Category: Events

Anoche (website, instagram) has announced plans for the 2nd Annual Backyard Cider Project. This exciting community-oriented initiative will be gathering apple donations from the public, and work with Après Cider House (website, facebook, instagram) in East Bayside to press, ferment and bottle a “unique cider that showcases the terroir of Maine”.

All across our state, apple trees abound on public and private property, and a large portion of these apples go to waste. With the apple harvest being upon us, we are asking any and all who have access to apple trees to bring us your fruit! SO, bring whatever you can:

Blemished apples, small apples, crabapples, you name it! Because cider apples don’t typically taste good to eat—the more bitter and sour, the better! You can drop your apples off at Anoche any day of the week from 4pm to 9pm, or at Après Thursday through Sunday from noon to 8pm.

If you bring a bushel or more (40+ pounds) you’ll qualify for our raffle. The winner will receive an apple tree from a local nursery so that we can keep the tradition going for years to come!

Drop-off Schedule: Apples for the Project can be dropped off at Anoche 4 pm – 9 pm daily, or at Après noon – 8 pm (Thursday through Sunday).

As in 2020, Anoche will be noting down the harvest locations of the apples so when the cider is released we can see the unique geographic fingerprint of where the fruit came from. The 2020 Backyard Cider Project cider is expected to be released later this year.

This week’s Portland Phoenix includes an article on Fork Food Lab’s Summer Sampler Series.

Tickets for the Summer Sampler Series are $10 for one event or $25 to attend all three. Included in the admission price is a complimentary beer, wine, or seltzer, and a Fork Food Lab tote bag to carry the evening’s goodies.

“It was our hope that people would come to sip, sample and shop,” Sinclair said. “Then they would come to have a drink but then will also buy something to support (the members).”

The Summer Sampler Series is taking place June 23rd, July 21st and August 18th. Tickets are available on the Fork website.

Just in time for Portland Wine Week, the Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about the developing New England wine industry.

New England wine used to mean pouring yourself a small glass of fruity sweetness. But a growing number of winemakers in the region are now turning out bottles of wine that pair better with a piece of fish or beef than a slice of pie. Some, like Manley and Maine-based Bluet and RAS Wines – which are producing bright, dry blueberry wines – are focusing on native fruits, while others are growing and fermenting cold-hardy hybrid grapes that can survive the region’s below-zero temperatures, are more tolerant of local pests and diseases, and in the end, drink more like classic dry wines than dessert wines.

Visit portlandwineweek.me for the full PWW schedule, and be sure to check out the panel discussion taking place Monday morning if you’d like to learn more about New England wines. Margot Mazur will be leading a panel that includes Dan Lutjens from Bluet, Dan Roche from RAS Wines, Morten Hallgren from Ravines Wine and Brian Smith from Oyster River. They’ll be discussing the Past, Present and Future of Winemaking in the American Northeast.

Tune into the Food Network on Tuesday night at 9 pm to see chef Bo Bryne from the Harraseeket Inn compete on the latest episode of Chopped.

Mike Mwenedata CEO of Rwanda Bean, Niky Watler co-founder of Maiz, and Lucie Narukundo owner of Moriah Market will be part of a panel discussion on Monday 11th, noon to 1 pm on Barriers and Opportunities for BIPOC Entrepreneurs in Maine.

Register online.

A growing number (18 and counting) of Portland restaurants are working together to raise money for Stop AAPI Hate, an organization dedicated to addressing anti-Asian hate amid the pandemic.

May 16th through May 22nd participating restaurants will donate $1 for every order of the Stop AAPI Hate item on their menu. Already signed up for this program are:

• Austin Street
• Baharat
• Central Provisions
• Chaval
• Cocktail Mary
• Copper Branch
• DiMillo’s
• Eventide
• Forage
• Highroller Lobster Co.
• LB Kitchen
• Leeward
• Little Giant
• Luke’s Lobster
• Mr. Tuna
• Onggi
• Sur Lie
• The Good Table
• The Honey Paw
• Tipo
• Yosaku

Restaurants that want to take part should reach out to Krista Cole at Sur Lie (krista@sur-lie.com). You can also make a donation to Stop AAPI Hate online.

On a related note, Hilltop Coffee has announced they’ll be raising funds for Asian Americans Advancing Justice. During the month of May, $1 will be donated for every Green Goddess avocado toast purchased during the month at Hilltop. Hilltop’s initiative was inspired by the Dough Something project launched by Chicago pastry chef Beverly Kim.

You can also make a donation to Asian Americans Advancing Justice online.

The 3rd Annual Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is taking place this summer June 14th to 20th at various locations across the city. There are 38 events already on the calendar and more are being added every week.

Here are some of the highlights:

• A 4-course lunch featuring wines from four women winemakers
• A tasting seminar on the wines from Lopez de Heredia and a Lopez de Heredia wine lunch at Chaval
• A pair of tasting seminars of Chateau Musar
• A Women in Wine dinner featuring 5 chefs and the 10 women sommeliers. Each dish paired with different wines by two sommeliers with voting on who paired it better.
• Wine dinners and wine lunches with Little Giant, Isa Bistro, Chaval and Sur Lie
• A Hungarian wine tasting at Grippy Tannins
• A wine and Maine cheese tasting organized by the Maine Cheese Guild
• A Barre & Bubbles event at Solo Italiano
• Wine Wise wine sails in Casco Bay Wednesday through Sunday
• Numerous weeklong wine pour and food specials at restaurants around Portland from Mr Tuna, Local 188, The North Point, Evo, Leeward, Old Port Sea Grill, Little Giant, Maine Oyster Company, and Knotted Apron

Follow Portland Wine Week on instagram to keep in the loop on new events as they’re announced.

Also check out the Sponsorship page on portlandwineweek.me for opportunities to support Portland Wine Week overall or specific events on the program.

This Friday a Salvadoran pop-up called Vagabundo (instagram) will be having a few items on the take-out menu at Central Sandwich and Provisions (aka Central Provisions).

The Vagabundo menu will include:

• Tamale de Cerdo – wrapped in banana leaf, braised pork, chickpea, potatoes, olives
• Chilaquiles de Frijoles y Queso – tortilla stuffed with beans and cheese pan fried in an egg batter served with spicy tomato sauce
• Pan con Pollo – Braised chicken, watercress, tomato,cucumber, fermented radish on a baguette style bread

With Vagabundo chef Khristian Martinez plans to share the traditional and modern takes on the Salvadoran food he grew up eating. Follow Vagabundo on instagram to stay in the loop on future events.

The Portland Museum of Art is launching a chef speaker series called The Maine Course. Mike Wiley from Big Tree Hospitality—Eventide, Honey Paw, Hugo’s, XO—will kick-off the series this week on Tuesday at 6 pm.

The PMA is excited to announce our new series titled “The Maine Course.” Inspired by the exhibition “Stories of Maine: An Incomplete History,” we invite Maine-based chefs to cook a favorite dish and share the story behind it with our audiences. Join us Tuesday, April 6 at 6 p.m. for our exciting program with Mike Wiley from Eventide Oyster Co! Afterwards you will receive a recipe so you can try your hand at creating a special dish from home.

Register for the event on the PMA website.

Tandem Coffee’s Briana Holt will be participating in the Maine Charitable Mechanics Association’s Makers in their Studio series. this Wednesday at 7 pm.

Holt was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, a small island rich in east coast agriculture and food ways. Her first job at age 13 was making donuts and bread at a tiny bakery that has served her hometown since the early 30’s. After studying film and art in western Massachusetts, she moved back to her hometown where she met Will and Kathleen Pratt while baking at a coffee shop Kathleen was working at. The three friends eventually moved to New York where Kathleen opened the Blue Bottle affiliate in Brooklyn and where Will worked as a roaster. Meanwhile, Briana lucked out working under some of Brooklyn’s best cooks and bakers at Pies ‘n’ Thighs, as well as M.Wells Diner.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite, and the event is free for MCMA members.