More beer, sushi, ramen, local plates, and pancakes for Portland. (If only anyone could find any staff.)
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 Food & Dining section and the Sunday Source 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.
Fans of hard seltzer are finding lots to love in new flavors flowing from Maine’s craft breweries
With fewer calories and less alcohol than beer or cocktails, hard seltzer appeals to health-conscious drinkers – and many others.
Cheverus High grad develops product that’s hard seltzer adjacent
NOCA drinks are now for sale in several states.
The Wrap: MOFGA store opens for the season
Mainers win specialty food awards. Lobster pizza lures diners.
Diners are back, but with staff and supply shortages, restaurants are still scrambling
Some changes made during the pandemic have helped them keep up with the onslaught of business that they desperately need, but others have had to go.
Tastefully taking on tacos: Once hard to find in Maine, a Mexican staple suddenly stands tall
Restaurants are filling tortillas with local ingredients – haddock! lobster! beaver! – as well as experimenting with fusion offerings that span the globe.
The Wrap: Could Gordon Ramsay be coming to Maine?
Bam Bam Bakery finds a home, Cafe Louis opens, and Mast Landing Brewing Co. chooses a chef.
The Wrap: A festival of cheese coming to Pittsfield
Restaurants open – and reopen
Cousins Maine Lobster owner lands another Food Network show
Sabin Lomac is the host and a judge on ‘Grill of Victory,’ a barbecue competition premiering Monday.
Lee Nelson is back in our homes, now in the L.L. Bean catalog
The retired news anchor’s first modeling job was a photo shoot for the summer issue.