Maine Food Coma

Joe Ricchio and friends toured four other Maine locales (Bangor, the Fryeburg Fair, Lewiston/Auburn, and Sanford) and did not die of any heart attacks before posting abbreviated shows online. If you enjoy Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations," you'll probably enjoy this show--including the episode when Ricchio sits down with Bourdain backstage at Merrill Auditorium.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: No Reservations (April 23, 2010)

The Lobster Mobster

The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating profile of Ingrid Bengis-Palei, the 66-year-old owner of Stonington-based Ingrid Bengis Seafood:

She has lived in Mexico, Nicaragua, Greece, France, Russia and Israel and is
proficient in Russian and French. She is quite possibly the only seafood
procurer to be nominated for a National Book Award. Her first book, Combat in
the Erogenous Zone, published in 1973 by Knopf and called “remarkable” by
Newsweek, recounts in frank detail her efforts to come to grips with feminism
and the sexual revolution, exploring “man hating,” lesbianism and love. Combat
made her the toast of New York’s literary establishment, and she became friends
with Norman Mailer, Kurt Vonnegut and other writers. But she could not handle
the pressures of fame and fled to Stonington. “I settled for notoriety here
versus celebrity in New York City,” she said.

- John C.L. Morgan

On Maine's Blueberries

The Atlantic:

They're sold pretty much everyplace along Route 1:
gas stations, convenience stores, nurseries, and one-lawn-chair roadside stands
that annoy summer travelers forced to crawl anyway as people like me pull over
for a quick quart. In fact on the way up I went through a quart in only the hour
or so between Brunswick and Rockland, and then roughly a quart a day while I was
there, with an a bonus afternoon pint thrown in on top of the morning's quart on
the long trip back. The grainy, dry texture makes them somewhere between the
cultivated blueberries we all know (and that I can consume by the pint but not
the quart), which may be sweeter, softer, and juicier but not necessarily
better.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Quote, Unquote: Trevor Corson (March 18, 2009)

Mainers Responsible for Popularity of Competetive Eating

NYT:

At noon Eastern on Sunday, tens of thousands of onlookers and millions of
television viewers will wonder how someone like last year’s champion, Joey
Chestnut, can swallow a record 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. A few may
wonder who is responsible. One is a 45-year-old named George Shea, who dons a
straw hat and spews full-throated commentary and tall tales of gorging glory as
the M.C. The other is his brother Rich, 41, who provides tongue-in-cheek
observations for television. Thank them. Blame them. Curse them. Relish them.

Until reading this article I'd forgotten I'd witnessed history when I stood in the parking lot of Costa Vida (now Loco Baja Grill) in South Portland and watched the fourth-ranked competitive eater in the world devour 10 3/4, 18-ounce burritos in 12 minutes en route to winning the 2007 edition of the Costa Vida World Burrito Eating Championship. Ah, the memories.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. Video of the 2008 version of the event can be seen here.

No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain's show "No Reservations" is a personal favorite, so it's only natural that I'd feature the first part of the show's episode of Maine, which was aired on national television earlier this month. Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be seen here, here, here, and here respectively.

- John C.L. Morgan

On Moxie

Gastronomica:

For someone raised on it, sipping a Moxie is a
symbolic act, a performance of one’s "Maineness." It’s the Louisianian sucking
the head of a crawfish. The debate over the relative merits of Memphis, Texas,
and Carolina barbecues. The Tennessean passing on an iced tea in a chain
restaurant because it’s not "sweet tea."

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Them Are Fightin' Words (January 17, 2010)

Storm Remedy

The Bollard's John Myers might have just the tonic you're looking for to cure that onset of winter blues.

- John C.L. Morgan

Quote, Unquote: Charles Colgan

"There used to be three legs supporting the economy in Aroostook County: Loring Air Force Base, the forest products industry, and the potato industry. One of those legs went away entirely and the other two got sawed off."

- Economist Charles Colgan on the exodus of Aroostook residents.

Source: Peter Smith's "You Say Potato" in the July 2009 Down East.

- John C.L. Morgan

Food for Thought

Jessica Tomlinson doesn't just daydream about an ice cream truck selling Maple's Gelato or Beal's Ice Cream:

Portland needs an entire Buy Local truck of items
such as ice cream, bread, dairy, produce and beer. Imagine a truck painted by a
local artist with a jingle produced by local musicians. Did I mention it would
run on biodiesel? You could get an almond croissant from Standard Baking while
still in your jammies. In the midst of making dinner and notice you need a
tomato? Have no fear, here comes the Buy Local truck doing its dusk run, selling
vegetables from neighboring farms. Out of coffee? No problem, flag down the
truck and buy a bag of beans when you hear that ram-a-lama-ding-dong. While
you’re at it, throw in some half-and-half cream from Smiling Hill Farm. It would
be like a mini-Rosemont Market on wheels.

Personally, I'd be content with just a mobile Smiling Hill.

h/t: Portland Psst!

- John C.L. Morgan

Whoopie, Take Two

The New York Times has an article on Maine's role in the development of the whoopie pie, as well as the dessert's increasing popularity elsewhere:

The whoopie pie would probably be Maine’s state
dessert, if the state had one. The filling is generally of one of two types: a
thick, sweet frosting made from Crisco shortening combined with confectioners’
sugar, or, more conveniently, a dollop of Marshmallow Fluff. The cake itself is
typically not especially sweet, and is often on the dry side, since the frosting
lends plenty of sugar and a gooey consistency, said Sandra Oliver, a food
historian and columnist in Islesboro, Me.

- John C.L. Morgan

h/t: Portland Psst!

Related: Whoopie (June 11, 2008)

Quote of the Day

"What? No team name to pay tribute to Allen's Coffee Brandy?"

- Commenter ZenElvisX's reaction to the seven lame nicknames suggested for the new NBA D-League team slated to start play in Portland next fall.

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: Did You Know?

Indeed

"We've reached the point in winter when the snow has gone from fluffy and cute to rock-hard and brown."

- Mary Lake in her Plating Up post on how her homemade Creamy Winter Vegetable Soup fights colds and the winter doldrums.

- John C.L. Morgan

Gluttony

Costa Vida, a chain restaurant in South Portland, put Maine on the competitive eating map last September when it hosted the World Burrito-Eating Championship in its suburban parking lot.

Last September, stars from Major League Eating (MLE) (which was co-founded by Maine natives Richard and George Shea) returned to the Pine Tree State, and students at the New England Film Academy were on hand to film a documentary about the event.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. Timothy "Eater X" Janus, the 2004 MLE Rookie of the Year, has won the event each year. He scarfed down 10.5 eighteen-ounce burritos (about 12 pounds) in ten minutes in 2007 and won this year's event in an "eat-off" after he and another competitor ate 10.3 eighteen-ounce burritos in ten minutes.

Only in Maine

The Oxford Plains Speedway, an auto racetrack in Oxford, Maine, is handing out free Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy visors to the first 200 fans to entice fans to attend Saturday night's races.

Great idea, considering The Champagne of Maine's unusual popularity in the Pine Tree State. In fact, the promo is so ingenious that I flirted with the idea of trekking up Route 26 just to snatch one of the visors for, like, six seconds.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. I just experienced a lightbulb moment: Maybe that's how I can attract a healthy crowd to the, ahem, free outdoor screening of "The Palm Beach Story" in Westbrook's Riverbank Park on Friday, August 22.

Windy Hill Farm

On Location

Though the Winship family has farmed the land on Windham's River Road for four generations, the quaint market boasting the product of Windy Hill Farm--a location worthy of its plainspoken moniker--has been open since only 2000. Nevertheless, they've accumulated a collection of homegrown foodstuffs large enough to stock the pantry and refrigerator of any self-respecting locavore (or, as in my case, to stock the cupboards and freezer with a local flavor to complement a weekly trip to Hannaford).

To wit, a list of the Maine-produced goods one can expect to see during a visit to Windy Hill Farm:

• Beef generated by the Black Angus and Black Angus/Simmental hybrids raised by the Winship's on Windy Hill Farm. Though the cattle are primarily grass-fed, grain and hay supplement their diets.
• Lamb engendered by the sheep from Windy Hill Farm.
• Pork derived from the pigs raised on Windy Hill.
• Poultry from Maine-ly Poultry in Warren, Maine.
• Vegetables grown on Windy Hill Farm, as well as a complementary offering of corn from Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine.
• Eggs from the hens housed at Windy Hill Farm.
• Honey produced by the batch of honey bees cultivated on Windy Hill Farm.
• Pickled goods from Mike's Maine Pickles in Easton, Maine.
• Jams, salad dressings, and salsa made under the Windy Hill Farm label, presumably using Windy Hill Farm ingredients.

- John C.L. Morgan

Just Do It

Grab a quart of Linda's Maine Wild Blueberries (Eddington, Maine). We bought them at Hanny's earlier this evening, and they are delish. Yessah!

Seriously, just do it.

- John C.L. Morgan

Westbrook Chef Knows Lobster

Margaret McLellan, the corporate chef for Westbrook-based Native Maine Produce, has been named the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year.

McLellan won yesterday's Blaine House cookoff with a dish described by the Kennebec Journal as "Maine Lobster purse with wild Maine compliments (sic) and pea shoot salad." And her ingredients consisted of Aroostook flour; native sea salt; Crown O' Maine carrots; Maine maple syrup; lobster from Shucks Maine Lobster (a co-sponsor of the event and another employer of McLellan); and Maine-farmed eggs, milk, butter, tarragon, and goat cheese.

- John C.L. Morgan

Bean-Hole Baked Bean Supper

On Location: Bean-Hole Baked Bean Supper

It's been a while since I'd attended a baked bean supper, but how could I decline an e-mailed invitation that's entitled, "bean suppah deah on saturday?" (My neighbor, the source of this invite, is from Northeast Harbor, so she can get away with Downeast humor that we citizens of northern Massachusetts southern Maine just cannot pull off).

Anyway, we attended the North Gorham Church of Christ's renowned bean-hole baked bean supper Saturday, and here are a few tips and nuggets of wisdom I'll pass along for those who dare to venture to that neck of the woods in the future:

1. Unless you want to learn how messy you are, do not wear a fresh white shirt. By the time I stood up from the table, I was wearing red fruit punch, yellow mustard, and a brownish residue that I hope was a misplaced kidney bean.
2. Speaking of kidney beans, the NGCoC's monthly bean supper consists of the aforementioned kidney beans, as well as pea and yellow-eye beans. And they're homemade and cooked underground in a nearby pit for about twenty-four hours. And did I mention the complementary homemade pies, coleslaw, brown bread, potato salad, and the unmistakable snap of a red hot dog?
3. Don't spill hot coffee on your neighbor. It's often awkward enough to break bread at the elbows of so many strangers even without dumping smoldering java on their laps. Besides, the coffee pots don't advertise a warning for their containment of hot contents, so you're exposing the church--which uses these suppers as a fundraiser to pay the bills--to litigation.
4. It's a lot more rewarding if you indulge in this Yankee tradition while displaying Yankee frugality. I recommend you pay for the $7 ticket ($3 for children) with pre-supper trips to Martini Lane and/or Hannaford with bulging bags of cans and bottles. There's just something rich about the parallelism in both actions.
5. William Lombard, Sr. and my great-grandfather John Nason Labrecque, Sr. began the tradition of NGCoC bean-hole baked bean suppers in the mid-1970s. Not necessarily a show-stopping tidbit, but I'm still glowing with familial pride from this newly discovered fact, so you'll have to forgive the nepotism. Anyway, according to family lore, the two men began hosting sporadic bean-hole suppers after indulging in a bean-hole affair in Maine's western foothills and after one too many chicken roasts were ruined by spitting rain.
6. Bring your appetite because it's an all-you-can-eat buffet--well, at least until the next batch of ninety growling stomachs storms through the door.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. Disclosure: My grandparents Labrecque are members of the North Gorham Church of Christ and think of their monthly stints as supper volunteers as nights out on the town.

P.P.S. Check out this history of the Maine baked bean supper, courtesy of the Maine Folklife Center. Money quote from the Folklife Center's meditation on the bean supper: "When Friday night comes, it's just an urge that comes over me to start that fire and start baking bean-hole beans." Indeed.