Lunch Hop on the Chopping Block

The Metro bus service is considering eliminating their free lunch time service known as the Lunch Hop, according to a report in the Portland Daily Sun.

“We need revenue, we need farebox revenue,” explained David Redlefsen, general manager of the Greater Portland Transit District METRO bus service. “We want to eliminate the Lunch Hop.”

and the newspaper has also published a brief profile of the Fishermen’s Grill and it’s owner Tom Hincks.

Maine Lobster Chef of the Year Competition

Today’s Press Herald reports on the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year competition taking place October 22.

Bill Clifford, the new executive chef at the Portland Harbor Hotel, will compete for the title against Clifford Pickett, who is a banquet chef at DiMillo’s Floating Restaurant, and Kelly Patrick Farrin, who works at Azure Cafe in Freeport.

The three chefs will cook their lobster dishes next month in front of 200 people during the Harvest on the Harbor food and wine festival.

Happy Terriyaki –> Korea House

Soooo . . You Really Like Cats has written about Happy Teriyaki’s impending transformation into Korea House. The new restaurant will feature a fully Korean menu. The changeover is scheduled to take place on October 1.

One of the big differences in the menu is that there are so many Korean entrees now that they are grouped by food group (e.g. meat) or dish type (e.g. stews). What was previously only three lonely seafood dishes has expanded dramatically to at least a dozen different seafood dishes, which makes me absolutely delighted to see. Fish specifically makes a big entrance to the restaurant’s transformation. She has two preparations for it, grilled and braised. Below are three of the four grilled fish that are new on the menu.

Happy Terriyaki –> Korea House

Soooo . . You Really Like Cats has written about Happy Teriyaki’s impending transformation into Korea House. The new restaurant will feature a fully Korean menu. The changeover is scheduled to take place on October 1.

One of the big differences in the menu is that there are so many Korean entrees now that they are grouped by food group (e.g. meat) or dish type (e.g. stews). What was previously only three lonely seafood dishes has expanded dramatically to at least a dozen different seafood dishes, which makes me absolutely delighted to see. Fish specifically makes a big entrance to the restaurant’s transformation. She has two preparations for it, grilled and braised. Below are three of the four grilled fish that are new on the menu.

Review of Po’Boys & Pickles

From Away has published a review of Po’Boys & Pickles.

So the big question: Is Po’ Boys and Pickles serving authentic New Orleans-style fried seafood Po’ boys? Miunno. Po’ Boys and Pickles is, however serving unbelievably delicious, crunchy oyster and shrimp sandwiches, with a lot of thought and care given to both the menu, the food, and your experience. We were asked no less than three times by the staff if we enjoyed everything, not because they were pushy, but because the staff at Po’ Boys and Pickles seems to genuinely care about what they’re doing and the kind of food they’re producing.

Review of Po'Boys & Pickles

From Away has published a review of Po’Boys & Pickles.

So the big question: Is Po’ Boys and Pickles serving authentic New Orleans-style fried seafood Po’ boys? Miunno. Po’ Boys and Pickles is, however serving unbelievably delicious, crunchy oyster and shrimp sandwiches, with a lot of thought and care given to both the menu, the food, and your experience. We were asked no less than three times by the staff if we enjoyed everything, not because they were pushy, but because the staff at Po’ Boys and Pickles seems to genuinely care about what they’re doing and the kind of food they’re producing.

The New Rosemont

Today’s Press Herald includes an article about the new Rosemont Market at 580 Brighton Ave that’s scheduled to open on Friday.

The new store will be twice the size of the old one, with red pine floors milled in New Hampshire and a color scheme along the lines of salmon, mustard and key lime pie. There’s more room for produce in the new space, and a new 8-foot meat case will serve Maine- and New Hampshire-raised meats cut on site.

And Rosemont’s blog has a post about the recent Twilight Dinner that their staff cooked at the Cultivating Community farm in Cape Elizabeth.

Apple Class at the Ferm

Delicious Musings has published some thoughts on the Urban Farm Fermentory and the apple cidering class taught there this week.

In Portland, Maine’s East Bayside neighborhood an all but abandoned single-story warehouse bay has been transformed into the Urban Farm Fermentory (or “Ferm” as we locals call it), which is a fermentation, education and engagement center for beverage (cider, and wine) and food (sauerkraut, pickles…) fermentations. Last night I attended a class there led by horticulturalist David Buchanan and Ferm founder Eli Cayer on planting a backyard orchard and making sweet and hard cider.

Review of Sonny’s

Vin et Grub has published a review of Sonny’s.

I took Annie to dinner where we both indulged in the Chili Poblano Cheesburgers, with house fries, and pickled veggies for our entree.  I love the inclusion of pickled anything, but especially pickled radishes which were just what I needed.  They were sour and tart, but still retained a bit of the spiciness from the original radish.