Not that we couldn’t see it coming, but it was thrilling nonetheless to see Portland, Maine get its due from the venerable New York Times. And on the front page of today’s Dining & Wine section, no less. While avoiding the usual homage to the iconic chefs we all know and love on our home turf, writer Julia Moskin gives well-deserved nods to our lesser known but very worthy culinary talents, many of whom we have profiled in the pages of Maine Food & Lifestyle. We expect to see these chefs catapulted to fame, and it’s about time.
So the verdict is in: “Portland has become one of the best places to eat in the Northeast.”
You know the buzz that zaps through you the minute you arrive at a really special event, the giddy euphoria that screams “You’ve arrived, baby!” as soon as you enter the room? Continue reading “Maine Fare Gala Opening” »
I just spent hours salivating over a display of eye candy, made some careful choices, and now I’m back for more. Continue reading “Maine Fare Taste Seminars: Eye Candy for Food Lovers” »
Seduction. I can’t think of a better way to start a weekend that revolves around food (as if food weren’t seductive enough!)
Maine Fare’s kickoff event on Friday, September 11, features Washington Post columnist, author, and Maine resident Barbara Damrosch who will present a slide show titled “Beauty and Bounty.” An excellent photographer and speaker, her talk on vegetable and fruit gardens will show how, she says, “a food garden can be a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.”
Continue reading “Maine Fare: Seducing Us to Eat Better” »
History lovers and baked bean lovers, take note: Maine Fare is hosting an authentic Bean Hole Supper, a festive event that has been staged by communities and churches here in Maine for generations, and is still one of our most popular traditions.
This “bean hole suppah” will take place on Saturday, September 12 at Rockport’s historic Conway House, one of this area’s earliest homesteads (1770s), the perfect venue for an old-fashioned outdoor dinner party.
Pitmaster Maynard Stanley (known in these parts as a professional critter catcher, someone you want to know when squirrels start nesting in your attic) has a passion for firepit technology. Maynard will preside over the 10-hour cooking process: He will dig a deep hole, line it with stones, set a log fire and tend it until there’s a deep layer of hot embers. At the right moment, he will lower a huge black iron cauldron filled with yellow-eye beans mixed with molasses, salt pork and a touch of cinnamon and clove onto the heat, and cover the pot with a heavy sheet of steel, then more coals and a thick layer of earth. By the time the crowd gathers on Saturday, the beans will be ready!
Paired with a traditional menu of roasted pork, coleslaw, biscuits and honey, and a dessert of fresh berry pies, this meal will be both delicious and a celebration of our New England heritage.
You don’t want to be left out of this one, so reserve tickets now. You’ll be glad you did, and it helps support historic Conway House in Rockport.
Amidst all the culinary talent that will be showcased at Maine Fare next month (and the lineup is truly impressive), there are two chefs whose expertise fascinates me because they bring an international perspective to Maine’s signature seafood. Keiko Suzuki, owner of Suzuki’s Sushi Bar in Rockland, and her #1 aide-de-camp (and rising star in her own right), Yuki Goseki, will take center stage on Sunday, September 13 to demonstrate their “very Japanese” use of lobster.
Continue reading “At Maine Fare: Japanese Artistry with Lobster” »
I played hooky again this morning, but don’t send me to the woodshed quite yet. My morning’s adventure could easily count as R&D for Maine Fare, and that’s definitely a legitimate — and favorite — way for me to spend time.
I joined the annual
Merryspring Kitchen Tour, a delightful romp through Rockport, Camden, and Lincolnville to visit some interesting home kitchens in a variety of locations. This year’s selection included everything from small cottages on country lanes with compact galley-style kitchens to large, open-plan kitchens in grand estates overlooking the water.
Yesterday I played hooky. I had scheduled too many things for a single morning and finally decided I had to make choices between doing what I felt obligated to do, and doing something I had always wanted to do. I figured I had attended or chaired close to 19 zillion meetings in my life, but I had never — not once — picked wild blueberries on a summer morning in Maine. It wasn’t a hard choice to make: Blueberries For Sal, redux.
Continue reading “Blueberry Fields Forever” »
I’ve been privileged to be a part of the group that is producing Maine Fare, a culinary event that takes place in Camden September 11-13. But this is not “just another food event,” an excuse to graze up and down aisles and aisles of food vendors sampling their wares. Sure, there will be plenty of opportunities to taste and sip, but Maine Fare is much more.
Continue reading “Maine Fare: a Preview” »
This is hard for me to admit.
As an ex-Californian who lived for many years where there is a taqueria on practically every corner, I got very used to eating some really good, authentic Mexican food. The real deal. My expectations for good comida mexicana were, admittedly, pretty low when I moved to Maine a few years ago, although every now and then there have been surprises. Shell’s Southwest Grill in Rockland is one such discovery because she uses lots of fresh cilantro in everything, and her fish tacos can transport me back to a certain taco stand in Malibu.
Continue reading “The Humble Taco: Perfectly Done in Maine, of All Places” »
A highlight of my trip to the West Coast was last night's potluck with friends, the perfect prelude to a weekend of Independence Day festivities. Instead of grilling outside where a relentless heat wave was keeping evening temperatures stuck in the 80s, we gathered around the dining room table in the air conditioning.
Continue reading “July 4th: Salmon Comes Indoors This Year” »
When I'm in California to visit family, I always have a list of favorite things I like to do while I'm there, and a trip to the local farmers' market is my Number 1 To-Do. The market in Ojai, a little town about 75 miles outside of Los Angeles, never fails to knock my socks off. Not only is the produce and fruit available almost year-round, but it's where I am guaranteed to run into old friends and catch up on their news. Not surprisingly, it takes me a couple of hours to make the rounds, all the while sampling the wares of farmers showing off their strawberries, tangerines, and apricots.
Continue reading “Heirloom Tomatoes, Now and Later” »
With a decisive stamp of culinary approval, the Portland Press Herald devotes two full pages to Rockland in today’s food section. Finally putting to rest the reputation for which Rockland has suffered for too long (smelly, low-brow, depressed), food editor Meredith Goad declares Rock City a go-to destination for good eating and good art.
From our offices on Rockland’s Main Street, we have first-hand access to today’s vibrant scene of bistros, galleries, and boutiques that keep the sidewalks thrumming with visitors. Early this morning, the coffee shops were packed and already running low on muffins. A 3-story crane was installing a jazzy, new free-form awning on the entrance to the
Farnsworth Museum, and people were still gawking at the Robert Indiana “EAT” sculpture that had been mounted on the museum’s roof only yesterday. The aroma of roasting coffee beans was in the air, and it didn’t hurt that bright sunshine was making everything sparkle like new.
Continue reading “Rockland’s Renaissance, indeed!” »
Here in Maine we're aware that our local restaurants, antique shops, crafts, and farmers' markets are cherished by urban renegades who flock here to enjoy "life the way it should be." Among our more high-profile part-time residents is none other than Martha Stewart who runs a media empire and escapes to Bar Harbor whenever she can.
Continue reading “Maine Farm Gets the Nod from Martha Stewart” »
Midcoast Maine is abuzz this summer with all things Wyeth. I had just attended the opening reception at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland for Jamie Wyeth’s exhibition “Seven Deadly Sins” when I received an email from a longtime friend whose new book had just been released by National Geographic. “My Favorite Place on Earth: Celebrated People Share Their Travel Discoveries” was written by Jerry Dunn, a former neighbor of mine who had told me a year ago that he planned to include two Mainers in his book, Jamie Wyeth and Paige Rense.
Continue reading “Favorite Place on Earth: Maine” »
Last night, the James Beard awards gave honor to some outstanding chefs and their restaurants in Maine. Our congratulations go out to those who were nominated and honored in this prestigious annual event.
Chef/Owner Sam Hayward's always local (ingredients) and excellent Portland restaurant, Fore Street, was one of five restaurants nominated for the Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation. This nomination is a national one, and goes to a restaurant that serves as a national standard-bearer for consistent quality and excellence in food, atmosphere, and service. Sam had been Maine's only previous winner of the Best Chef category for the Northeast in 2004.
Chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier of Arrows Restaurant in Ogunquit (check their blog posts here) and Chef Rob Evans of Hugo's in Portland were among the short list of nominees for Best Chef: Northeast (includes CT, MA, ME, NH, NY State, RI, VT). The nod this year went to Chef Rob Evans of Hugo's.
Congratulations to our amazing chefs and their restaurants, you do us all proud.
From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
I've never been one to march in a parade, plant a tree, or visit a farm to celebrate of Earth Day, but when it comes to doing something that centers around food, count me in. The good folks at Sustainable Table remind us that any recipe is sustainable if its uses local, fresh, and sustainably-raised ingredients — and since we all have to eat any way, eating a sustainable meal on April 22 is a perfectly good way to honor Earth Day.
If you, like me, have struggled with how to keep up the good intentions every day, here's their list of Ten Steps to Eating Sustainable. Baby steps can lead to huge changes in the way we live.
I'm going to usher in the Valentine's Weekend by joining a wine tasting at Rockland's Wine Seller on Friday, February 13.
They've selected wines that are voluptuous, romantic, pull-out-all-the-stops — perfect attributes for sharing with your sweetie. Among their choices is a succulent Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region and a rich, buttery Chardonnay from South Africa; a delicious new Pinot Noir from Australia; Betsy's Backacher Red from Spann Vineyards in Sonoma, and a 2005 Bordeaux — a vintage of note. And of course, for toasting to your love, a sparkling red Brachetto d'Acqui from Italy's Piedmont.
There's more: marvelous munchies from Rockland's
Lily Bistro. The indulgences start at 3 p.m. See you there, lover.
Merrill Williams is the publisher of Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
Nothing like a freezing night in January in Maine.
In support of Share Our Strength, we attended the opening night of The Ice Bar at the Portland Harbor Hotel. Their courtyard was all decked out in ice, ice sculpture, that is.
One of Jeff Day's ice bar sculptures at the Portland Harbor Hotel Event
Continue reading “The Ice Man Cometh to Serve Martinis” »
Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine publisher Merrill Williams appears with Chef Steve Corry of Portland's 555 restaurant on "The Chef's Kitchen", broadcast this Thursday at 10am in Maine on WPXT-TV (12) CW
Watch Chef Corry prepare "Not Your Grandmother's Stuffed Chicken," and then talk with Merrill about the role of the magazine in Maine's food scene
From the staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.
