CBD Solar Panels

According to a report from Maine a la Carte, Coffee by Designs is up for a $5,000 People & Planet Award from Green America for their solar panels.

This is where Coffee by Design had Revision Solar install 44 solar panels. These panels generate roughly half of the roastery’s electricity needs and offset 18,000 pounds of carbon dioxide that would have been produced if the electricity came over the grid from plants that burn fossil fuels.

For additional reporting see MaineBiz.

Interview with Michael Sanders

The Boston Globe has published an interview with Maine food writer Michael Sanders about the 2nd edition of his book, Fresh from Maine.

In the second edition of “Fresh From Maine: Recipes and Stories From the State’s Best Chefs,” released in June, the author adds 10 restaurants, primarily from inland and northern regions. Along with providing new recipes, the chefs who are profiled discuss the challenges and benefits of cooking in Vacationland.

Under Construction: Tandem Coffee Roasters

Sprudge, the leading blog in the specialty coffee world, has published an article about Tandem Coffee Roasters.

Sorry, we had to get that out of our system, but for reals people! The “other Portland” is home to a brand new specialty coffee operation called Tandem Coffee Roasters, a labor of love brought to the world by three former Blue Bottle employees: husband and wife team of Will and Kathleen Pratt, and their sole employee, Vien Dobui, who reached out to Sprudge with pics and info (Editors Note: When your only employee takes the time to reach out to relevant media, you have likely Hired The Right Person).

I heard from Kathleen Pratt yesterday and she confirms that, pending successful completion of inspections, they’re on target to open in a couple weeks. My caffeine addiction has me currently bouncing back and forth between Bard in the AM and Speckled Ax in the PM. I look forward to the challenge of fitting a third destination inTo the line-up.

Out on a Limb Apple CSA

For the fourth year running, apple expert extraordinaire John Bunker, is offering shares in Out on a Limb, a rare apple CSA. Shareholders will receive 5 deliveries of apples every other week starting in September of approximately a quarter bushel each. The CSA will “be offering a wide assortment of endangered, historical and just plain unusual eating and cooking apples, including some that we’ve never offered before.”

Shares are $125. This year Out on a Limb is expanding beyond just Portland to offer pick-up spots in Waterville, Freedom, Belfast and Mount Desert Island. For more information and details on how to sign-up, read the CSA’s FAQ.

Longfin Squid

Working Waterfront has published an article about the emerging squid fishery and market in Maine.

Culinary trends can be tricky to predict with the recent trend to sample both exotic and local foods—sometimes on the same plate. The roster of locally available foods is well known, and here in Maine one can expect rather hearty fare; potatoes, lobster, apples and kale are among the offerings, but lately there’s been a newcomer by way of Port Clyde Fresh Catch (PCFC). Though once considered the province of the adventurous gastronomic, squid have found a place among the palate of Maine eaters, and PCFC can barely keep up with demand.

Five-Year Anniversary for Portland Food Map

Today marks the 5-year anniversary of the launch of Portland Food Map.

I think it’s fair to say that had you told me then that I was headed down the path to running a daily news site for the Portland food community that would be read by thousands of people I would have thought you were crazy. But that’s exactly what’s happened and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, and as long as there continues to be an interest and an audience for PFM, I expect I’ll still be at it when 2017 rolls around.

I owe a a big thanks to all of you for showing such support for the site over the years, and to the restaurant and food community for building such a fascinating industry for me to obsessively focus my attention on.

Restaurant Health Inspections

The Forecaster has published an article about Portland’s restaurant health inspector and the level of rigor she’s bringing to the job.

Sturgeon’s position was created to strengthen the public safety aspect of restaurant inspections, the city said. At the same time, the city also changed its inspection system from a numbered scale going up to 100, to a pass/fail system.

Now, to pass inspection, a restaurant can incur up to 13 code violations, no more than three of which can be deemed critical. Some violations may be resolved on the spot; for critical violations, Sturgeon returns within a week or two to check if they’ve been fixed.

This article is part of the paper’s ongoing coverage of restaurant health inspections.

Under Construction: Gather

Maine a la Carte has posted an article about a restaurant called Gather that’s under development in Yarmouth.

[Owner Matt] Chappell has hired Chad Conley, the chef who managed the Freeport farm that serves the Miyake restaurants in Portland, to run the kitchen. In addition to his time with Miyake, Conley has worked at Hugo’s and Yosaku in Portland, at Jean Georges in New York, and at the Harborside farm of organic gardening expert Eliot Coleman.

Shucks Maine Lobster World Series

According to an article from the Examiner, chefs from Asia, Europe and the US are competing in something called the Shucks Maine Lobster World Series.

The Chefs Challenge Grand Finale kicks off with a the three day ‘Maine Lobster Experience” event, established by Shucks Maine Lobster Marketing Director, Caitlin Hathaway, to celebrate and showcase the natural geography that has Portland, Maine gaining international acclaim both in the world of fine food and for its most notable ingredient, Lobster.

 Linda Greenlaw, Ben Conniff and Luke Holden from Luke’s Lobster in NYC and food writer Dez Bartlett are judges for the event.

See this article in the Press Herald for additional details.