Category: General News

The August issue of Good Housekeeping includes a “snackdown” comparing a short list of venues in Portland, Maine with Portland, Oregon.

• Bite into Maine | Tasty N Sons
• Duckfat | Beast
• Central Provisions | Paley’s Place
• Hunt & Alpine | The Bent Brick

Maine cheesemakers took home 10 awards from this year’s American Cheese Society competition, reports the Maine Cheese Guild.

From among 267 companies submitting 1,779 entries seven Maine cheese makers won ten awards including four 1st place ribbons, four 2nd place, and two 3rd place ribbons.

You can see the complete list of winners on the competition website.

A camera crew from the Cooking Channel was onsite at The Well yesterday filming for a show called Extra Virgin. The epsiode which includes The Well is expected to air in January.

Update: On Wednesday the Extra Virgin camera crew was filming at Portland Lobster Company. The Press Herald has posted an article with further info, as does Eater Maine.

Dana Cowin, Editor of Food & Wine, was is in Portland over the weekend, posting photos and commentary onliine of the places she visited:

• The Honey Paw (photo)
• Dutch’s (photo)
• Union (photo)
• Vena’s Fizz House (photo)

The Press Herald has posted a set of reviews written by kids who participated in The Telling Room summer camp program.

Cassandra Albano and Andrew Miller wrote about The Honey Paw, and Ella Briman and Elinore Kosak wrote about Rosemont Market.

Fifteen students set out across Portland this month visiting art venues, a food market and a popular new restaurant to offer their critiques and hone their skills as writers and reviewers through a summer camp program with The Telling Room.

An article in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram looks out how a change in minimum wage could impact consumer tipping behavior.

Fears among waitstaff in Portland over the effects of a minimum wage hike may be misplaced. Consider the psychology of why people tip and it’s likely their generosity won’t change at all.

If you’ve taken a look at the commercial real estate listings on Craigslist recently you might have been surprised to spot 190 State Street, the home of Petite Jacqueline, among the spaces available. I checked in with co-owner Michelle Corry who explained that due a rise in rent and interest in expanding the restaurant, they’ve begun looking for a new space. No change in their location is anticipated until 2016.

The Press Herald has published a report on culinary tourism in Maine.

Culinary tourism already appears to be strong in Maine, according to a 2014 Maine Office of Tourism study conducted by DPA, a digital research firm in Kennebunk. According to the report, 58 percent of the tourists who came to Maine last year and stayed overnight identified culinary or beverage interests as their reason for coming. Overall, there were 17.3 million overnight visitors in 2014 versus 16.6 million in 2013.

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Papa’s Juicy Noodles, a packaged noodle dish prepared by the family that opened the first Italian restaurant in Portland,

Enter Papa’s Juicy Noodles, which may never be able to compete with those high-end restaurant selections but will satisfy a nostalgic craving for instant ramen without all the sodium and other bad stuff. Papa’s, produced right here in Maine, can’t be called ramen, actually. Think of it as an Italian version of ramen noodles.

and advice on dining out and eating a plant-based diet.

Yet savvy diners like Woodman know this doesn’t mean a vegan meal is out of the question. As Woodman said, you should always call, “because in my experience they want to bring you in and please you, especially if you are coming with several other people. Chefs can really showcase their skills when preparing a superb vegan dish. It’s one thing to make an excellent meat or seafood dish, but quite another to prepare an excellent vegan entrée.”

The Bangor Daily News has a report on Maine’s food entrepreneurs.

“Food is Maine’s brand,” said Tanya Swain, project co-director of The Maine Food Strategy, who spoke on a panel with entrepreneurs Joel Alex, founder of Blue Ox Malthouse, and Aaron Anker of Grandy Oats. “People are recognizing there is an opportunity to develop food businesses in Maine.”

There are several barriers, such as infrastructure needs and distribution, but the determination of the earnest ravioli maker and chocolatier who asked questions from the floor shone through.