Bar Lola

Tuesday I visited two more items on the Portland Food Map calendar. The opening party for the Simply Devine Brownies new store, in the Eastland Park Hotel lobby at 4:30 PM.

From there I went to the Wine Dinner at Bar Lola on Munjoy Hill.

Five courses paired with five wines from Portugal!

Chilled Mussels  Escabechie w/ pickled Peppers /  Vino Verde, 2008

Caldo Verde w/Chorizo  & Smoked Paprika / Quinta Do Alqueve 2006

Serano Ham & Cheese Torta w/Puff Pastry & Baby  Greens /
Domingos Touriga Nacional & Syrah, 2006

Herb Crusted Market Fish w saffron Cream / Nieport Twisted Douro, 2006

Nestled on a Bed of Local (Ocean Approved) Seaweed

Caramel Chocolate Rice Pudding / Nieport Ruby Port, NV

Yours truly got to taste little bites along the way and can say it tasted as good as it looked!
Website is here.
100 Congress Street | Portland, Maine 04101 | 207.775.5652 | info@barlola.net


Tomorrow remember the Farmers Market is in Monument Square.  Black Tie Bistro has a cooking class at their Commercial Street Market. Website is here. Info about classes is at the bottom of the page.
And I will be at Cinque Terra on Dana Street in the Old Port for a "Slow Food Dinner.

"Piatti per Tutti" A Place for Everbody

Before I get to todays post, I need to note for you boxing fans that I will get to the  PBC New England Championship Semi Finals later in the week, probably thursday.

Today starts a journey thru the Portland Food Map  calendar section.

I check in there often and noticed that this week is especially busy.

The regular monday food & drink trivia at Bull Feeny's

Simply Divine Brownies store opening in the Eastland on tuesday

The Portland Farmers market on wednesday

Maine mead Works Pub Crawl and Shipyards Prelude party on thursday

3 wine tastings... Falmouth, Portland, Scarboro, on thursday & friday

3 cooking classes, including todays post, "Piatti per Tutti" with chef Stephan Lanzalotta, author of "The Diet Code", at Micucci's; and SMCC Cooking Class and Black Tie Bistro are the other two.

Plus the weeks biggies three dinners

The first is a wine dinner, tuesday at Bar Lola on Munjoy Hill,

The 2nd is the "Slow Food Dinner"  wednesday at Cingue Terra

The 3rd is the 4th Annual Allagash Tasting dinner at Vignola!

MONDAY 2 FRIDAY, 14 items: I thought why not do as many as I can or at least one every day.  So let's get started!

Many of you know Stephan's food locally from his previous adventure, Sofia's Bakery, in the Portland's Old Port.  If you missed it, well I'm sorry for you: You will find this on quote his website

"[your cannoli are] better than Ferrara's!
 Molto Bene! Molto Grazie!"-- Frank Serpico

Now days he can be found working his magic on breads and pastries at Micucci's on India street where he also teaches his cooking classes.

The 1st delectable was Cannelloni ("cannelloni are rolled, simple and straight sided, while manicotti are preshaped tubes, often ridged, and usually with ends on a diagonal--homemade versions are rolled corner to corner along the diagonal. Cannelloni can be stuffed with cheese, meat or vegetables and topped with tomato or cream sauce...")

After we finished eating these we needed a dessert, that's where the brownies came in.

Soft but firm, moist, chocolaty with a mix of milk and dark, flaky topped and caramel colored, lovely with a cup of coffee!

Check back daily to follow my week!

PBC11.07_NEChampionshipQuarterFinals

This past Saturday night saw the Portland Boxing Club come alive with a pack crowd for the Quarter Final round of the Boxing New England Amateur Championships.  A competitive eleven bout card saw plenty of spirited action with several knockdowns to highlight the evening and a Portland Boxing Club fighter take the last fight by a stoppage! Next Saturday the Morrills Corner gym hosts the semi finals starting at 8: PM. Visit the PBC website for info on tickets & directions.  Tel 207-761-0975

For lots more photos go to:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/doda_foto/

Misc # 2... Boxing & My 365 Street Portraits

Wanted to give a heads up to the Portland Boxing Club post I'll be making later this week that will have a link to a flickr set with lots of pictures.  They are hosting the 2009/2010 USA Boxing New England Championships. This 123rd annual amateur event started this past saturday with the quarter finals at the Portland Boxing Club, 33 Allen Ave. ( hidden behind Bruno restaurant ). The semi finals will be held this coming saturday at their  gym, 1st fight starts at 8:00.  The finals will be held two week slater, but at the Stevens Avenue Armory.

Tickets can be had at Bruno Restaurant.  More info can be found here.

Now I might have mentioned the "365" project I'm working on.  I'm posting a street portrait, one each day for a year. I go out into the streets of Portland, approach strangers and ask to take their picture. It takes a minute, maybe two. I usually take a group of 20-25 at a time and pick the seven I  like the best. This makes up one week of the year.  I started posting the first pictures to my flickr page on November 1st.  They are grouped in the 365/StreetPhotos/Portland, ME "Set" found along the right side of the page.  Have a look, I've taken people and their pets, kids, groups of 2 to 7 so far. I'm working ahead ( 7 outings so far) and move around to different spots in Portland using a plain portable background. Here are a few that are not included in  the final cut and won't be in the posted 365 set.  So far there basic, but I'll be using different lenses and introduce lights as I work thru the year.

Ay Me Hearty, So You Want to Sail Away

If you grew up reading "Billy Bud",  "2 Years Before The Mast" and the exploits of C.S. Forester's character Horacio Hornblower and always wanted to go to sea, then get you self down to the dock along side the Maine Narrow Gage R.R.  Because your ship is about to sail.  Hopefully around the world! And Captain George McKay is looking for crew.

The sailing ship RAWFAITH, is built after a 16th century race built galleon, but with a non-traditional gaff rig, which allows for sailing with a much smaller crew, 6-10 than a traditional rigged sail layout needing 80-100 sailors. The ship was built by George McKay and his three sons, Aaron, Thomas and Robert in their backyard in Addison, a small village in "Downeast" Maine.Construction of the hull was finished in 1999 after 28 months of work and the above deck and rigging required an additional 20 months. The ship lies 118' bow to stern and 80' to the top of the mainmast has with an 88' deck.

Launched in 2003 McKay has sailed the ship mostly in the Gulf of Maine.  A wind driven electric generator at midships provides power for modern sailing instuments. The hull built of a sturdy white oak is covered in tar.  The ship has proven it seaworthiness sailing in 50 knot winds and seas over 30 feet, once encountering a rogue wave that towered above the masts.

   The inspiration for RawFaith is found in the Captain's oldest child, Elizabeth, who has spent most of her life in a wheelchair due to Marfan Syndrome.  After experiencing mountains of bills, restrictions on field trips and family outings, and intra-family stress, the McKays decided to build a sailing vessel that was wheelchair accessible.  Over time, the McKay's mission to improve their quality of life grew to include others.  Thus RawFaith'smission today is to offer free sailing adventures in order to provide a fun and safe environment for the wheelchair bound and their families to learn how to sail, meet others with similar life situations, and have a fantastic adventure.

  RawFaith is currently seeking goodhearted buccaneer cook and crew to assist with her up and coming sail to New Jersey.  No experience is necessary.  A minimum commitment of two weeks is required, but those who are interested are welcome to stay for future legs of the adventure (Bermuda and Brazil).  For more info see the website link below.

George (c) 609-617-4129
www.rawfaithsailingadventures.com
email: rawfaithsailing@gmail.com