Category Archives: Drink

10 Relentlessly Delicious Courses!

Last night was one of the most epic dinners to have been served at Flanagan’s Table, Maine’s premier wedding destination and hidden pop-up dining paradise. This particular bit of gastronomic excess was helmed by Maine’s own King of Yum, Jason Loring of Nosh and Slab , with help from a couple of Maine’s rising kitchen stars Thomas Pisha Duffly, and Cyle Reynolds.

Course after course seemed to effortlessly flow from the kitchen. What emerged were re-imagined renditions of Nosh classics: ham and cheese, chicken and waffles,poutine! These beautifully crafted full flavor courses surprised and delighted one after another. Pacing and size of each dish was spot on, leaving diners full but mostly capable of sampling each of the 10 courses without need for hospitalization from gastric overload.

It will be hard to top this meal, but for the charitably minded with deep pockets, there are still tickets available for Flanagan’s end of the year charity feast. The ticket price is steep but 100% of money raised goes to help feed hungry children. Tickets may be purchased here

Photos of a few of the many fine dishes sampled:
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Poutine

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Lamb Lolipop

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Corn Friter

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Hot Dog

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Crab salad

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Central Provisions: Just when you thought it couldn’t get better!

I know I can sound like a broken record, but Central Provsions just keeps getting better and better! On our latest visit I was: imbued with joy by the tuna tartar, dazzled by pineapple and heart of palms, and stunned by the new standard for lamb. Accompanying it all was the fantastically versatile Baxter boulevard punch!

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Harvest on the Stage

Kicking off the week of Harvest on the Harbor was an amazing evening of food and wine pairings by some of Maine’s top chefs. With 7 courses it was too much to go over each dish, but some of the standouts were: Cara Stadler of Bao Bao Dumpling House‘s beef tartar was filled with Asian inspired flavors, the foie torchon from Lee Harding Smith’s Oyster Room was my favorite savory dish of the night, David Turin of Opus Ten‘s margret duck and chicken boudin renewed my faith in humanity, and Shanon Bard of Zapoteca’s‘s chile dusted venison was oh so tasty. These dishes plus the others, combined with wonderful wine pairings by Erica Archer’s Wine Wise Events made me Happy, Happy! So many great flavors and textures! Topping it all of was the most deliciously unique desert by Ilma Lopez of Picolo. Her incorporation of root vegetables into desert lead to a beautiful mouth-watering finish! A special thank you to the folks at Coffee By Design for generously matching all funds raised to support The Good Shepard Food Bank.
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Bramhall- A Neighborhood Pub

The new Bramhall Pub is a wonderful subterranean lair of a pub. Filled with shadowy nooks and candlelight. Just perfect for drinking a lazy afternoon away with friends or perhaps an assignation. Located beneath one of Portland’s many artists colonies the crowd is bound to be interesting. On the drink side they have a solid beer collection and a huge alcohol selection. The cocktail list is still in development but their seasoned bar staff is more than capable of matching drinks to anyone’s taste. The menu is smallish, but very good. Thin potato crisps with or without toppings, a wonderful pork sandwich and the soon to be famous sous vide bacon burger.

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