johnnyd

It saddens me that I will never be able to write a sentence as perfect as this one. ← Word.

Chris Godin, proprietor of record at Granny's Burritos, is partnering with Johnny St.Laurent of Uncle Billy's BBQ at 685 Congress St. Granny's, who originated as a literal hole in the wall inside the entrance of Granny Killams (now the Big Easy, 164 Middle St) back in 1994, and went on to establish the famous burrito shop at 420 Fore St for 13 years, will serve it's burritos and quesadillas in the space now occupied by Uncle Billy's Resto-Bar. Johnny will still do BBQ catering, and might answer to his fans with a dish or two held over from his menu, but Chris and the gang will re-open the shop on the Cong after a little re-arranging inside.

Beat me to it, Sam. I was sure we wrapped this one up some time ago - thanks for finding it. Word.I find reminding them how much habitat is destroyed by municipal, state and federal pavement projects funded by their tax dollars ends the conversation pretty quickly.

The Maine Shrimp season officially ends on April 30th but the boats are telling me the shrimp have migrated out of the Gulf of Maine at this point. Fuel costs being what they are, and dock price for shrimp being what it is, it's not worth the trip out but for a few who established contracts at season's start. The harvest appears to have increased from last year. As soon as I get those numbers I'll post here - probably the last post for this year's shrimp topic. The good news is frozen Maine Shrimp will be more widely available this summer. Ask for it at your local fish purveyor. My biggest regret this year was not accepting an offer to head out on a shrimp boat this season. I was excited to get some great pictures but maybe a little frightened about getting my knee caps blown out by a stack of swinging fish totes. Maybe I'll be in better shape - and a bit ballsier - next year.

With snow and sleet forecast today it's getting really hard to imagine any other way we can get fresh, local food besides the hard working folks of the Farm Alliance. The latest alert: Hello Portland food lovers, It's time again to get your orders in for Wednesday April 9th. We will be in Monument Square from 11 to 1 with your orders. This week we are offering what's left of last years harvest from Fishbowl Farm and some freshly dug parsnips from Freedom Farm. Get your orders in soon. Thank you, Simon THIRTY ACRE FARM M.O.F.G.A Certified Organic FERMENTED FOOD $6.00/16oz $10.00/32oz $38.00/1 gallon Fresh, Crunchy Sauerkraut Caraway Kraut (w/juniper berries) Ruby Kraut Kim Chi Gingered Carrots ORGANIC PORK Sausage- $10.00/lb. Breakfast Maple Breakfast Ground (no seasonings) Nitrate Free Bacon-$10.00/lb. Fresh Pork belly $9.00/lb Pork Chops -Bone-in $10.00/lb. -Bone-out $11.00/lb. Stir Fry Tips-$9.00/lb. Pork Steaks-$10.00/lb. Tenderloin-$14.00/lb. Spare ribs-$7.00/lb. Country style ribs-$9.00/lb. Hams -$10.00/lb. Rolled Roasts (no bone, 2-3lbs.)-$11.00/lb. Loin Roasts-$10/lbs Bacon Tips- -$4.00/lb. Jowl (fresh)- $6.00/lb. Hocks-Smoked $5.50/lb. Hearts and Livers-$2.00/lb Leaf Lard (unrendered. Ask for instructions on rendering. it's easy!)-$4.00/lb. Back Fat-$3.00/lb Smoked ears! and Bones! For your dogs - $2.00/each FREEDOM FARM Lamb Sausage (4 links frozen) - $15/lb and M.O.F.G.A Certified Organic Vegetables: Cull Parsnips $1/lb Shallots $5/lb $22.50 for 5lb $40 for 10lb Fishbowl Farm M.O.F.G.A Certified Organic vegetables Storage Carrots 3lb bags for $6 Green Cabbage 3-4 lb heads for $1.25/lb Garlic 1/2 lb bags for 5$ GORANSON FARM (Dresden, ME) M.O.F.G.A Certified Organic vegetables Potatoes (Rose Gold, Adirondack Blues) 5lbs minimum $10 TOWNHOUSE FARM (Whitefield ME) Moogurt - (yogurt made from organic Jersey cow milk) 16 oz plain or maple - $4.00/ea Ballstown 1791 aged cheese - (not available in less than half pound portions, portions will not be exact). 3 month cow cheese - $16/lb Has a "high" flavor. Some say it tastes like a young asiago . Halloumi - the Cypriot frying cheese. $16/lb Cut into thin slices. Fry it directly on the pan (no oil or butter). Eat as an appetizer while it is still hot. It is like a mini grilled cheese sandwich without the bread! Great for folks with gluten intolerance and those that just like fun things to eat. MAINE-LY POULTRY Whole Chickens -$2.75/lb. Whole Chickens (cut up)-$3.00/lb. Bone-in Breasts-$4.00/lb. Boneless Skinless Breasts-$6.75/lb. Liver-$2.25/lb Ground Turkey-$4.50/lb. HOMEMADE ALL MEAT CHICKEN PIES LARGE $10.25 SMALL $4.75 HOMEMADE ALL MEAT CHICKEN PIES WITH PEAS LARGE $10.75 SMALL $5.00 RABBIT $3.75 LB. SMOKED CHICKEN $12.00

Harbor Fish opens at 8:30am The one morning I'm late someone comes in and buys the last four and a half pounds ten minutes before I got there! Fortunately, my pal Brad says the guys are cutting more flounder today and Monday and will put aside some nice "fatties" for me. He also said the market was getting calls for flounder roe, surprising the crew there. I predict the price will be higher on Monday. Who in Portland is reading this thread?

sanrensho-san! You da bomb. I have all the ingredients except yuzo so I am definitely doing this - the spicier version of course. Maybe I can fake the yuzo by using a meyer lemon/lime juice combination? I'll post the process!The sheer quantity of mentaiko spaghetti recipes can't be ignored. It will be something to try with all that mentaiko I'll have on hand.

A typical mentaiko spaghetti recipe might be mentaiko, softened butter, shot of cream, squeeze of lemon juice. I see recipes calling for soy sauce as well. I'll try to dig out the last recipe I used. Bear in mind that this is using brined and flavored roe (mentaiko). Toss the above just with the residual heat from the pasta (as in a carbonade). Top with chiffonade of shiso (or basil) and nori, both are a must. I've never cooked with raw roe sacks, but in lieu of mentaiko, you could lightly brine the roe sacks first in sake, touch of dashi, soy sauce, salt and sugar before cooking as above. Jonnyd, I will try to transcribe a Japanese recipe for mentaiko, if someone doesn't get to it first. This is the one I'm looking at (for karashi mentaiko): http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/ment_fr.htm ← In spite of the proliferation of mentaiko spaghetti recipes, I really can't wrap my brain around that starch as a mentaiko vehicle. Maybe it's because I've always had it as a nigiri? That website had eleven steps - with pictures! A little help with the translation would be most helpful.

So far, for mentaiko, I'm finding a combination of salt and either chili powder (what kind, I wonder) or paprika, which I'd favor owing to it's mellower depth. I see a five day soak in some kind of dashi prior. Why is a mentaiko brine/soak/marinade recipe so hard to find?

Brine and marinate as the Japanese do for mentaiko and karashi (spicy) mentaiko. Or toss with pasta. That meal looks amazing by the way. I wonder how it would taste slowly poached in flavored olive oil? ← This was also mentioned on Peter's thread. I'll have to find the mentaiko marinade recipe - I love mentaiko. That's a great idea. And thanks for the thumbs up - it was really good tasting too. So what if I added garlic and paprika to that olive oil? It's something I do for fresh shrimp we get around here, but that might be too strong a treatment.

Peter used cream in his haddock roe recipe, and I've heard of soaking in milk. I decided to try it the way my mom cooked shad roe before I went out and bought a bunch more of it and try another method. What other ways to serve - anyone?

bobg01, this from esme, who does a little work for Rob: I wouldn't worry too much. I don't see Mr. Evans subtracting - just adding. Watch this space for updates before you travel.See you in June.

A trip to Portland Maine's Old Port district always includes some fish market reconnaissance. Shad Roe was in stock earlier this week at $9.95 per pair but that's too much for my wallet. Imagine my delight yesterday when, having sold out of Shad Roe, Harbor Fish Market decided to try selling Flounder Roe instead. Inspired by Peter The Eater's Poached Haddock Roe from early March (and the fact that they were $2.99/lb) I decided to give 'em a whirl. I bought just a handful (1/3lb) to try out. Each were about four or five inches long. I chose a simple method: poached in butter with a spritz of lemon. About 5 minutes a side on medium heat. The damn things explode if the heat is too high. I poured the whole thing on a slice of local crusty white, ...and called it Lunch! They were milder than expected. Reminded me of fresh grilled sardines. I imagine these - like most fresh roe products - would be a seasonal fishery and not available all the time. Flounder roe may eventually be subject to draconion harvesting laws once people find out how delicious they are and demand goes through the roof. And I can say I had 'em for lunch back in April 2008 for a dollar a plate!

I can't agree more. It's places like Sudeste that bring me down in a nostalgic heap. Wonderful account Mr Polo. Mr. Cochon: I know it's months away but make sure your camera is charged and ready to capture a day or two like that one andd you'll make this former Algarve resident very happy. Does anyone know if that big barn on Sagres beach still grill a mean lunchtime fish?

Outstanding, Daniel! Wish I was there!

Lucky Bastard! Looks muy delicioso. Was there any semblance of urchin flavor in that soup at all? Was it expensive?

They are entirely worth it Fengyi! It's the absolute highlight. I am not exactly sure I'll ever visit Beijing so this week's foodblog is a mighty big treat for me, and others too I'll wager. Thank you so much for your efforts.

Wonderful travelogue. Loved the Sake brewery and lunch photos. Please continue to "Feel Human Touch of Osaka People" and "Eat and Drink Big"

Aww johnnyd, you are such a tease! Nothing else you can reveal? Anyone we would know or are familiar with behind this new enterprise? ← Yup! Nope! Maybe... But I will seek permission and post as soon as I can even if it gets out before then. I still don't know whether it's service, retail or something else. ← According to sources close to the new tenant, this space will become a restaurant. ← The prospective tenant (actually the building's new owner) has abandoned their plan for the first floor restaurant, and has leased it to another party who is also planning a restaurant. Check back in six months for the next update.

Outstanding! Man, we are all over the place so far this year - hat's off to foodblog czarina, snowangel for serving up some fascinating weeks of travel and food! Fengyi, Even though you are not cooking at home much this week, do you get a chance to see some produce/meat/fish markets in your typical week? I bet I echo many here in hoping for a look at some authentic Beijing food markets.

Loved your blog, LC. The neighborhood news was especially interesting - your restaurants; local provisions or the delivery thereof; the mysterious disappearance of the knife sharpener; the UPS guy reading the POST while landlord cooks up some eggs. All this I miss about New York. Keep us posted! I can't find one...

Happy Anniversary, Linda. May your wry wit grace eGullet for at least another 4 years. Ernie has beautiful markings. I grew up with 3 amazons and two golden conures. I was told never to feed them things with salt or it's bye-bye birdie. Great travels. Wonderful photos. Top-notch opinion. Blog on.

Dude, that is one rockin' feast. Thanks for sharing. The stuffed mussels are making my stomach growl. The possibilities.... hmm

13th Course - Andrew Rice Milk Sorbet - Pink Peppercorn Crusted Tuna - Soy Caramel Rice Krispy Treat Killer creation, Andrew! 14th Course Ichigo Daifuku - Piepers Mochi Cake - Anko Paste - Strawberry Didn't know what anko paste was before tonight - yum. 15th Course Beard Papa Style Cream Puffs - Samantha Green Tea - Ginger Damn, these were good. Perfect for the last course. *Whew!* Thanks to the Deathmatch Posse for staging another legendary dinner. I still have to get people's names and where they work - if they want it posted - because much credit deserves to be mentioned for the creativity and imagination that went into these dishes. We are all looking forward to the next in the Deathmatch series - whenever that will be - but first we have to recover from this one. Mata Ne!

Between courses the kitchen sink looked like this: But not for long since there always seemed to be someone scrubbing away. It was as if a magnet were tripped when the water was turned off and the station left empty - someone would invariably step in and resume since no-one - no-one - wanted the courses hampered by something easy like lack of settings. Yup. Things were automatic the entire night. The crew were happy to just be together on their own terms and have a good time. 12th Course Nabemono - Courtney Udon Noodles - Shitake Confit - Duck Breast - Scallion Oil - Hard Cooked Egg I make little lunches like this often - but Courtney does it right