Category: Events

Cinco de Mayo, Slow Money, Oregonian Wines, Almanac of Eats

| Posted in Wine, Profiles, People, Events

Today Food & Dining section in the Press Herald includes articles on Saturday’s Cinco de Mayo & Deby Day celebrations,

If it seems as if Cinco de Mayo has been growing in popularity in Portland, hold onto your sombreros. This year, the Mexican holiday falls on a Saturday – and on the same day as the Kentucky Derby, offering local restaurants and bars a winning trifecta when it comes to attracting margarita- and mint julep-loving revelers.

about the Slow Money network,

The Slow Money Maine network has been in existence for only two years, but it’s already helped connect farmers and food producers with more than $2.7 million in capital.

about Maine’s special connection with Oregonian wines,

Clark and Laramy (who by 2010 had joined Clark on the west coast) started bringing bottles back to Maine on visits to share with friends. The friends loved the wines.

The partners started ORWA Wine Brokerage, which establishes relationships with the wineries. Devenish Wines, the Maine distributor, purchases the wines in Oregon and ships them directly to Maine to distribute here.

and about Maine food blogger, Steff Deschenes, who writes daily about national food holidays.

Steff Deschenes has already eaten her way through tempting food holidays such as National Waffle Day (March 26), National Potato Chip Day (March 14) and National “Have a Brownie” Day (Feb. 10). She chronicles these celebratory meals on her Almanac of Eats blog.

This Week’s Events: Union Bagel, Roger Doiron, Belgian Biere Fest, Maine Food Frenzy, Derby Day

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — the soft launch of Union Bagel, Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International will be speaking at Grace, Bar Lola is holding a Washington state wine dinner, and it’s the first day of the 4th Annual Belgian Biere Fest at Novare Res.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Victory Brewing, and there will be a sake and cheese tasting at the Public Market House.

Friday — a wine tasting is taking place at the West End Deli and a bourbon tasting at The Salt Exchange. It’s First Friday Art Walk and restaurants will be busy so be sure to make reservations in advance.

Saturday — Maine Food Frenzy is premiering on WPXT, The Salt Exchange is offering a special Derby Day menu, there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events: Latte Art Competition, Wine Tastings, Farmers Markets, Movie Night

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont on Brighton Ave.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — the monthly Thursday Night Throwdown latte art competition is taking place at Bard Coffee, there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Smuttynose Brewing.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — it’s movie night at Petite Jacqueline and they’ll be screening the film Three Men and a Cradle.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Spring Food & Sustainable Food Events

| Posted in Events, General News

Today’s Food & Dining section in the Press Herald includes a survey of Spring foods and events,

In honor of spring, I’ve gathered together a selection of food-related items that will help tide your tastebuds over until summer. I’ve included, among other things, an update on fiddlehead season, a look at the big changes happening at the classic Maine restaurant Arrows, and details on a brand-new “Sweet Weekend” in the Old Port that will have folks with sweet tooths salivating.

and a preview of 3 sustainable food events taking place this week in Maine.

As a reflection of this trend, and just in time for Earth Day on Sunday, three different sustainable food events take place across Maine in the coming days that will explore issues related to local food, environmentally responsible food and food policy.

This Week’s Events: Great Gatsby, Food+Farm, Community Food Forum, Merryvale Dinner

| Posted in Events

Monday — The Salt Exchange is hosting a Great Gatsby dinner featuring “classic 1920’s fare and cocktails”.

Wednesday — The Salt Exchange is hosting a wine dinner featuring the Merryvale Vineyards.

Thursday — the 2012 Portland Community Food Forum is taking place. Vin et Grub is hosting a Cloak & Dagger dinner party, Sarah Fioroni, author of A Family Farm in Tuscany will be at Longfellow Books for a book signing, and as part of this year’s Food+Farm series SPACE is screening the movie Locavore: Local Diet, Healthy Planet

Friday — Food+Farm continues with a screening of the movie The Harvest/La Cosecha, and there will be a beer tasting at the West End Deli.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center, and Food+Farm enters its third day with Grow Faire where master gardeners will offer 20-minute free consultations and UFF will offer 2 workshops on organic gardens and kombucha.

Sunday — it’s movie night at Petite Jacqueline, and Food+Farm will finish up with a Cultivating Community event in the morning, and a screening of the movie The Perennial in the evening.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events: Best of Portland, Pilot Beer Night, Rioja Wine Dinner, Food Coma 2

| Posted in Events

Wednesday — the Portland Phoenix is hosting the 2012 Best of Portland awards show, there will be a wine tasting at RSVP, Sebago is holding a Pilot Beer Night to showcase 4 of their experimental brews, and there will be a Rioja wine dinner at Caiola’s.

Thursday — The Great Lost Bear is featuring beer from Stone Brewing, and the Browne Trading is holding a wine tasting.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center, and Wine Wise is holding a French wine walk.

Sunday — the Food Coma TV’s season 2 premiere dinner (tickets available online) is being held at Nosh and the season 2 party is taking place at Space Gallery.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

This Week’s Events: Loire Wine Seminar, Edible Festival of the Book, Jiro Dreams of Sushi

| Posted in Events

Monday — Devenish Wines and Caiola’s are collaborating on a Loire wine seminar.

Thursday — Dave Geary will be at The Great Lost Bear for a brewery showcase, and the Public Market House is holding a wine and cheese tasting.

Friday — The Edible Festival of the Book will be taking place at the Public Library. Aurora Provisions and the West End Deli are holding wine tastings and The Salt Exchange is holding a bourbon tasting.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center.

Sunday — Space Gallery is screening the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Local Butchers & Maine Maple Sunday

| Posted in General News, Events

The Press Herald has published an article about local butchers,

A growing number of consumers like Graf are buying their meat from neighborhood butchers who work with locally raised animals, rejecting the idea of pre-cut, pre-packaged meats shipped from large, anonymous farms hundreds or thousands of miles away.

The Hannaford ground beef recall, and federal investigators’ failure to find the source of the salmonella contamination, has prompted some local butchers to change their meat grinding practices and encouraged a “buy local” attitude among shoppers like Graf.

and a report on yesterday’s Maine Maple Sunday.

Steam billowed out of the Nash Valley Farm sugarhouse, sending out the usual welcome to Maine Maple Sunday visitors.

But not much else was usual at the farm. The buckets hanging on the maple trees stood empty, the maple trees were bursting with flowers and there was a green carpet of grass instead of the usual mix of snow and mud underfoot. And it was water, not sap, boiling away in the evaporator.