chef Summit 2016

| Posted in Events

chefsummit2016O’Maine Studios along with a group of Maine food industry professional is organizing a Chef Summit which will take place on January 29-30 at Sunday River.

The agenda features a day of “panel presentations on strategies to grow and prosper our food and beverage industry” for industry staff on January 29th.

On Saturday January 30th the Chef Summit will  open to the general public:

  • Meet the Farmer — sample products from local farmers and food producer
  • Chef Chat — a chance to meet and speak with chefs and other industry professionals
  • Chef Summit Tasting Event — chefs from Hugo’s/Eventide/The Honey Paw, Cafe Miranda, Evo, David’s KPT, The Library and the Prostart Culinary Team.

More details on the food industry program will be released early next year. Tickets for the tasting event will go on sale soon.

Under Construction: Scales

| Posted in Under Construction

Uban Eye has posted an update on Scales.

Fans of old Boston institutions like Durgin Park are sure to be hooked. Pot roast, brown bread, corn bread, Parker House rolls, even oyster crackers will all be made in house. Street, a Brookline, MA native, wants to restore the “peasant style,” anything goes, community dining he grew up with at rowdy places like Durgin Park. “It’s an American brasserie,” said Street, with a “19th, 20th century Boston Seaport,” vibe.

Urban Eye reports that the owners hope to open Scales in February.

Best Beer City: Portland

| Posted in Beer

Confirming what those of us who live already knew, SmartAsset has declared Portland the Best City for Beer Drinkers.

The nation’s top beer city is Portland, Maine. The city is home to 17 microbreweries, one for every 4,000 residents – the highest per capita microbrewery rate of any U.S. city. Perhaps the most well-known of Portland’s breweries is Allagash Brewing Company, which reintroduced Belgian style brews to America in the mid-90s.

SmartAsset based the rankings on the number and per capita ratio of breweries, bars and brewpubs, the average Yelp scores for the breweries, and the average price for a pint of domestic beer.

SMCC Culinary Program

| Posted in General News

The Bangor Daily News has published an article on the SMCC Culinary Arts program.

It’s finals week at Southern Maine Community College, and students in the culinary arts kitchen are busy fricasseeing fresh rabbit harvested from Unity.

In the dining room, members of the public dig into a multicourse lunch, draining bowls of honey crisp apple and vidalia sweet onion soup. The impressive menu indicates that cider from Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner and apples from Cornish combine forces for the powerful dish.

The Purple House to Serve Ogawa Coffee

| Posted in Under Construction

The Purple House will serve Ogawa Coffee when the North Yarmouth wood-fired bakery and cafe opens early next year. Chef/owner Krista Kern Desjarlais tells me she “loved the richness of the roasts without bitterness or acid” and that both the dark and lighter roasts “remained balanced with citrus and hibiscus notes brightening the flavor without acid on the finish” that make for “really beautiful and delicious” coffees.

Desjarlais is currently looking for a barista to join her staff and participate in the training with Ogawa prior to opening The Purple House.

Ogawa Coffee was founded in Kyoto in 1952, and now operates nearly 40 coffee shops across Japan, and as of earlier this year, one in Boston as well. 2010 World Barista Latte Art champion Haruna Murayama “oversees the  menu development and barista training for Ogawa”.

Over the last few years with the opening of Bard, Speckled Ax and Tandem, Mainers have seen a diversification of the choices we have for coffee. The selection of Ogawa for The Purple House adds another great option to the mix. I had the chance to visit Ogawa’s cafe in Boston last month and am looking forward to having a local destination to get a cup of their coffee.

This Week’s Events: New Year’s Eve

| Posted in Events

New Year’s Eve

  • Abilene – serving a prix fixe dinner
  • Artemisia Cafe – 4-course, $75.
  • Back Bay Grill – 4-course dinner, $105.
  • BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe – 3-course, $55.
  • Boone’s – 5-course dinner, $85.
  • Central Provisions – 14-course tasting menu, $220 per couple (including tax and gratuity) with optional pairings $55 per person.
  • Crooners & Cocktails – 7-course dinner paired with a split of Moët champagne for $85 per person.
  • East Ender – snack buffet and glass of sparkling wine, $25.
  • Evo – 5-course dinner in collaboration with Veuve Clicquot, $75 per person with optional wine pairings.
  • Five Fifty-Five – 4-course, $85, with optional wine pairings.
  • Honey Paw/Eventide – passed apps and champagne toast, $53.74.
  • Isa – 3-course dinner, $45.
  • King’s Head – 4-course and glass of prosecco, $30.
  • Lolita – over-the-top tapas party including 30 of the most popular items from their 2015 menus
  • MK Kitchen – 4-course dinner, $75.
  • Pepperell Mill – party in the Biddeford, $20 per person.
  • Petite Jacqueline – 3-course tasting menu with champagne, $75.
  • Piccolo – 9-course dinner and glass of prosecco, $115.
  • Sur Lie – tasting menu, $75.
  • Tempo Dulu – 8-course dinner with cocktail and champagne toast, $195.
  • Terlingua – 5-course and glass of bubbly, $75.
  • Tiqa – 4-course dinner, $55.
  • Twenty Milk Street – a la carte menu.
  • Union – 5-course dinner, $99.
  • Vinland – 5-course dinner and sparkling wine toast, $108.
  • Grace, Ebb & Flow and several other restaurants will also be open serving their regular menu.

Friday — the Blue Spoon is serving an Italian New Year’s Day dinner.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

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.

Review of El Rayo

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed El Rayo.

Standard menu items are more reliable than the specials here, so stick with familiar favorites like fried plantains served with a piquant chipotle mayonnaise. (That mayo is so good, it’s reason enough to order the appetizer.) Then dig into a bowl of guacamole with one of El Rayo’s thin, lightly salted tortilla chips: The guac is fresh, brightened with key lime juice, and pleasantly peppery, and you’ll plow through the crispy chips in no time. You can move on to empanadas and burritos served with rice and beans, or a quesadilla crisped on the griddle, but the tacos at El Rayo (it is a “taqueria” after all) stand out. Don’t miss the barbecued pulled pork taco served with cole slaw, crumbly cotija cheese and a red onion escabeche: It’s a meaty, sticky, messy winner.