Month: August 2010

De/Construction & Competition

| Posted in General News

Today’s Press Herald reports on the demolition and new plans for the 2 spots that had been the Ice House on York and Binga’s in Bramhall Square.

The building has been boarded up since it was damaged by a fire two years ago. Tod Dana, who bought the building, plans to open a…restaurant on the lot, at 231 York St.

There’s also an article about Portland area native, Zac Young who will compete in the Top Chef Just Desserts TV reality show.

While working in the wig department of the Radio City Rockettes, Young decided to take his passion for baking in a more serious direction and enrolled in and graduated from The Institute of Culinary Education in New York.

He later trained in France with Philippe Givre at Valrhona and Philippe Parc at Chocolate Michel Cluizel. His resume includes stints at Bouchon Bakery and Butter Restaurant.

De/Construction & Competition

| Posted in General News

Today’s Press Herald reports on the demolition and new plans for the 2 spots that had been the Ice House on York and Binga’s in Bramhall Square.

The building has been boarded up since it was damaged by a fire two years ago. Tod Dana, who bought the building, plans to open a…restaurant on the lot, at 231 York St.

There’s also an article about Portland area native, Zac Young who will compete in the Top Chef Just Desserts TV reality show.

While working in the wig department of the Radio City Rockettes, Young decided to take his passion for baking in a more serious direction and enrolled in and graduated from The Institute of Culinary Education in New York.

He later trained in France with Philippe Givre at Valrhona and Philippe Parc at Chocolate Michel Cluizel. His resume includes stints at Bouchon Bakery and Butter Restaurant.

Fish Exchange & Rising Tide Brewing

| Posted in Fisheries

Mainebiz has published an article on the challenges facing the Portland Fish Exchange.

Bert Jongerden, general manager of the fish exchange, maintains that the types of financial incentives offered to fishermen in the Bay State are desperately needed “to level the playing field” if Maine hopes to hold onto what’s left of its groundfishing industry. Those include such measures as allowing them to sell lobster bycatch (the lobsters that get caught in the groundfishermen’s nets) or passing a permanent rebate on the 5% diesel fuel tax.

The newspaper also includes a report on a new brewery in Portland called Rising Tide Brewing Company.

“It’s absolutely exciting,” says Sanborn as he works on setting up his new 1,500-square-foot space on Portland’s Industrial Way with beer barrels, fermenters and beer-making supplies. He has invested $30,000 of his own money to finance his passion for brewing after spending several years running Bush Fire Media, a graphic design and web development firm in Portland.

Fish Exchange & Rising Tide Brewing

| Posted in Fisheries

Mainebiz has published an article on the challenges facing the Portland Fish Exchange.

Bert Jongerden, general manager of the fish exchange, maintains that the types of financial incentives offered to fishermen in the Bay State are desperately needed “to level the playing field” if Maine hopes to hold onto what’s left of its groundfishing industry. Those include such measures as allowing them to sell lobster bycatch (the lobsters that get caught in the groundfishermen’s nets) or passing a permanent rebate on the 5% diesel fuel tax.

The newspaper also includes a report on a new brewery in Portland called Rising Tide Brewing Company.

“It’s absolutely exciting,” says Sanborn as he works on setting up his new 1,500-square-foot space on Portland’s Industrial Way with beer barrels, fermenters and beer-making supplies. He has invested $30,000 of his own money to finance his passion for brewing after spending several years running Bush Fire Media, a graphic design and web development firm in Portland.

Permaculture Interview

| Posted in Farming

The Tuesday Portland Daily Sun includes an interview with Lisa Fernandes about her approach to permaculture.

Me: Are you trying to get off the grid completely?
Fernandes: It’s not our goal to be homesteaders in the city. I don’t think that doing things completely independently is an attractive or reasonable goal. But we do want to be able to withstand the energy challenges in this volatile economy. We plan to grow old here and want a place that will take care of us more than we’ll take care of it. We want it sustainable so that when we’re older there’s no digging or tilling.

Fernandes’s garden is a stop on the Backyard Locavore Tour taking place on August 14.

Top 10 Under $10, Beer Edition

| Posted in Reviews

Inspired by Broke 207’s list of cheap eats under $10, Brews & Books has put together a list of the best craft beers available for less than $8 a six pack.

After reading the list, I says to myself … “there should really be a list like this for beer!” A list of beer that doesn’t suck, and beer that isn’t super-expensive. Obviously, cost is relative (lots of people would call anything over five dollars for a six-pack outrageous), but I’m going to say that less than eight dollars for a bunch of really good beer is on the cheap end of the spectrum.

Whoopie Pies & Honey

| Posted in General News

According to today’s Press Herald, the Clock Tower Cafe at City Hall is rethinking its menu to offer more healthy options.

Despite their popularity, items such as sugar-sweetened drinks and whoopie pies will disappear, Gardner said. Dishes like macaroni and cheese and taco salad may be reinvented using low-fat and whole-grain ingredients and be served in smaller, more appropriate portions. The nutritional values of different foods will be highlighted and healthier options will be featured.

Also in today’s paper is a report on the great season Maine beekeepers are having this year.

Tony Jadczak, the state’s bee inspector, said Maine’s average honeybee hive yields about 32 to 35 pounds of harvestable honey annually. This year, he expects beekeepers could average 100 to 200 pounds, depending on their locations. He said the beekeepers are practically chortling with glee when they give him reports.

Whoopie Pies & Honey

| Posted in General News

According to today’s Press Herald, the Clock Tower Cafe at City Hall is rethinking its menu to offer more healthy options.

Despite their popularity, items such as sugar-sweetened drinks and whoopie pies will disappear, Gardner said. Dishes like macaroni and cheese and taco salad may be reinvented using low-fat and whole-grain ingredients and be served in smaller, more appropriate portions. The nutritional values of different foods will be highlighted and healthier options will be featured.

Also in today’s paper is a report on the great season Maine beekeepers are having this year.

Tony Jadczak, the state’s bee inspector, said Maine’s average honeybee hive yields about 32 to 35 pounds of harvestable honey annually. This year, he expects beekeepers could average 100 to 200 pounds, depending on their locations. He said the beekeepers are practically chortling with glee when they give him reports.

Maine Barbecue

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Food Coma has posted a survey of Maine barbecue. He visits a few Portland area options like Skinny Cart BBQ, Buck’s, Hot Suppa and Beale Street as well as some further afield.

Most people will tell you that there’s no such thing as good barbecue in Maine, and to get the real deal, one must head south. I will premise this post by saying that I’ve never been to the south, but the one thing I will do before I die is a true barbecue pilgrimage to all of the major capitals. This was my warm up.