Food for Thought has explored the enthusiasm that Trader Joe’s fans have for the market.
I’ve tried to understand the attraction of Trader Joe’s. I know its immediate appeal is price–many items are cheaper than elsewhere and many of their store-name products have a great following among its devotees.
A friend of mine is a great fan of the place. And I asked her to explain why, to give me specific products that she likes there.
She started off with the dishwashing powder.
Food for Thought has explored the enthusiasm that Trader Joe’s fans have for the market.
I’ve tried to understand the attraction of Trader Joe’s. I know its immediate appeal is price–many items are cheaper than elsewhere and many of their store-name products have a great following among its devotees.
A friend of mine is a great fan of the place. And I asked her to explain why, to give me specific products that she likes there.
She started off with the dishwashing powder.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes article about Cooking Matters, a program that “recruits local culinary and nutrition professionals to teach low-income families on a limited budget how to prepare nutritious meals that also taste good”, and interviews with macrobiotic educator Warren Kramer and Ethan Toby, sous chef at Sonny’s.
Yesterday’s edition of the Portland Daily Sun provides advice on where to source ingredients for you home Mexican cooking and a reminder that Two Fat Cats made the cut for a Yankee magazine article about where to find the best 5 holiday pies in New England.
For the 12th round of our survey/review of Thai restaurants in Portland we visited Siam Orchid which is located in the One City Center food court.
Appetite Portland – read the full review
A second trip confirmed the first. A Thai basil shrimp tossed with light oil in the wok – very tasty. A pre-made crab rangoon fried to a crisp and stuffed with gooey, crab-flavored paste – not so much.
From Away – read the full review
… All Malcolm wanted was satay; in this case, a sassy hunk of chicken on a stick, that he reported having some nice flavors, in spite of their sad rubbery appearance. And so it was. The peanut “satay sauce,” served in a plastic cup on the side, was rock-solid frozen. So that was too bad. Finally, my rice. Was. Also. Satisfactory. It was savory, with bits of onion, chicken, and green stuff (basil?). I was starving. And so I slowly ate every mediocre morsel. And then I was sad and bloated forever times infinity. The end.
The Blueberry Files – read the full review
My dish was steaming hot and came with carrots, broccoli, onions, and chicken in a thin, brown sauce. The broccoli was crunchy and bright green, and the chicken was not *as* overcooked as some Thai stir-fry chicken can be. The sauce was very flavorful and made me wish I had a spoon to better scoop it up with the loads of accompanying rice.
While the dish I ordered was not particularly ‘Thai,’ it’s a good quick fix for a workday lunch, as well as some great people watching.
Where is Jenner’s Mind – read the full review
I thought that the spice was pretty mild, particularly as I requested a spice factor 2 out of 3. Perhaps a tad bland as well, but still passable Pad Thai with wide noodles served with scallions and mung beans. Sometimes pad Thai can be a bit on the sweet side. The Pad Thai, from the restaurant whose name shall remain a mystery, was not too sweet, and that was nice. If you need a quick and affordable Thai fix for lunch (I’m pretty sure this is a lunch only joint) that will leave you with leftovers for dinner, hit this place up. It won’t knock your proverbial socks off but it does the trick.
The Press Herald published one prior review of Siam Orchid back in 2007.
That leaves us with just one more stop before we finish up the series: Sengchai Thai. We should have the groups thoughts on that restaurant before the end of the 2010, aka the Year of Pad Thai.
The Boston Globe has published an interview with Maine mushroom expert Greg Marley. Marley has published a new book, Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares: The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms. You can find copies of Chantrelle Dreams and an earlier work, Mushrooms for Health, at Rabelais where he spoke in October as part of his book tour.
Greg Marley is in a damp grove of hemlock, toting a woven basket, followed closely by Rosie, his big black Newfoundland. He’s looking for black trumpet mushrooms and finds the sinister-looking, funnel-shaped fungi on a patch of moss. “The French call them trumpets of death,’’ he says. “It’s probably because they want them all to themselves. They’re my wife’s favorite. So good on pizza.’’
Edible Obsessions has published a review of Kamasouptra.
I opted for the cup above, always loving the classic combination. With it barely being above 45 degrees out, I wanted to literally dive into the soup. It was beautifully done as a tomato bisque with a more than generous amount of cheese(Parm? Cheddar? Gouda??) throughout. But, my god… the bread. A simple roll, piping hot out of the oven to mop up all the wonderful goodness of the soup was served alongside and I couldn’t have been happier.
Hot Suppa! plans to start serving a new dinner service tonight.
The West End eatery famous for its hash will now be open 5-9:15 pm, Tuesday through Saturday with a full bar and a new dinner menu of choices to pick from such as Fois Gras Poutine, Jambalaya and Fried Green Tomatoes.
The Winter Farmers Market is working with the city to get a zoning change so they can operate this winter out of the Irish Heritage Center, according to an article in today’s Press Herald.
[Councilor David] Marshall, who facilitated a meeting last month between the organizers of the farmers market and the city staff, said he expects the council to support the zoning change.
Last winter, the market operated at 85 Free St. Organizers said the space was too small and there was not enough parking for customers. “We wanted a better and a bigger space,” said Lauren Pignatello, one of the market’s coordinators.
Edible Obsessions has published her first impressions of Figa.
My hats off to wonderful execution by the front and back of the house. And the warmest of wishes to Chef Farrington for finally being able to open her doors. The wait, though I’m sure it didn’t feel like it for her, has been worth it.
To round out his MRW series, PortlandTown has published a set of photos from Boda.