We'll help you plan your best summer yet with our annual roundup of can't miss events! Plus we've got a Face the Music interview with vocal powerhouse Josh Groban who is performing in Portland on 6/24. And as always, we'll help you have a terrific weekend with our hand-picked selection of events. Have fun out there!
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Susan Axelrod
Susan Axelrod's food writing career began in the kitchen; she owned a restaurant and catering business for 15 years before turning to journalism. By day, she is the social media editor for Portland Press Herald. To relax, she bakes, gardens and hikes with her husband and their two dogs, preferably followed by a cocktail or a Maine beer. Susan can be contacted at 791-6310 or saxelrod@mainetoday.com On Twitter: @susansaxelrod
Tickets still available for Taste of the Nation 2014
Chef David Turin, far right, of David’s Restaurants with some of his crew, including bar manager Patrick Ryan Morang, far left, at the 2012 Taste of the Nation.
Photo by Ted Axelrod for Share Our Strength Maine
It is the food event of the summer. And, in addition to being a great time, it makes a big difference in the lives of the 1 in 4 children in Maine who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Share Our Strength Maine’s 9th annual Taste of the Nation is Sunday, June 29 at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. In a seaside setting offering breathtaking views of the Portland Head Light and the open Atlantic, an impressive roster of Maine’s culinary talent will offer their signature dishes, accompanied by wine, beer and cocktails.
The event begins at 4:30 p.m., with a VIP reception beginning at 3 p.m. In addition to food and drink, Taste of the Nation includes live and silent auctions, as well as music by DJ Jon of Hot 104.9.
New this year: several of Maine’s craft breweries — Allagash, Rising Tide, Funky Bow, Peak Organic, Banded Horn, Baxter, Sebago and Shipyard — plus Boston Beer Co., will be paired with select chefs. Signature cocktails will be shaken and stirred by mixologists from Salvage BBQ, David’s Restaurants and Zapoteca.
Tickets are $125 and VIP tickets are $200. They can be purchased at tasteofthenation.org/maine.
Thanks to the restaurants, event sponsors, and the all-volunteer Taste of the Nation committee, the cost to produce this event is low, allowing the majority of the proceeds to be distributed to four of the most effective anti-hunger organizations working to feed hungry children in Maine: Opportunity Alliance, Good Shepherd Food Bank, Cultivating Community and Preble Street Teen Center. Last year, Taste of the Nation Maine raised more than $170,000 for their important work.
Here’s the line-up of participating restaurants and food businesses:
- Back Bay Grill
- Black Point Inn
- Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room/The Corner Room/The Front Room/The Grill Room
- Chebeague Inn
- CVC Catering
- Cooking Matters Food Truck
- DiMillo’s
- David’s/David’s 388/David’s KPT/David’s Opus Ten
- Earth at Hidden Pond
- East End Cupcakes
- East Ender
- Elsmere BBQ
- Eventide Oyster Bar/Hugo’s
- Five Fifty-Five/Petite Jacqueline
- Five-O
- Frog & Turtle
- Fore Street
- The Gelato Fiasco
- Kennebunk Inn
- Native Maine Produce
- Nonantum
- Ocean
- Piccolo
- Pizza By Fire
- Salt Exchange
- Sea Glass
- Vignola Cinque Terre
- Walter’s
- White Barn Inn
- Zapoteca
Taste of the Nation Maine is one of more than 40 Taste of the Nation events across the country, sponsored nationally by American Express, Sysco and Food Network. Local sponsors are: Bill Dodge Auto Group; Hannaford; Maine Magazine; Maine Innkeepers Association; Maine Restaurant Association; Oral & Maxillofacial Surgical Associates; Power Pay; and US Hotels.
