Portland in a Snap has published a brief profile of Otto Pizza.
Category: Profiles
The Salt Exchange
The Maine Switch has published a profile of The Salt Exchange.
Instead she characterizes the food as new New England cuisine. This mean such offerings as Pemaquid oysters under lemon celeriac cream & hazelnut ($7/$12), Wolfe’s Neck Farm steak & tellagio on sourdough with sweet and sour onion & spicy roast tomato mayonnaise ($10), spiced Maine coast cioppino with Casco Bay fish, shellfish & grilled sourdough crostini ($12) and pea risotto with butter poached clams & fresh morel mushrooms ($9).
Interview with Caiola's
The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Abby Harmon and Lisa Vaccaro, the owners of Caiola’s.
And as the owners of Caiola’s continue to expand their menu, they also plan to expand their space. Vaccaro said in October they will begin construction on a private dining room, which will partially expand into the outdoor patio area and will seat about 30 people, more than doubling the capacity of their current private dining room. The expansion, they hope, will provide space for more neighbors to join.
Interview with Caiola’s
The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Abby Harmon and Lisa Vaccaro, the owners of Caiola’s.
And as the owners of Caiola’s continue to expand their menu, they also plan to expand their space. Vaccaro said in October they will begin construction on a private dining room, which will partially expand into the outdoor patio area and will seat about 30 people, more than doubling the capacity of their current private dining room. The expansion, they hope, will provide space for more neighbors to join.
El Rayo Review
Type A Diversions has reviewed El Rayo, providing an early take on the new restaurant.
Bottom line: El Rayo lived up to expectations, at long last bringing fantastic Mexican fare to Portland.
For additional input see reader comments here and here.
And you might also want to take a look at this article from Portland in a Snap.
Photo Credit: Type A Diversions
Sun on GRO and Miyake
The weekend edition of the Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of GRO Cafe,
Organic fair-trade coffee and a variety of smoothies and desserts likewise tap ingredients not likely found in your traditional restaurant. There’s fresh ground flax and local bee pollen that can be added to smoothies. Wheat-free croutons and hand-picked mushrooms are mingled with red peppers, avocado and onion for a house salad.
and a profile of Food Factory Miyake.
Food Factory Miyake offers so intimate a dining experience that now just might be the time to go before the onslaught of summer moths drawn to Portland’s culinary limelight makes one of the 30 seats as difficult to get as a free pass from the Portland parking patrol.
Project Chef
Professor Ardis Cameron, a professor of American and New England Studies at USM, is teaching a class this summer entitled “Project Chef: Documenting Portland’s Food Industry“. As part of the class, students will interiview local chefs, wait staff or others involved in the local food economy. Required reading for the course includes Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. According to the syllabus, “The project’s goal is to produce a narrative for public presentation and distribution.” I look forward to hearing what they put together.
More on Bard Coffee
The self-described coffee addict in charge of the Waiting for That Rocket’s blog has posted a profile of Bard Coffee Roasters.
Huzzah! There’s a new coffee shop in Downtown PTL! ((Because that’s exactly what I need – yet another place to feed my addiction)) The new place is called “Bard,” and it’s a surprisingly nice place. The interior is bright, there’s tons of seating, and the baristas have both personality AND smiles (something that may occasionally be lacking in my other coffee shops of choice).
GRO/Lamb in The Switch
The Maine Switch has published a profile of Grassoots Organic/GRO Cafe.
GRO chef Andrew Borne, who previously worked at a raw foods restaurant in Beverly, MA, explains that “when you cook foods, 90% of the nutrients are cooked off. We soak the nuts and seeds beforehand. (The soaking) gets rid of enzyme inhibitors, which helps digestion.”
This week’s Switch also includes an article by Back Bay Grill’s Chef/Owner Larry Matthews Jr. on cooking local lamb.
I purchase whole lambs for the restaurant from Sunrise Acres Farm in Cumberland Center from April through November. Purchasing the whole animal is a great opportunity for chefs (or a home cook with a good freezer). It allows a level of versatility that you don’t get when you buy single cuts and allows cooks to use more parts of the animal than otherwise would be put to use.
Homegrown Herb & Tea
Homegrown Herb & Tea, the East End herbal tea shop run by Sarah Richards, has been written up in Design*Sponge (via Portland Psst!).
Each and every cup of tea that is mixed and brewed at Homegrown is done right when you order it. Sarah doesn’t have her tea already blended and sitting around; it’s all freshly made and beautifully cared for right on the spot and that fact sets the tone for your tea-drinking experience. One goes in, thinks about what you’re in the mood for (perhaps you need a boost in energy or you’re dealing with a small ailment), discusses it with Sarah and then waits while the tea is prepared.