Month: December 2012

4th Annual Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting

| Posted in Events

Edible Obsessions, The Blueberry Files and Vrai-lean-uh (source of excerpt shown below) have all written up reports from last Friday’s Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting. The tasting is an annual event among some of the food bloggers in Portland.

This year somehow the holiday celebrated ended up being Pearl Harbor Day rather than Christmas. The evening involved a discussion of five-star WWII generals and Emperor Hirohito. And yet it was still festive! A good cocktail-and-cheese duo elevates any holiday.

The drinks this year were also all really good.* They weren’t particularly “obscure holiday cocktails” so much as cocktails that one could drink on a holiday that are maybe unfamiliar or new. I think the lesson might be that most obscure holiday cocktails are obscure for a reason.

My contribution was a drink I’m calling the Cider House Rules:

3 oz   Northern Spy Barrel Aged Eden Ice Cider

1 oz   Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel

1/2 oz   Kyoto Ice Extracted Tower Shot from Speckled Axe

2 dashes Walnut Bitters

Served with an orange twist

Zev Rovine Natural Wine Tasting

| Posted in Wine

Wine 24/7 has published tasting notes from a recent private tasting with natural wine expert Zev Rovine at Rosemont.

I recently had the opportunity to taste some exciting, unique and cutting edge wines, alive with character and multiplicity.  These are the Wines of Zev Rovine. Based in Brooklyn, NY but also spending an equal amount of time in Paris, he is committed to representing wines that express a strong sense of place or terroir, created by winemakers who practice a completely hands-on approach in the vineyard, far from any sort of industrialization and with usually very small production/low yields. He represents wines that are produced in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Argentina, and the US.

Reviews of Back Cove BBQ & Pizzeria

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a review of the Back Cove BBQ & Pizzeria.

I tried the pulled pork plate, which came with the hand-cut beach fries for $9.99. The pulled pork came in a white sub bread, and was full of smoke flavor.

The only complaint I had, if you can call it that, is that the sandwich cried out for some kind of sauce. The meat was fine on its own; I just prefer sauce. Perhaps there’s some at the counter that you can request. Luckily, I had some at home.

Under Construction: 5 Dana Street

| Posted in Under Construction

Chef Damian Sansonetti has joined up with a group of 3 partners that are launching a new cafe at 5 Dana Street in the old home of Big Mama’s Diner.

Sansonetti tells me they hope to fill a niche for the weekday lunch crowd and catering for nearby office workers. Just a stones throw from both Commercial and Wharf Streets they would seem to be well positioned to tap into late night weekend Wharf Street crowd as well as serve hungry tourists in the Summer. The menu is still under development but will be sandwich-centric with some interesting twists.

They hope to open the new, and as yet unnamed business, in February.

While working on the Dana Street project, Sansonetti is continuing to search for digs in Portland to open his own restaurant, Sonnet.

Under Construction: Maine Craft Distilling

| Posted in Under Construction

Maine Craft Distilling is a new distillery that’s under construction at 101 Fox Street in East Bayside. The company was founded by Luke Davidson and three IDEXX alumni Fred Farber, TJ Dupree and John Rogers. This weekend I had the chance to meet up with Luke to learn more about the operation and get a tour of the facility.

Maine Craft Distilling describes themselves as a farm-to-flask operation and listening to Luke it sounds like they have a strong experimental streak that could lead to some very interesting products. The company is developing relationships with Maine farmers to source grains and other ingredients. They’ve received their federal license to distill and are on track to get their state licenses as well.  They plan to produce a carrot-based gin called Chesuncook, as well as a rum “Ration”, a single malt whiskey “Fifty Stone” and a vermouth. They hope to start production and sales in the coming year.

A year ago there wasn’t a single distiller in Portland. The launch of New England Distilling in 2012 and upcoming developments from Maine Craft Distilling and In’finiti (from Novare Res) are rapidly changing that. If the trend continues, we may soon have as many options for local spirits as we already do for local craft beer.

Photos: wall mural that runs along the Maine Craft Distilling malting floor (above),  malting floor, stills and other equipments (below), tasting room and office, MCD exterior sign, hybrid bicycle that’s been retrofitted to run on methanol.

 

This Week’s Events: Veranda Market, Bar Lola, Zev Rovine, Holiday Hulabaloo, Pocket Brunch, Step up to the Plate

| Posted in Events

Monday — Veranda Asian Market is holding their grand opening at noon. Read this article from Maine a la Carte to learn more. In the evening Bar Lola is hosting a sold out cocktail event featuring New England Distilling.

Tuesday — natural wine expert Zev Rovine will be at the Bier Cellar for a tasting organized by Ned Swain from Devenish Wines.

Wednesday — Zev Rovine will be the special guest for a natural wines dinner at Bresca.

Thursday — The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing Andrews Brewing, Nosh will be showcasing beers from Chimay, and there will be a wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House.

Friday — a wine tasting is taking place at Rosemont Market and a cocktail tasting/open house at Portland Trading Company.

Saturday —there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading, it’s the first day of a pork butchering workshop, Rosemont Produce is hosting their Holiday Hulabaloo, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — a sold out Pocket Brunch featuring guest chef Joe Ricchio is taking place, the Portland Food Co-op is holding a food swap, and Rabelais in conjunction with SPACE Gallery are screening the movie Step up to the Plate.

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.

Russell Libby, 56

| Posted in People

Russell Libby, the longtime Executive Director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, passed away early Sunday morning after a battle with cancer.

Russell lent his extraordinary leadership skills to MOFGA for almost 30 years. He served on the Board of Directors for a decade before becoming its long-serving Executive Director in 1995. He held that position until November 2 of this year, when he assumed the title of Senior Policy Advisor. In that role he continued to guide the organization with his characteristic wisdom, compassion and dedication, even as his health failed.

For more information see  the Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Broadturn Farm, MPBN, Maine Cheese Guild and MOFGA on Facebook.

The State flew flags at half-staff to honor his passing.