johnnyd

...which brings us back to the HARD SEAT CAFE!! I would kill for that menu board. Not just for the wonderful grammar, but the food: Duck, five ways; Yang Shou Hot pot... Snake Meat? I would never order the hamburger...

I'm sure the Ministry regulars will chime in with a few labels to look out for, but I still dream about the half bottle a neighbor gave me after his trip down there. It was (99% sure anyway) TRES MARIAS from Martinique. Legendary from start to finish. Kept the bottle for years hoping to find it again but eventually threw it out.

Bravo!

Katahdin could fit both bills. Exciting food, great service, colorful atmosphere. This Review appeared some time ago but not a lot has changed. Maybe better food. I take the in-laws there once or twice a year.

Here in Maine, the Gulf of Maine shrimp are caught in winter during a season that is anywhere between two weeks and two months. The prices have been wild the past few years. Fresh off the boat, heads and all, were $5/lb and dressed down shrimp cost $7.99 or more, back in '97. The harvest was huge but declined, raising the price a bit (they don't travel well when fresh and the shelflife is fleeting). Two years ago, prices were around $3/whole and $4.99/dressed. Last year, the two-week season, and freezing facilities expanded, the harvest was heavy, but prices plummeted on the first day at auction, and 40% of that harvest sat unsold. Retail prices were under a dollar for whole shrimp and about $2.99 for dressed shrimp. Why the breakdown? The gulf of maine shrimp is incredibly sweet and delicious, but small, maybe fourty or more per pound. They have a certain cachet and do well as amaebi at sushi bars. They are a pain in the ass to prep and too delicate for some recipes. I can only see the dumpage by China as the reason why our local shrimpers didn't bother to go out of port for a week after the auction debacle, which was half of their whole season last year, because the chinese whites were cheap, frozen into those 5lb bricks and much easier to work with. And Cynical Chef has it right: americans have been raised on the frozen stuff so the demand for fresh domestic shrimp is not even considered outside of a shrimping port where the locals know what's what. The tarriff might hold the price at a more reasonable level this time. I hope the Maine shrimp boats do well this year - the product is amazing.

This would make a great item for the [future] eGullet Store... Ellen, take some notes!

Fantastic, Ellen! What a story. Fido not looking so lucky there. Karsts look amazing. Is this the same valley with the tombs in the cliff walls that are getting flooded soon? I noticed a very interesting pattern on the cutting boards at the cooking school. Were they logs of some kind, cross-sectioned perhaps? They look familiar ...

Ran an oyster bar for a few summers and served a mignonette made with lots of sliced shallots, champagne vinegar, and a handful of Williams Sonoma Five Peppercorn blend. I noticed it got mellower (and tastier) the older it was, say, two weeks. Customers eventually prefered it to the traditional cocktail sauce or my oriental style sauce (Rice Vin, scallion, ginger). Based on that, I'd recomend making it right away so it comes together by the weekend. My $.02

Boo, your price ceiling is a stretch. There is a new burrito place called Herbs near the Free Street Taverna, which itself could be a candidate since it won't get busy until later. An out-dated but still useful website you could check out is www.foodinportland.com

When I was promoted to Garde Manger in-training from advanced pearl-diving in 1980, they gave me a card with a number and an address. It was a restaurant supply warehouse and the card had instructions to outfit me with Wusthoffs. They got a lot of abuse and were eventually stolen, except my 8" chefs which I still have, even though I've broken the tip off twice. It is now a 7 and 1/4" chef's knife... DO NOT FAIL to carefully read Chad Ward's Excellent Knife Maintenance Course here at eGCI. It is the final word on knife care.

I'm in... Are you making your own mignonette sauce? I find the farther ahead you make it the better chance it's got to meld. How about some of that fabulous local salmon?

I can't say how happy I am to hear of this practice. The lack of nutritional knowledge in lower income demographics, thus resulting in unhealthy conditions, has been the subject of many threads here on eG. This clearly shows an effort to fix this. Sadly, there are no recipes on the WSU site, just books or info for sale. When I lived in Portugal, the simple dishes of the community around us made a big impression. My all time favorite is still the cheapest to make: Caldo Verde, basically a potato, onion and kale (or collard) soup made with chicken stock I make at home. Bits of chorizo and lots of EVOO at serving make it come together. Barely fifty cents a bowl, maybe a buck with the chorizo added.

I, having lived in NYC as a youth, thought the same tactic would fly. $45 later, I have become wiser and PCC has lost my business as a result.

Omigawd... that looks GOOOD!

... and some first-rate imagination, some top-quality tools, access to great markets, a resolve and determination worthy of champions, a few extra bucks kicking around... ...and most important... A holiday as great as Thanksgiving to bring it altogether with friends and family, and a butt-load of really jazzed eGulleteers who get to "be there" too. Can I get an "Amen", people?!?! Thanks Sam and Kathleen!

Fore Street is Sam Hayward's place. A big favorite here. Hope it was Smashing!

This thread is hilarious and the timing is ironic!!! I have a couple in-laws episodes to add but I'm pretty sure my new wife has been reading my posts lately... better not then... (hi sweetie! Yes I love thanksgiving at your house, yes I do!!!)

I'm freakin'.... I definitely go primarily for the produce and inevitably end up at the register with some cheese, a bottle on special and something else. I suppose the foot traffic is big enough to keep them from moving to, say, the Dive shop next to Becky's which has great parking. Parking issues have kept me from shopping at PGG on a regular basis. I wonder if they have considered a cafe there? Back when I worked in the Old Port I often went in there for the lunch sandwiches.

Parking is free at PPM if you get your ticket from the garage across the street stamped by a vendor. It'll be a piece of cake. Have fun, just don't forget to breathe!

You r-r-rang?! Nothing new to report on the cheese front besides what's mentioned, but I'm not looking very hard these days. The cheese variety at the Public Market is hard to top. Love the place, but Christian is right about the wine dept. Portland Green Grocer does heavy cheese volume and variety/price makes it my favourite. They have excellent produce and reasonable wine too. Wild Oats is a reasonably good cheese spot too which would make it my choice for the one-stop plan - it has great pies. Be advised that since it's come to town, the place gets jammed on holidays and in spite of their best efforts, the place falls apart. Expect long lines, stock shortages and general confusion. Solution? Phone in special requests then get in and out early ... or go to the (very large) Forest Avenue Hannaford, the most dependable but not very imaginative source for your sure-to-be-fabulous menu. edit to add: Don't forget a seafood item, oysters perhaps? Scallops are now in season as of the 15th. The quality is so good up here it is scary. DO NOT BUY IT anywhere else but HARBOR FISH MARKET or the renowned BROWNE TRADING.

...and for those who are outside of it's distribution area, Here Is Their Link.

For those who are fans of Uni, the Maine Sea Urchin Fishery is underway until January 11th '05. Gulf of Maine Uni is delicious but highly perishable. Ask the Chef of it's origin if you order.

...that is awesome...

Chicago Cake Company Chicago Custom Cakes Katie's Custom Confectionary [est. 2002] It doesn't matter that you aren't in Chicago proper for the first two if you're aiming for a national distribution. My $.02 and yes I do logos!

Hmmm... d'you think she's lurking around here???!!!