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, Recipes, Signature Dish

Danish Puffs and a cup of coffee bring back memories of a 1960s-era neighborhood klatch

by Meredith Goad February 3, 2016February 3, 2016

Now in her 80s, Edith McCormick still makes the nut-and-cherry-topped pastry for church gatherings, funerals and hungry neighbors.

Business, Food, Local & State, News

Sap is running early in southern Maine, and some maple syrup producers are going with the flow

by Meredith Goad February 3, 2016February 3, 2016

Many sugar houses are already collecting sap and boiling it down into syrup, while others say there are risks in starting the season too soon.

Homegrown, Source

Bodacious Banana Bread Walnuts offer what they promise

by Meredith Goad January 31, 2016February 1, 2016

Yes, this made-in-Maine snack really does taste like banana bread.

Food, Local & State, News

Portland looking for new food vendor for Deering Oaks castle

by Meredith Goad January 27, 2016January 30, 2016

The building is small, so operators will have to be creative, but the city is open to granting the operator a license to sell beer or wine as well as food.