Maine Food News
Ready? Set! Eat!
The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival in Dover-Foxcroft is the sweetest day of the summer.
From Maine with Love — A Meal to Remember
Submitted by Down East Guest B... on Tue, 03/01/2011 - 12:42pm.
On February 9th, two Maine chefs romanced a crowd at the James Beard House in New York City. Chef Michael Salmon of Camden’s Hartstone Inn and Geoffroy Deconinck of Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn cooked up an incredible feast featuring Maine’s spectacular seafood, from oysters and lobster to scallops and crab.
King of the Lobster Roll
Submitted by Down East Guest B... on Wed, 11/03/2010 - 2:00pm.November 3 at 10 on the Travel Channel, Food Wars comes to Maine. This summer I traveled down to Kennebunkport to be a judge for the episode airing tonight. It was an extremely tough battle between Alisson’s Restaurant and The Clam Shack. Both lobster rolls were totally delicious! But they were also very different. In my three years as Food Editor at Down East, I’ll admit I’ve tried my fair share of lobster rolls. (It’s a tough job, what can I say!) The rolls in this competition were definitely two of the best in the state. But I’ve also learned that the lobster roll is a very personal thing — some people are fervently for mayonnaise. Others call themselves purists and prefer only melted butter. For some, claw meat reigns supreme. For others it’s all about the tail. You’ll have to tune in at 10 tonight to find out who wins this epic battle!
Soda Buzz
The days of super-sweet commercial soda made with high fructose corn syrup are definitely numbered. So get out ahead of the curve and switch to Maine’s newest soda. Green Bee All-Natural Soda (800-494-0802, greenbeesoda.com) uses only Maine wildflower honey for sweetener, an enzyme-, vitamin-, and antioxidant-rich (not to mention local) alternative to sugar or corn-based sweeteners. Owner Christopher Kinkade bottles the soda at his wife’s catering company, Belle Fete, in Brunswick.
A Down East Delicacy
Wrinkles — delicious edible whelks — mark the start of the summer seafood season.
Got Maine Milk?
- Photography by: Jennifer Baum
Moo-ve over Organic Valley, there’s a new organic milk on the shelf. Maine’s Own Organic Milk (207-242-5034, moomilkco.com) is a creamy 100 percent Maine milk available at grocery stores across Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. When a significant number of Maine organic dairy farmers were dropped by H.P. Hood last year, ten of the farms banded together, fearful of going the way of the nearly two hundred dairy farmers in the state that have gone out of business in the last decade.
Tasty Deals
Combat that spring fever by savoring delicious Maine meals on the cheap. The first of the month kicks off the second annual Maine Restaurant Week (www.restaurantweekme.com) co-sponsored by Down East. More than seventy restaurants, from Natalie’s in Camden to the brand new Sonny’s on Exchange Street, are participating and offering three course feasts for $20.10, $30.10, or $40.10.
Is Maine Screwing Up its Wine Industry?
Maine’s up-and-coming wineries struggle against a dizzying array of convoluted laws.
Dolce Dessert
- Photography by: Jennifer Baum
What do you get when you mix the sponginess of tiramisu and the custard consistency of sabayon, and then mash the cold, creamy result between two chewy cookies? Dolcelinos, the gourmet ice-cream-like sandwiches that have put Swan’s Way Catering (25 Fernalds Neck Rd., Lincolnville, 207-763-3996, www.cateringmaine.com) on the frozen-treat map. Try one (or several) in traditional flavors such as coffee and chocolate-chocolate, or go for the lemon ginger and the adventurous “Aztec” (vanilla custard with a chili powder kick).
