The Blueberry Files has published a review of Bubble Maineia Dessert & Noodle Bar penned by one of her room mates.
In the hope of finding a good noodle shop in this town, I tried Bubble Maineia Dessert & Noodle Bar (15 Temple Street, Portland). Sadly, my lunch was a Lo Mein Letdown, a Porky Pity, and a Bok Choy Bummer- all at the same time.
Portland’s “new generation of bartenders” from Vignola, 51 Wharf, Styxx, Bull Feeney’s, DiMillo’s, Novare Res, Local 188, The Salt Exchange, and Ri Ra are featured in the new issue of Portland magazine.
PortlandTown has published a set of photos from the Tastes of France Dinner held earlier this week at Evangeline. The dinner raised money for Share Our Strength to fight childhood hunger in Maine. It took place on Bastille Day.
Photo Credit: Michael Barriault
An article in today’s Portland Press Herald describes progress Maine among Maine fishermen and consumers in supporting sustainable fishing practices.
Fishing regulations have increased nets’ minimum mesh size from 4 inches 30 years ago to 6.5 inches today, making New England’s net mesh sizes the largest in the world, said [GMRI’s Jen] Levin. The larger mesh has dramatically reduced the unintentional catch of untargeted fish species.
Today, many of the heavily regulated Gulf of Maine groundfish stocks are rebuilt or are on the rebound. “If it is caught by a Maine fisherman, you should feel really good about eating it,” said Levin.
The Portland Daily Sun interviewed Jeremy Pelkey from Bard, Stella Hernandez from Hilltop and others about a cold brew method for ice coffee that’s gaining currency in Portland coffee houses,
“A lot of people go for the cream and sugar, they know what they like, but we recommend trying it without,” said Jeremy Pelkey owner of Bard Coffee, where they have been using the cold brew technique in their iced coffee since day one.
The techniques differs from the traditional ice coffee technique, which calls for hot coffee to be brewed at twice it’s normal strength and then chilled, a method that according to some, dilutes the drink when poured over ice.
Wednesday’s newspaper also included a report on the opening of Venue Music Bar,
A counterpart to Venue at 5 Depot St., Box 5, in Freeport, Portland’s version is larger, accommodating around 150 inside with a deck that seats 50.
“The idea here is to do bigger shows, more food, lunch, dinner, happy hours,” Roper said.
and an article on how “Adding liquor can add some culinary zest” to a dish.
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Otto.
A pizzeria should offer some simple pleasures that have been lost in our era’s obsession with gourmet this and that. The bobos can head to Bonobo for wood-fired delicacies and a restaurant atmosphere. The experience at Otto has more of a working-class(ic) appeal. At Otto you stand in line in a cramped shop, and watch young people sweat in front of big ovens. In the summer months most customers grab a $3 slice and join the pleasantly disorganized gathering of eaters out front. Not everyone is lucky enough to grab one of the few stools or the little red tables scattered out front, so they perch on the curb, or fold their slice and eat standing up. It’s the most appealingly informal and haphazard display of eating in the city.
The Bazkari Catering food cart received 4½ stars from the Eat & Run review in today’s Press Herald.
When I tried Bazkari for lunch the other day, I sampled the Bazkari Chicken Pie for $4.50. This was a cold dish featuring a top and bottom layer of creamy mashed potato and flavored with lemon, yellow pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Between the potato layers is a thick layer of Bazkari’s chicken salad made from Ana’s chicken soup along with vegetables, mayonnaise and extra virgin olive oil.
Although I don’t think of mashed potatoes as cold food, this chicken pie was fantastic as I ate it outside on a warm July day. It was plenty filling for one person.
Also in today’s paper is an interview with Dave Geary about his thoughts on extreme beers and other topics.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Beattie Quintal who is the reigning shucking champion at this weekend’s Yarmouth Clam Festival, advice on picnic-worthy wines and a profile of the Urban Farm Fermentory, a new venture taking shape in the Bayside neighborhood.
Even a small patch of earth in a neglected industrial area can become an oasis of food production.
That’s one of the lessons to be learned at the new Urban Farm Fermentory located on Anderson Street in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood. Tucked in back of a single-story former warehouse and hidden from view by a jungle of Japanese knotweed, a greenhouse and a container garden grow lush and verdant with the fullness of midsummer. Here, tomatoes ripen and lavender blooms along with cilantro plants.
Bar Lola and it’s owners Guy and Stella Hernandez are featured in a profile on Find Eat Drink penned by their former sous chef Erik Desjarlais.
In a risky career change, Guy and Stella Hernandez traded their pencils, straightedges and successful lives as architects for sauté pans, pork belly and martini shakers. They own and selflessly operate Bar Lola, a popular dinner spot on Munjoy Hill (or “The Hill” as locals call it) in Portland Maine. They have generated a very loyal following amongst locals and food tourists with Guy’s relentlessly organic and simple approach to straight-up tasty food, and Stella’s keen sense of…well…just basically making you feel welcome.
The Mitra’s Clabber-Fed Poularde and Poached Maine Lobster Tail dish at Evangeline appeared in a recent post on GQ food writer Alan Richman’s blog Forked & Corked. Richman wrote about his personal exploration of “ethical eating” and lists the “top ten ethical dishes, some from restaurants, some from homes or farms, all enjoyed earlier this year during my ethical-eating travels through America”.
In separate news, Evangeline’s Tastes of France dinner, a benefit for Share Our Strength, that takes place Wednesday night was written up in today’s Portland Daily Sun,
“After participating in Share our Strength Maine’s ‘Taste of the Nation’ benefit for the first time this year and learning about the positive impact the organization is making in our community, I decided I wanted to do more to help,” Desjarlais said in a press release. “… I wanted to share my love of French food and raise money to benefit Share Our Strength. I hope this becomes an annual event at the restaurant.”