Category: General News

The Portland Daily Sun food writer Margo Mallar paid a visit to Saigon and Kon Asian Bistro as part of her Christmas day.

The soup was a delight to my gentile tastebuds but it was a Christmas gift that our pescatarian Jewish friend Rachel had to decline on two counts: treif and meat.  \We were eating light so limited ourselves to Saigon Veggie egg rolls, steamed french beans, a sardine banh mi sandwich and a tofu curry entree.  The portions were abundant, made with fresh ingredients and well seasoned.  The homemade chili sauce alone is worth a return trip.

Portland Phoenix restaurant reviewer Brian Duff has penned a survey of changes in the 2009 dining landscape as well as  a caution that the Portland food scene may be peaking. I hope he’s wrong about that.
In a separate article Duff notes his favorite dishes for the year: the Sole Francaise at Street & Co as Best Upscale Dish, and the Duck Soup at Pom’s as the Best Affordable Dish.

Today’s issue of the Portland Daily Sun includes articles on the online effort to persuade Trader Joe’s to come to Portland (see also this earlier post)

Portland foodie activists are taking to the Web by the thousands in hopes of luring supermarket chain Trader Joe’s to Southern Maine.

At least two simultaneous Internet campaigns aimed at convincing the company to open a store in Greater Portland are under way, including a Facebook group and an online petition, each drawing more than 2,000 participants.

about Havana’s plans for a Wharf Street restaurant and renovations taking place at 51 Wharf

On a well-traveled stretch of cobblestone street that includes The Merry Table Crêperie on one end and Beal’s Ice Cream on the other, the owners at the 51 Wharf restaurant and lounge are reinvesting in their business, while across the street a Latin American-inspired casual fine dining restaurant is coming in to replace a defunct furniture store.

and Margo Mallar’s culinary bucket and wish list for 2010. Here’s a taste,

An understanding that the Mediterranean is much more than Italy and Greece. There’s a real dearth of North African, Middle Eastern, Turkish and Balkan food.

About Town paid a visit to the new 2nd floor of the Public Market House and posted a report on the newly expanded market.

Chairs and tables look out over Monument Square, making it a prime people-watching location (and the yet-to-be-completed glass elevator, also overlooking the square, will only heighten the experience).

“All of a sudden I’m beginning to feel this is really what I hoped it would be,” Horton says of the endeavor, which she sees not just as a public market for fresh foods and produce, but also as an “incubator for businesses.”

BA Foodist blogger Andrew Knowlton included Tu Casa’s enchilada salvadoreña with tongue on his budget list of best restaurant dishes of 2009.

The premier issue of Maine Ahead magazine includes interviews with Alan Cook, Executive Chef at Twenty Milk Street, and Ron Hodge, CEO of Hannaford, as well as articles on Laughing Stock Farm’s use of recycled cooking oil to heat their greenhouse and on Shipyard Brewing. Be aware that you’ll need to register for a free account to access the articles online.

The January issue of Down East heralds 31 “people, places & dishes not to miss in 2010”. Here’s the list of Portland listings from the article:

• Seafood in the pan from Street & Co (1-4)
• Hot Suppa! (8)
• The BLT at Blue Spoon (9)
• Bob Garver, co-owner of Bard Coffee (11)
• The Corner Room (12)
• The cheese puffs from Hugo’s (14)
• The buttermilk panna cotta from Bresca (17)
• The mac & cheese from Five Fifty-Five (18)
• The Touchable, a cocktail invented by bartender John Myers (19)
• The mashed potato pizza from Otto Pizza (20)
• The mussels at Fore Street (24)
• The farm to table menu at The Farmer’s Table (26)
• Portland’s Dining Scene (31) – a brief look back prior to the current culinary boom at the contributing factors that got Portland restaurant culture to where it is now.

The January issue also includes a Maine Wedding Guide. Leslie Oster from Aurora Provisions and Craig Williams from Churchill Catered Events created the winter and fall wedding menus that appear in the article on wedding eats.

An article in today’s Press Herald surveys local caterers that specialize in vegan, vegetarian and other alternative dietary preferences.

Gone are the days when health-conscious party planners had to worry about whether the event’s caterer knew how to maintain a gluten-free kitchen or spot the myriad foods in which non-vegetarian ingredients lurk. Now local hosts and hostesses have the luxury of hiring an expert.

Chow Maine reports on some planned changes at Duckfat including a kitchen renovation this winter and an expansion in 2011.

But in 2011 Portlanders can expect another Duck Fat. It will be a slightly different model. “A bar version, gastropub style version, with a bar, fries and more bar-type food. The new one should be able to make production fries that can be shipped to other locations.”