Meredith Goad

Staff Writer

Many people tell Meredith Goad that she has the best job in Maine, and most of the time she agrees.

Maine has a crazy appetite for food stories, and it’s Meredith’s job to satisfy those cravings with juicy tales from chefs, food producers, local farms, and the state’s fast-growing restaurant scene. Her work appears in Wednesday’s Business section and the Sunday Food & Dining section, and occasionally, but not as often as she’d like, on the front page.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Meredith shamelessly flaunts her knowledge of good barbecue in front of her Yankee friends. She earned a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University, then studied science writing at the University of Missouri, where she received a master’s degree in journalism. She spent the first 20 years of her career covering science and environmental news, then switched to features in 2004, just as Portland’s food scene was taking off.

Her own most memorable meal? Back in the 1980s, on assignment in Finland, she shared a dinner of reindeer and Russian vodka with Maryland’s governor and a bunch of hungry scientists.

Meredith lives in Portland, but spends much of her time off back in Tennessee - either visiting family, or in online archives, researching her family’s history.

Food, Life & Culture

Caiola’s restaurant in Portland changes hands

by Meredith Goad June 15, 2016June 15, 2016

The popular West End restaurant has been purchased by Portland restaurateurs Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez, who own Piccolo on Middle Street.

Food

When it comes to running a restaurant, can one man do it all?

by Meredith Goad June 15, 2016August 15, 2016

At Bill’s Original Kitchen in Kittery, Bill Clifford is a one-man restaurant show, serving as proprietor, host, waiter, chef, cashier, busboy and dishwasher.

Health

At 3 Maine hospitals, the meals appeal

by Meredith Goad June 12, 2016June 9, 2016

We sampled food at Mercy Hospital, Maine Medical Center and Central Maine Medical Center. Here’s what we thought:

Health

Once an afterthought, hospital food goes upscale

by Meredith Goad June 12, 2016June 9, 2016

The addition of professional chefs in hospital kitchens, along with room-service dining, is making hospital food an essential part of healing.

A Word With the Boss, Homegrown, Source

No more ups and downs with the Cowboy Yoyo

by Meredith Goad June 12, 2016June 12, 2016

This toy, made by a Maine advertising professional in honor of his uncle, teaches dexterity and patience – to adults! – through cowboy-inspired rope tricks.