Under Construction: Gogi Asian Fusion

Gogi, an Asian fusion restaurant, is under construction at 653 Congress Street. The draft menu (see page 83) includes items like kim chee fries and bulgogi beef tacos. When it opens it will bring a fourth Asian restaurant to Longfellow Square which is already home to Boda, Pai Men Miyake, and King of the Roll.

While that location has changed hands a number of times in the last few years, it has a long history. Influential restaurateur James Ledue ran Zephyr Grill and then Bella Cucina at that spot 1996-2002, for 24 years (1962-1986) it was Soule’s Candy Kitchen and in 1885 Augustus Schlotterbeck ran an apothecary at that address. Schlotterbeck co-founded the flavor extract business Schlotterbeck-Foss that still operates today from a John Calvin Stevens building on Preble Street.

Others!, Bar TV Etiquette and Hot Beverage Culture

The Portland Daily Sun has published an article about the guiding philosophy of Others! in Monument Square,

“Our mission is in our name. We try to leverage money that comes through here to help as many as we can through Fair Trade coffee and tea and try to have a direct relationship with the growers and farmers,” said McCurtain.

a lesson in bar TV etiquette,

To which he said, “It’s just the way things are done…you ask your neighbor in a bar if you want to switch the channel. You must not go out very much.”

and an article about hot beverages, seasonal and otherwise.

Although we are a soup-eating people, we really don’t have a strong culture of hot beverages. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and the occasional cider are typically the only hot beverages that you’ll find on menus in this country. Hot broths and savory brews are really a home affair, made to order when it’s bitter cold. The only local exception I’ve found is the buttery rich tea that is served at Korea House.

Fish Co-op, Food & Dining

Today’s Press Herald reports on the decrease of fishing boats based in Portland and the efforts of the Fish Co-op to use it’s remaining funds to address one issue responsible for the exodus to Massachusetts. (listen to this piece from Maine Things Considered for additional information)

The cooperative, which is going out of business, is using most of the proceeds from its investment in a fuel and ice company to provide rebates covering Maine’s 5 percent tax on diesel marine fuel.

Today’s paper also includes the weekly Food & Dining section: gingerbread houses, holiday cooking, food book gift ideas and ideas for eating out over the holidays.

Obscure Holiday Cocktail Tasting 2010

Appetite Portland, Edible Obsessions, The Blueberry Files and I recently got together for the 2010 obscure holiday tasting. My favorite was The Ultimate Holiday, a combination of bourbon, grenadine, orange and lime juice and ginger ale.

Citrusy and smoky with a bitter bite, The Ultimate Holiday was a massive improvement over The Grinch. An alcoholic twin to grapefruit juice, the cloudy, pinkish concoction was flat-out marvelous. While concurring with me on it’s obvious merits, Adam questioned the “Christmasyness” of the bourbon-based tipple – asserting that it was more appropriate for a Jamaican beach. He had a point. Perhaps the word “holiday” in the title was intended as the broader British definition, meaning “vacation.” Ah, well. . .