The latest edition of the Maine Culinary Podcast is now out. In it Dan Bodoff and his co-hosts interview Shannon and Tom Bard, the chef and co-owners of Zapoteca.
Wine at Bresca and a Turkey Buying Guide
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Bresca’s “thoughtful and passionate” wine list,
[Chef Krista Kern Desjarlais’s] attitude combines a strong personal investment in small wine makers; a passion for lesser-known varietals and wine-making regions that produce low-alcohol, food-friendly wines; and a commitment to politely, graciously nudging guests to step outside their comfort zones.
“We aim to have the guest invite us into their experience,” she said. “We want to be more educated about the wine and help people and stand for what we stand for, but not make anyone feel uncomfortable about their wine knowledge.”
and a Q&A about Thanksgiving turkeys with the head of the meat department at Whole Foods. The article includes a helpful buying guide to Maine farms selling locally raised turkeys.
What’s the difference between a hen and a tom turkey, and does one taste better than the other?
A hen is a female bird; a tom is male. How they taste will depend primarily on where and how they were raised. The main difference is size; a tom will be larger than a hen. Designating whether a turkey is a hen or a tom is not required on the label.
October 2011 Monthly Stats
The 10 eateries looked up most often in August on Portland Food Map were:
- Schulte & Herr (2)
- Zapoteca (4)
- Taco Escobarr (1)
- The Thirsty Pig (7)
- Emilitsa (31)
- Plush West End (-)
- Petite Jacqueline (5)
- Caiola’s (10)
- Fez (14)
- District (6)
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month
This Week’s Events: Ghoulschip, Figa Wine Dinner, Bull Jagger Showcase, Maine Brewers Festival
Monday — it’s the release date for a new beer from Allagash. Ghoulschip is “ale aged in oak barrels with pumpkin seeds and molasses”. Sales of the limited 1200 bottle production run start at 8 am.
Wednesday — Wine Wise and the Chadwick Bed & Breakfast are teaming up to teach a Thanksgiving cooking class, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.
Thursday — Five Season Cooking School is teaching a vegan/macrobiotic cooking class, there will be an Italian wine dinner at Figa, the Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Bull Jagger, Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert will be giving a presentation at Merrill Auditorium.
Friday — a 4-course VIP brewers dinner is taking place at the Regency, and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli.
Saturday — there are two tasting sessions for the Maine Brewers Festival, and the Deering Oaks 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.
Interview Jay Villani and Dan Kleban
For the 6th episode of the Maine Culinary Podcast, host Dan Bodoff interviewed Jay Villani, owner of Sonny’s/Local 188, and Dan Kleban, co-owner of Maine Beer Company. They discuss plans for the upcoming Maine Beer Week and the experience of scaling up from a home brew set to a commercial operation.
Additionally, Villani lets the cat out of the bag on Bunker Brewing, a new brewery being set up by Villani in Bayside which will initially be sold at Local 188 and Sonny’s.
Reviews of Schulte & Herr, Ribollita and Gingko Blue
The Maine Magazine Blog has posted a review of Schulte & Herr.
One of the most exciting elements of the fledgling brunch service is the Sunday roast, featuring different meats and gravy each week and served with potato dumplings plus one choice of side. On this particular visit they are serving beef, and based on the knowledge that I have no need to be productive for the next few hours, I am all over it. As a peace offering to my body I also order up a small house salad and a decaf coffee, which is quite flavorful. I drink it black to give other diners the impression that I am hardcore.
From Away has posted a review of Ribollita.
But it was Malcolm’s dinner that won the night, and my heart. You could tell me that all life evolved from the primordial soup of their North End Linguini ($18.50) with clams and mussels in white sauce, and I would not object. A deep plate teeming with mollusks, garlic, butter, juices, the essence of life – what is it exactly? I cannot say; it is ineffable. I couldn’t stop my fork from impinging to twirl more pasta and pluck a sweet clam from its shell. I deeply regretted eating all the bread earlier, as this is a dish meant for swabbing.
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Gingko Blue.
It would be easy to get addicted to the well-rendered cocktails at Gingko. A drink called the “noble experiment” combined whiskey and limoncello to create something like a sublime whiskey sour. Honey dripped down the rim at a calming glacial pace. A French 75 — gin, lemon, and champagne, was light and refreshing. The wine list has some nice glasses to go with food, like a dry, peaty zinfandel by Project Paso. We enjoyed it with a panini that was a bit too dry. It was filled with a nice fatty bratwurst and a kraut that could use more zing…
Farms & Fables Interview
Today’s Press Herald includes an interview with some of the people behind the play Farms & Fables.
“We are seeing a lot of change in the state of Maine – demographic change, environmental change, land-use change,” said Hahn, who directs the play for her theater company, Open Waters Theater Arts. “We are hearing a lot of conversations about food and agriculture, and I feel that sometimes perspectives can get generalized. This play focuses on the people and the lives of the people involved in agriculture. I want people who attend the play to see that, so they have greater appreciation of the agriculture in their community.”
For additional reporting read the article about Farms & Fables in this week’s Portland Phoenix.
Reviews of Anthony’s and Zapoteca
The Press Herald has published a review of Anthony’s,
I believe we need more eateries where the servers call you “honey.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I like it when I get treated like a regular, like somebody the staff is actually happy to see.
On a recent trip to Anthony’s Italian Kitchen in Portland, I got such a treatment — not to mention a great sandwich.
and Portland Bar Guide has published a review of Zapoteca.
… On cue, the bartender swung over to assist. After counseling me through a variety of tough decisions (Spicy or mild? Sweet or savory?), he produced a delightfully fresh and spicy margarita – served up, of course – named El Pepino. With a beautifully balanced mix of cucumber and jalapeno, I really couldn’t go wrong. It was different, simple, well done, and stylish. In a nut shell, much like rest of Zapoteca.
Recognition for Hayward and Gerritsen
Two members of the Maine food community have received recognition for their work:
- Sam Hayward, chef and co-owner of Fore Street is the recipient of Sustainer award from the Chef’s Collaborative for “his commitment to promoting local, sustainable foods in the culinary world.”
- The Utne Reader has named Maine organic farmer Jim Gerritsen to their 2011 list of Visionaries for his efforts to “spearhead a lawsuit against corporate agriculture giant Monsanto, filed last spring on behalf of 270,000 family farmers, gardeners, and consumers who are suing to keep some food crops free of genetic modification.”
Hello and Goodbye: PSR&T and BeerBloggers.com
There are a couple changes to the Portland food blogging landscape to announce:
- BeerBloggers.com has decided to call it quits and has put out a Last Call post where he explains that “My own enthusiasm for beer has not waned, but my time to blog about it has been near non-existant for over a year now. I’ve been thinking about what to do with this domain, as having it sit idle for months at a time seems pointless. I was approached about an opportunity to donate the domain name to a worthy cause, and I’ve decided to take it.”
- A video food blog called Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Tim has recently launched. In the initial episode, the blogger uses an innovative mix of interviews, cooking demos, and real life situations to explain how to put together a meal featuring Brown Butter Sage Sauce, Goat Cheese, and Beet Pizza.