The Press Herald has checked in with several couples who co-own and run local restaurants to learn how they celebrate Valentine’s Day.
There are lots of restaurants in Maine that are owned or managed by couples. What do they do to make their loved ones feel special on Valentine’s Day – or do they celebrate the holiday at all? I decided to ask a few how they handle the Valentine’s Day pressure, and how they romance each other with food at home.
Today’s Press Herald includes an article about butter and Maine’s butter producers,
If you haven’t heard of Casco Bay Butter Co., or seen its line of artisanal flavored butters on local store shelves, that may change soon. As the popularity of butter starts bouncing back, more people are searching for butters that meet that foodie trifecta of local, artisanal and organic.
an article about FoodCorps helping farm-to-school initiatives in Maine,
FoodCorps aims to teach children about healthful eating, expand school-based gardens and increase locally grown food in school cafeterias.
as well as additional reporting on restaurant inspections and the Maine law banning bars from posting the alcohol percentage of the beers they serve.
The Portland Daily Sun has published the 2nd installment in a series take-out tipping.
BDN’s new Portland culture blog Urban Eye has a report on a collaboration between Speckled Axe and Allagash.
Armed with 40 pounds of green beans (at their most absorbent before roasting), [Speckled Ax owner Matt] Bolinder walked into the brewery’s cold cellar, stacked high with wooden barrels of aging triples, and took over two empty vessels.
“Instead of adding coffee to the beer, I’m adding elements of brewing to my coffee,” he says with a runaway smile.
Oakhurst has been sold to a dairy farm cooperative, according to an article in the Press Herald.
Oakhurst Dairy, which has been owned by a Maine family since the company was founded in 1921, has been sold to a national cooperative owned by farmers.
Oakhurst was acquired by Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative owned by more than 8,000 farms in 48 states. The deal, negotiated for about eight to nine months, closed Friday.
The Portland Daily Sun has published the first of a 2-part series on take-out tipping.
Varying industry sources on the Web say the percentage should be anywhere from the change in your pocket to treating the transaction as if it were a dine-in experience. I typically do 10 to 20 percent for food packaged or delivered and $1 for coffee. As always, tipping is your call. Chances are slim someone will violate your food if you don’t tip, but your service next time will be even better if you do.
Industry groups oppose a bill that would let cities and towns handle more of the load of performing restaurant inspections, according to a report in today’s Press Herald.
The Maine Restaurant Association, the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Tourism Association opposed the bill during a public hearing before the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee, which oversees the restaurant inspection program. The industry groups said they fear the bill would confuse restaurant owners with inconsistent rules.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article about restaurant inspections in Maine.
The Maine Legislature may step up oversight of restaurant safety by allowing cities and towns to do their own kitchen inspections, but the effort faces strong opposition from an industry group.
The bill comes after the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram exposed weaknesses in state and local inspection programs, including less frequent inspections and less public access to inspection results than all but two other states. The paper found that lawmakers reduced the mandated frequency of inspections even as complaints about sanitation or food-borne illnesses were on the rise.
Portland is in the running to be named America’s Favorite Food Cities, according to a report from Maine a la Carte.
You can play your part in getting our city at the top of the list by going to the F&W and voting for Portland in their online poll.
Food & Wine invites food lovers to rank top American cities on more than 50 characteristics—from which city has the best chefs or most vibrant ethnic food scene, to which city has the best or worst service. The most stunning results will be revealed in the September 2014 print issue of Food & Wine.
The Portland Daily Sun has published a report on last week’s visit to Portland by cocktail expert Warren Bobrow,
Bobrow, who has published over 300 articles on food, wine and cocktail mixology and blogs at The Cocktail Whisperer, demonstrated the variety of bitters that can spice up a cocktail, often with unexpected results.
In today’s issue of the Sun Natalie Ladd writes about changes in automatic group tips.