A Blog About Beer has a report about the new Maine Beer Trail and some suggestions (be more complete, give participants a fun incentive to make the rounds) on how to improve it.
While I think the Maine Beer Trail is a great idea (I’ve been calling for its creation forever), and a tourist-driven, Maine-brewing-community-collaborative is exactly what the state needs, the initial version of the Trail the Guild has rolled out leaves a little something to be desired.
The signs in the window at 7 Exchange Street that until recently stated that Wasabi was “coming soon” have been replaced by these For Lease signs from Cardente Real Estate. It’s looking doubtful that Wasabi is still in the works.
Veranda Thai is expanding across the street into the space that had been occupied by Jubba Internet Cafe.
The site for Luna Rossa at 188 Middle Street has cleaned up quite a bit since I last posted a photograph of it. The restaurant has one-pager website, there’s been a print ad or two promising valet parking and a “dueling piano lounge”, and table linens are out but no word yet on an opening day.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is teaching a hands-on food preservation workshop this morning. The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place tonight at Bull Feeney’s. Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class on Wednesday night. There are 3 wine tastings scheduled this week: on Wednesday at RSVP, wine and cheese on Thursday at the Public Market House and Sautrday at the Scarborough Wine Outlet. The Great Lost Bear is hosting South African winemaker Jose Conde from Stellenbosch on Wednesday and showcasing beer from Victory Brewing on Thursday. Sunday evening the chefs from Hugo’s and Miyake are teaming up to cook a wine/beer/sake dinner. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is teaching a hands-on food preservation workshop this morning. The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place tonight at Bull Feeney’s. Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class on Wednesday night. There are 3 wine tastings scheduled this week: on Wednesday at RSVP, wine and cheese on Thursday at the Public Market House and Sautrday at the Scarborough Wine Outlet. The Great Lost Bear is hosting South African winemaker Jose Conde from Stellenbosch on Wednesday and showcasing beer from Victory Brewing on Thursday. Sunday evening the chefs from Hugo’s and Miyake are teaming up to cook a wine/beer/sake dinner. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
The weekend edition of the Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of GRO Cafe,
Organic fair-trade coffee and a variety of smoothies and desserts likewise tap ingredients not likely found in your traditional restaurant. There’s fresh ground flax and local bee pollen that can be added to smoothies. Wheat-free croutons and hand-picked mushrooms are mingled with red peppers, avocado and onion for a house salad.
and a profile of Food Factory Miyake.
Food Factory Miyake offers so intimate a dining experience that now just might be the time to go before the onslaught of summer moths drawn to Portland’s culinary limelight makes one of the 30 seats as difficult to get as a free pass from the Portland parking patrol.
The Blueberry Files has reviewed a meal at Blue Spoon.
The latest Land of the Forgotten Cocktails article in this month’s Bollard is all about tequila and tequila-based drinks.
Sadly, tequila is too often treated as the infant terrible of the cocktail pantheon, forever married to slushy margaritas and straight shots in testosterone-fueled, misguided team-building exercises.
Silver Moon Creamery has made it off the wait list and in one of the spots at the Saturday farmers’ market in Deering Oaks. In addition to the flowers (a good idea for Mother’s Day) and seedlings that predominate at this time of the year, I also saw fiddleheads, lettuce, scallions, tomatoes, small cucumbers and more.