The Food  & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about this year’s apple harvest,

“We have two orchards, and at the one in Manchester, which is near Augusta, we ended up with half a crop because of the frost when we were in full bloom,” said Marilyn Meyerhans, who owns the orchards with her husband, Steve. “But the rest of the crop is good. And then our Fairfield orchard, it’s a full crop but it’s coming so early that we’re picking like crazy about a week before we should be. But they’re ready.”

a report on the Apple, Swine and Wine menu taking place all this month at Evangeline,

“Since the apples are in microseasons all through September and October, and the pig has so many parts, it will give me the opportunity to do a new preparation every day,” Desjarlais said.

Look for shaved Liberty apple with peameal bacon and fennel.

and an interview with Lisa Fernandez and David Whitten on their permaculture backyard farm in Cape Elizabeth.

Tucked into a typical suburban neighborhood in Cape Elizabeth where lawns and flower beds dominate the landscape, Fernandes and her husband, David Whitten, have done away with their lawn and packed their third of an acre lot, just two houses from the South Portland line, with a growing backyard farm.

ILovePortlandMaine.com has published a video interview with co-owner Matt Moran from Nosh KitchenBar.

Nosh will be appearing tonight’s Man vs Food episode on the Travel Channel at 9 pm.

The Forecaster has published an article about the work Eli Cayer and David Homa are doing to launch the Urban Farm Fermentory in Bayside.

Hops grow up from a pot of soil along lines of string connected to the wall. Bees swirl around two hives next to a makeshift greenhouse that grows nasturtium, lavender, hyssop, ginger, lemongrass and mint, among other things.

Homa, who oversees the garden, said the idea is to work with the landscape, even if it is of the industrial variety.

The new issue of Maine Ahead includes an article about Simply Divine Brownies and an interview with Lee Skawinski, chef/owner of Cinque Terre and Vignola.

Cinque Terre was born from Skawinski’s friendship with a physician and gentleman farmer named Dan Kary. “Our business relationship started with conversations on what Kary can grow and what I would make with it,” Skawinski says. The synergy of agricultural and culinary abilities became the seeds of Cinque Terre.

Vin et Grub has published a review of Local 188.

i decided to go on the more “lunch-like” route.  i picked the local 1/2 lb burger, which is served on their in house baked bun, with lettuce, tomato, onion, and homefries.  the burger was cooked medium well- just like i asked, and the meat was seasoned well, with a small amount of fresh herbs, and salt n pepa.  my homefries did me quite well, the little pieces of onion and green pepper were delicious, and i was very happy.  i do have to say, that this burger is one of the best in town- not to mention well priced.

Mitten Machen has published a review of the gluten-free/vegan pizza options at Portland Pie.

Of course, as a gluten-free vegan, I’m grateful anytime a restaurant provides me with more than an undressed garden salad. Portland Pie Co. doesn’t do gluten-free pizza as well as Flatbread Company, but it’s another option for gluten-free, dairy-free folks who want to enjoy a meal alongside omnivorous friends. Next time, I’ll probably skip the vegan cheese and spring for lots more veggie toppings.

The Bollard has published a review of Mousse Cafe and Bakeshop.

My daughter ordered the vanilla-scented challah French toast ($7.99) and kindly offered me a morsel no bigger than a book of matches. I greedily dunked it in maple syrup — yes, the real stuff, the kind that comes from trees — and immediately started pleading for a second bite. (I eventually got one, for the cost of a couple homefries.) Lightly crisp on the outside, moist and custardy on the inside, with just the slightest hint of vanilla, this was some of the best French toast I’ve had in ages.

Wednesday — the premier of the Portland episode of Man vs Food on the Travel Channel, a wine tastings at RSVP and Old Port Wine Merchants, and Wine Wise is teaching a class at The Wine Bar.

Thursday — a wine dinner at Havana South featuring wines from Les Vins De Vienne.

Friday — a wine tasting at the Scarborough Wine Outlet.

Saturday — a wine tasting at the Black Cherry Provisions.

Sunday — Vignola and Cinque Terre’s 6th Annual Harvest Dinner at their farm in Greene, Maine, and Rippling Waters Organic Farm’s 6th Annual Soil to Supper event.

Farmer’s Markets — the traditional series of Farmer’s Markets are taking place Monday (Monument Square), Wednesday (Monument Square) and Saturday (Deering Oaks Park). Cultivating Community is running their new series of markets Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at various locations around the city.

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.

Dean’s Sweets won top honors in both the Best Truffle and Best Traditional Chocolates categories as well as placing in four other categories at the 2010 Boston Luxury Chocolate Salon.

Gifford’s Ice Cream won 1st place at the 2010 World Dairy Expo in the category for Regular Chocolate Ice Cream, according to a report in Maine Ahead magazine.

Gifford’s Ice Cream (www.giffordsicecream.com), central Maine’s third-generation family ice cream business, swept the competition at the 2010 World Dairy Expo, earning not only the title of “World’s Best Chocolate” for the third time, but also being recognized as “Grade A & Ice Cream Grand Champion,” besting the entire Championship Dairy Product category, considered a coup in industry circles.

MooMilk, the Maine-based organic milk company, is scaling back operations, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News.

MOOMilk, which stands for Maine’s Own Organic Milk, processed milk Wednesday but will suspend production Sunday on skim and 1 percent milk, as a variety of reasons have combined to force the business toward closure. The company’s cash flow is so low that it can only purchase 2 percent and whole milk cartons.

“We are out of money,” David Bright, MOOMilk’s secretary and one of its founders, said this week.

News Update: Portland Press Herald reports they will be staying open after “a number of individuals and foundations have provided enough money to enable the company to sell its product to two Maine food banks.”

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Havana South.

While we did not leave Havana South raving about the dishes, beyond the lamb entrée, we nonetheless liked the place. Though things are not quite perfect, the spirit of the restaurant is right and you get the sense they take their food seriously and are going to work out the details. But as Obama is learning, patience can wear thin when there is a lot of money involved, and with most entrees over $25, Havana should keep that in mind. In the meantime, go with the existing strengths: hear the band on a Wednesday, be sure to chat with Ezra, and try the lamb.

From Away has published a review of The Great Lost Bear.

The Great Lost Bear succeeds in the ways you need it to, providing a great selection of mostly local draft beers in a cool, calmly-lit environment, serviced by an easygoing, yet attentive staff. Knowing what to order and what to avoid seems key, and it seems like sticking to simpler dishes (chicken wings) and skipping their more “exotic” fare (Peanut Thai Chicken Rollup? Spanakopita? Seriously?) might be the order of the day. So far, it is our favorite choice for a cool place to lay low until October with a few beers and some good pub food.

According to the Munjoy Hill News, Figa is planning to open their doors on October 22nd.

The news that the foodie world has been waiting for came this afternoon from Lee Farrington: Figa restaurant will be opening on October 22nd. Farrington has been entangled in a water rights dispute that has repeatedly delayed the opening of this much anticipated restaurant.

The 10 eateries looked up most often in August were:

1. WhaddaPita (6)
2. Miyake (23)
3. Caiola’s (11)
4. Bar Lola (1)
5. Bresca (4)
6. The Grill Room (8)
7. Five Fifty-Five (9)
8. Havana South (2)
9. Mike’s (-)
10. Hot Suppa! (56)

The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.

An article in today’s Sun seeks to explain/describe Women Who Lunch.

Major metropolitan areas are their natural habitat, but evolution and sharp environmental adaptation skills have been kind to them. Those at the top of the socio-economic food chain are endangered, but for the most part, they can thrive almost anywhere there are two or more of them. They are Women Who Lunch (WWL).