Everything is Damp

I do believe that 42 of the past 61 days have been filled with rain. God awful bone drenching rain. In this time I'm either going to gain 50 pounds, because I've taken to gorging myself on food and smoke to get over this depression, or I'm going to end up punching someone in the throat out of frustration. And, like many, the lack of sun is slowly killing off my container garden. All that money spent at the beginning gone to absolute shite because of the weather. Bastards.

Taste of the Nation in Photos

Last Thursday, like the Thursday before, gray skies gave way to rain but it failed to put a true damper on Share Our Strength's Maine Taste of the Nation. Fourteen local chefs shared their time and talent for a great cause. Many thanks to them and to the SOS organization for a great evening.


Hugo's Beet Orb with Horseradish on Winterpoints


Rob Evans setting up




Eve's @ the Garden, Earl Morse, doing a bit of ice carving




Sea Glass Inn by the Sea's Mitchell Kaldrovich


Lobster Eclair: Lightly Spiced Lobster Salad, Savory Profiterole Cup-Eclair with Lemon Glaze.


Earl Morse dishing up his Riesling Braised Rabbit with Carrot Spaetzle, Morels and English Peas


Seared Salmon with Honey Soy Mushrooms and Bok Choy from the Farmers Table


The Edge Restaurant's "Maine Raised Tofu" with Red Wine Reduction.


Natalie's Camden Harbour Inn Chevre, Fresh Chevre, Cucumber and Lobster Gazpacho, Marinated Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado Gel, Curried Mustard Seed Dressing


The Duck Liver Mousse from Cinque Terre


Ahi tuna tartar Napoleon with coconut chili and white truffle oil, sweet potato goufret from David's.


Cumberland Lamb sausage on mini brioche buns


Seared all Natural Pork Tenderloin Black Quinoa and Black Lentil Pilaf Blueberry, Pomegranite, Ginger Barbecue Glaze


Fore Street had Pastry Chef, Brant Dadaleares, representing with Brioche-vanilla bean bread pudding, Rhubarb Compote, Rhubarb Sorbet and Pistachio Praline.


Steve Corry, 555, brewing up some fresh Strawberry Milkshake Ice Cream.


The favorites:
The Beet topped oysters from Hugo's were the first things I reached for and, I must admit, I went back several times throughout the course of the evening. The other three offerings were Pemaquids w/Sezchuan Pepper; Norumbega Oysters w/Saffron and Tabasco and Glidden Points w/Lime EVOO aioli. While I loved all of them it was the little burst of beets and horseradish, as the orb broke on my tongue, that won me over.

Sea Glass Inn's Lobster Eclair was perfect. Though it had rained all evening, the moisture in the air never compromised the texture of the eclair shell and the salad, topped with chive flowers, was light and finished nicely with the slight tartness of the lemon.

Natalie's was the Mrs. favorite of the evening and the one she ventured back to on our last visit of the tables. Similar to the burst of the beets from Hugos, the whole tomato gave a great textural play on traditional gazpacho and the avocado and cucumber cut the acidity very nicely.

Back Bay Grill put out the best lamb sausage I do believe I have ever had. Simply presented and simply delicious.

Steve Corry and the group at 555 had several offerings of on site made ice creams: Stout and Pretzel, Lime Mojito, Strawberry Milkshake, "Fire and Ice"--Vanilla, cayenne and shaved chocolate and Coconut with Curry Oil. The last two were our choices and, while the Fire was a bit too much for my partner, I had no problem scooping one up for myself. But, honestly, it was the Coconut and Curry Oil that nearly had me in tears as it brought back memories of Baba--a Malaysian restaurant in NYC that closed in the months after 9/11. I've had many plays on Coconut Curry ice cream since, but this was the closest I've had to their dessert that I've missed so much.

I could get into the not so great dishes, but the evening was too wonderful to dwell on the shite. We had a great time, were introduced to some wonderful chefs outside of the city limits and are already making far off plans to see what else those chef's have up their sleeves.

Nifty Cans O'Meat

Now That's Nifty posted some Vintage Canned Meat advertisements.

The best? Weiners in a can with BBQ sauce. Pure awesomeness.

A Preview of Taste of the Nation

Next Thursday, on the SMCC Campus, Share Our Strength's Maine organization will be holding their Taste of the Nation. Weather permitting, it will be outside overlooking the ocean but, with the week out forecast already predicting rain, it'll probably be moved into the gym. Personally, I would like to see a game of dodge ball start up.
This will be my first year attending, because of Comp tickets not because I could actually afford to drop that much money for my partner and I. I'm sure I'll have more than a few pictures by next Friday.

Here's the menu that was sent out last week:

Back Bay Grill, Larry Matthews, Jr., Chef/Owner
Cumberland Lamb sausage on mini brioche buns - fresh potato chips

Cinque Terre, Lee Skawinski, Executive Chef
Berkshire pork and duck terrine + Maine rabbit and pork rillete + duck liver and cognac mousse cotechino sausage with fruit mostarda

David’s Restaurant, David Turin, Chef/Owner
Ahi tuna tartar Napoleon with coconut chili and white truffle oil, sweet potato goufret

The Edge Restaurant, Bryan Dame, Executive Chef
Maine tofu with red wine emulsion

Eve’s at the Garden, Earl Morse, Executive Chef
Riesling Braised Lapin (Rabbit) - Crispy Carrot Spaetzle, Morels, English Peas, and Smoked Loin

Farmer’s Table, Jeff Landry, Chef/Owner
Braised local pork, silvery moon brie polenta, sour cherry sauce and seared salmon, honey-soy mushrooms and bok choy

Five Fifty-Five, Steve Corry, Chef/Owner
Chef's Signature Selection of ice creams and sorbets

Fore Street, Brant Dadaleares, Pastry Chef
Brioche-vanilla bean bread pudding with rhubarb compote, rhubarb sorbet and pistachio praline

The Grill Room & The Front Room, Harding Lee Smith, Chef/Owner
Duck and goat cheese grilled cheese

Hugo’s, Rob Evans, Chef/Owner
Maine Oysters with Beet and Horseradish

Local 188, Jay Vilani, Chef/Owner
Turlu turlu (a Moroccan roasted vegetable dish)

Natalie’s Camden Harbour Inn, Lawrence Klang, Executive Chef
Fresh Chevre, Cucumber and Lobster Gazpacho, Marinated Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado Gel, Curried Mustard Seed Dressing

Sea Glass Inn by the Sea, Mitchell Kaldrovich, Executive Chef
Lobster Éclair, lightly spiced-lobster salad served in a savory Profiterole cup “Éclair” with lemon Glaze

Solo Bistro, Esau Crosby, Executive Chef
Seared all Natural Pork Tenderloin Black Quinoa and Black Lentil Pilaf Blueberry, Pomegranite, Ginger Barbecue Glaze

Audio Obsession

She's apparently macrobiotic, but I forgive her.

Dramatic Cooking

First there was Dramatic Chipmunk.
Then there was Dramatic Cat.
And now, Mario Batali's Del Posto gives us Dramatic Glass Eels.

I expected there to be a wide angle shot of rolling hills with Leo and Kate running into the sunset.

Kobe-fat French Fries

Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Ajasteak is serving Kobe beef fat fries on it's menu.

Mapping Maine Foods

Portland Food Map reported the unveiling of the Eat Maine Foods Map.

The Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine (ELFC) has launched a beta version of a resource to help people more easily connect with local foods organizations in the state. It’s called the Maine Food Map (the map is quite large and the page will take a while to load) and it’s a Google map/directory of local food resources such as farm stands, CSA, CSF, Buying Clubs, etc. While not yet a complete listing, it already provides information for more than 1300 organizations statewide.

ELFC describes the map as an “evolving project”. They hope to raise $6,000 to continue development and work on the “suggestions about functionality that people would like to see added”.