The state legislature is weighing three separate proposals to enable Mainers to buy wine over the Internet.
The third measure, proposed by Rep. Melissa Walsh Innes, D-Yarmouth, is modeled after similar legislation in 35 other states. It would establish just one permit for wine producers wishing to ship directly to Maine consumers, but not require Mainers to register themselves with state government in order to make the Internet wine purchases.
A Maine legislative committee has decided against a 10¢ tax on plastic bags at grocery stores. A working group has been set-up to study the issue.
Plastic bags are under assault from environmentalists as an example of waste, and many Mainers are already switching to reusable bags. Opponents argued that the fee would create administrative problems, inconvenience customers and simply increase sales of plastic trash bags.
Dean’s Sweets is running a special promotion. They’re “offering a free truffle to anyone that comes into their store between now and Tax Day”. You just need to mention the Tax Day truffle offer and you can select from one of Dean’s 18 flavors.
The results are in from this year’s Opinionated About Dining Survey. Both Hugo’s and Fore Street scored high enough, 94 and 92 points out of 100, to fall into the Highly Recommended category.
Portland was ranked #1 on Forbes.com’s list of the Most Livable cities in America. The article looked at income growth, cost of living, culture, crime and unemployment gleaned from Moody’s Economy.com, Sperling’s Best Places and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to tabulate the rankings.
The beer at Gritty McDuff’s might be enough to lure people to Portland…Tasty microbrews aren’t the only reason to like Portland. Thanks to high marks in five key quality of life metrics, Portland tops this year’s list of America’s Most Livable Cities.
Avery Yale Kamila at The Maine Switch has researched the drivers behind the increasing prevalence of beer 4-packs.
While I push a cart around the grocery store stocking up on things like organic kale and whole oat groats, my husband spends the bulk of his supermarket time contemplating the contents of the beer cooler. These sessions always end with the selection of new beverages to try and often some interesting observations. For instance, he recently remarked about the growing number of local craft brewers selling beer in four-packs.
Which got me thinking: Why four-packs? And why now? So I went straight to the experts to find out what is behind this growing trend.
The results of the Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram Readers’ Poll are out. Fore Street got the nod for Best Restaurant ahead of DiMillo’s—thankfully Olive Garden didn’t make the cut this year. But national chains McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts beat out local favorites Becky’s and Coffee by Design in the Cheap Eats and Coffee categories. See the article for the full set of results.
Yesterday’s Portland Daily Sun published a trio of articles on local food, locavorism and the market factors that resulted in the close of the Whole Grocer and the birth of the Portland Food Co-op. According to the Sun, “Last month’s purchase [by the Co-op] from the Crown of Maine, the statewide distributor of organic Maine goods and products, exceeded the amount purchased by Whole Foods.”
A new food blog called Portland Food Coma has started up. The most recent post lists ten things to eat in Portland when you have “no time or patience for being disappointed“.
What’s your top ten list?
The list of nominees for this year’s James Beard Foundation awards has been released:
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 4 in Avery Fisher Hall in New York.