The list of this year’s Indie Biz nominees includes a number of local food businesses: Allagash, Coffee by Design, DiMillo’s, Dobra, Eventide, Kamasouptra, Local Sprouts, Micucci’s, Portland Permaculture, Rosemont, Silly’s, Speckled Ax, The Holy Donut, The Honey Exchange, and Yordprom.
Category: General News
Porthole Inspection History
As part of their ongoing coverage, the Press Herald has explored the Porthole’s health inspection history.
Reports from 2007 to 2009 show that city inspectors found similar problems, with dirty or malfunctioning equipment, holes in the ceiling and walls, peeling paint, broken or missing floor tiles, and plumbing that wasn’t up to code.
Gelato Fiasco Empact100
The Bangor Daily News reports that Gelato Fiasco is being recognized by Empact100, an organization that highlights “the impact young entrepreneurs make on our economy and an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs”.
But this is one business that has turned into anything but a fiasco, as a national organization called Empact100 has taken notice. Davis and Tropeano are among 100 up-and-coming entrepreneurs who will be honored later this month at the White House.
Porthole Passed Inspection
According to an article in the Press Herald, The Porthole and two other businesses that were closed due to serious health inspection issues earlier in the week have been cleared to reopen.
“There was nothing identified in that inspection as being a critical violation,” Clegg said. “All the critical violations have been addressed.”
According to the Munjoy Hill News, The Porthole did reopen today.
Porthole Health Inspection Update
The Press Herald has published an update on the closure of The Porthole and 2 other adjacent businesses by the city health inspector. The article includes scans of the letter that alerted the city to the problem and the health inspector’s hand written report from earlier this week.
[Health snspector Michele] Sturgeon found “rat droppings everywhere” in the businesses’ liquor storage area and on shelves, as well as “rotting, decayed mouse traps,” according to her report. “TONS of flies all over the food” and “lobster and other exposed seafood,” she wrote.
UPDATE: According to the Munjoy Hill News, The Porthole plans to re-open on Sunday.
3 Businesses Temporarily Closed by Health Inspector
According to a report from the Press Herald:
Three waterfront businesses were temporarily closed down on Thursday after the city’s restaurant inspector found evidence of a “serious rat infestation.”
The Porthole, Comedy Connection and the Harbour’s Edge banquet hall were closed after Portland’s restaurant inspector Michele Sturgeon noted excessive and repeat food violations.
Maine Cookbooks, Becoming a Vegan, Old Port Wine Merchants
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about 3 new Maine cookbooks,
Here’s a first look at the Standard Baking Book, followed by the latest on Maine home cooking from food writer and food historian Sandy Oliver, and a new cookbook featuring nearly 50 Portland restaurants from Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz.
a guide to eating vegan (with restaurant recommendations),
In the past month, I’ve had a host of people – old and young, men and women, professional chefs and novice cooks – ask for advice on how to eat a totally plant-based diet.
So it must be time to provide a basic starter kit on eating vegan in Maine.
and a profile of the Old Port Wine Merchants.
Owner Jacques de Villier loves wine and cigars but his true passion is people, and that’s what makes him the shopkeeper’s shopkeeper. He’s old school. Plenty of people open stores because they love their product or want money, but neither the product nor the cash is the heart and soul of it. Anyone who doesn’t like de Villier is a wretched misanthrope who needs serious professional help.
Starting a Food Blog
From Away has published a guide for aspiring food bloggers.
We’ve learned a lot, and we wanted to share some of the tips we’ve picked up along the way with anyone interested in either starting a site of their own, or improving their existing food blog. In this post, we’ll try to cover everything we’ve learned so far, in an effort to help both new aspiring food bloggers, as well as more established bloggers looking for ways to increase their revenue or improve their existing websites.
Maine Food Insecurity
Forecaster Columnist Edgar Allen Beem has written about hunger in Maine.
How bad is the problem of hunger in Maine? Mark Swann, Donna Yellen and Elena Schmidt, all of whom work on the front line of poverty at Preble Street Resource Center in Portland, contributed an article to the Winter/Spring 2011 issue of the “Maine Policy Review” on “Hunger in Maine.” They noted that “45 percent of Maine school children are eligible to receive a free or reduced lunch.”
Maine Home Cooking
Food Historian, Sandy Oliver, has authored a splendid new cook book, Maine Home Cooking. The book is packed with classic and more contemporary recipes as well as bits of food history, and guidance Oliver has gathered from home cooks all over the state. The publishers sent me an advance copy, and I had a lot of fun this weekend making the recipe for salmon in peas found in the chapter on classic Down East dishes.
For more information see this article in the Portsmouth Herald.