This week’s calendar is packed with food events, starting with today’s anticipated release of Vagabound Ale by Allagash as well as the restaurant worker art show tonight at One Longfellow and closing out on Sunday with a book signing/Goastravaganza at Rabelais Books for Margaret Hathaway and her new work Living with Goats. The weekly Piatto per Tutti cooking class and the Foodie Trivia Contest are taking place this evening. On Wednesday, there will be a macrobiotic/raw vegan potluck at GRO Cafe, Black Tie is teaching a class on the basics of making sushi, and The Salt Exchange is running their weekly wine and canapes event. The 2009 Harvest on the Harbor is taking place Thursday through Sunday. The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Andrews Brewing Co and Sheepscot Valley Brewing on Thursday. Eve’s at the Garden is hosting the 5th Annual Caviar Dinner Friday evening. Also on Friday, a NERAX cask ale event is taking place at Novare Res, and O’Naturals in Falmouth is screening the movie Food Inc. Rabelais Books is holding back-to-back book signings on Saturday with Peter Berley and Lucinda Scala Quinn. Portland’s weekly Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
Ocean Approved Kelp Aquaculture
Ocean Approved’s kelp farming venture in Casco Bay is the subject of a feature article on the front page of today’s Maine Sunday Telegram. The online article also includes a video segment of co-owner Paul Dobbins demonstrating how OA plants and grows their sugar kelp crop.
This week, Olson and Dobbins plan to install a submerged kelp-growing raft near Little Chebeague Island, where they say it will be out of the way of boat traffic and lobstermen. The state granted the company an experimental three-year lease for nearly an acre of the bay there, and Maine Technology Institute provided a $12,000 grant to help develop the technology.
Under Construction Updates
Portland Psst! has published a round-up on changes of ownership at The White Heart, Thanh Thanh Bida and Awful Annie’s, as well as news that Po’Boy’s & Pickles (see sample menu) is replacing the D’Angelo’s on Forest Ave and G’Vanni’s Bistro (see sample menu) is going to occupy the spot on Exchange Street vacated by Walter’s.
The agenda from next week’s City Council meeting also provides a first look at the menu for Boda. For a more complete list of all the upcoming venues take a look at the Under Construction List.
Vidappetit: Maine Beer Company
Portland Food Heads has published a video interview with David Kleban, co-owner of the Maine Beer Company which produces Spring Peeper Ale.
First Look at Shima
Portland Food Heads has stopped by for a first look at Shima.
And so was my luncheon experience at Shima; not great, not at all bad, and certainly not without elements of potential. I see no reason to “rate” a restaurant after they’ve been open for a week, and I’m not even going to attempt to. I would say that with chef Shima’s confidence in serving the type of food “he likes to eat” will allow the restaurant to carve out a small niche for itself in a city already filled with options for Japanese.
Restaurant Worker Art Show
The Portland Daily Sun has published a report on the art show taking place next Monday at One Longfellow Square. The show will feature creative work produced by Portland area restaurant workers.
Local waitstaff, bartenders, chefs, cooks, bussers, dishwashers, prep cooks, hostesses and hosts will present their photography, sculpture, ceramics, paintings, drawings, sketches, films, music and more. The gallery segment of the event will start at 6:30PM and feature over a dozen visual artists from the southern Maine restaurants. At 8 p.m., various documentary presentations, performance art and musical performances will begin featuring local favorites Brenda and Over a Cardboard Sea.
Harvest on the Harbor
Today’s Food & Dining section in the Press Herald includes an overview of Harvest on the Harbor, a food festival taking place next week in Portland. Visit HarvestontheHarbor.com for more information on the schedule.
Bangkok Thai –> Boda
According to an article in today’s Portland Daily Sun, the owners of Bangkok Thai are planning on turning it into an Asian fusion restaurant to be called Boda.
The restaurateurs are closing Bangkok Thai, their popular lunch and dinner restaurant at 671 Congress St., and converting it into a new Asian fusion eatery similar in some respects to their other Congress Street restaurant, the Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro. Boda should be open in December.
“The food will change every two weeks, and we’ll have five to 10 items every night, that’s all. We’ll make it simple but good quality,” said Wongsaichua.
Bangkok Thai –> Boda
According to an article in today’s Portland Daily Sun, the owners of Bangkok Thai are planning on turning it into an Asian fusion restaurant to be called Boda.
The restaurateurs are closing Bangkok Thai, their popular lunch and dinner restaurant at 671 Congress St., and converting it into a new Asian fusion eatery similar in some respects to their other Congress Street restaurant, the Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro. Boda should be open in December.
“The food will change every two weeks, and we’ll have five to 10 items every night, that’s all. We’ll make it simple but good quality,” said Wongsaichua.
Maine at Work: Senior Brewer Mark Boissonneault
The Press Herald has kicked off a new series, Maine at Work,with a look at the work life of Mark Boissonneault, a senior brewer at Shipyard.
And, to my horror, there was math.
Boissonneault showed me his recipe sheet for the day’s batch of Shipyard Export Ale, and I instantly had a flashback to high school algebra. There were numbers with six or seven numerals after the decimal point, and equations where “bitterness values” are assigned to various kinds of hops. (The bitterness value is calculated by multiplying the alpha acids by the weight of the hops, by the way.)
This is way too much math, I thought. I need a drink.