Take a lesson from the folks at The Shop, the new oyster bar and store on Washington Avenue in Portland.
Meredith Goad
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.
The Wrap: Notes from the Maine food scene
Openings and closings, and comings and goings in our little corner of the restaurant universe.
Portland jetport the first U.S. airport to recycle all of its de-icing fluid
How the jetport developed a program to collect, distill and reuse the spent fluid in a bid to protect the environment and eventually save money.
Protesters in Portland take a knee to take back a message
Faith-based demonstrators at the jetport ask for the national conversation to return to racial injustice
We invite chefs from 7 local restaurants to cook Super Bowl fare with an Instant Pot
The new kitchen gadget is a pressure cooker. Rice cooker. Steamer. Godsend. We held a competition in the Press Herald newsroom and put the Tom Brady of kitchen tools to the test.
Gelato Fiasco to open Florida scoop shop
This will be the Brunswick-based company’s first out-of-state shop.
Popular Francine Bistro in Camden closes after 15 years
Acclaimed chef and former owner Brian Hill, who has moved to California to be near his young daughter, says slow business during winters was tough on the restaurant financially.
Program in Portland helps restaurant, bar workers identify and confront sexual harassment
Training sessions for people who work in hospitality will teach how to handle the issue in the workplace.
Maine Restaurant Association Names 2018 Maine Chef of the Year
Troy Mains, executive chef at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, will receive the award in March.
Poke and shaved ice coming to Portland
The owner of Thai 9 will open Poke Pop on Congress Street in March.