Residents of Oakwood Drive gather annually for a progressive dinner, where they enjoy each other’s culinary talents, show off their dinner tables and see old friends.
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.
The Wrap: This weekend, Two Fat Cats celebrates grand opening of second location
The South Portland location offers seating and – more importantly – free cake for the special event.
What are the odds of getting a seat at The Lost Kitchen? Still slim
They’re still not great, as more than 10,000 cards pour in from 47 states for 2018 reservations that likely will accommodate about 5,000 people.
Otto pizzeria to open 7th Maine location
The new restaurant in Saco, located adjacent to the Cinemagic and IMAX theaters and across from Funtown Splashtown, is expected to be one of the Maine pizzeria’s busiest eateries.
Raymond teenager indicted on manslaughter charge in Windham crash
The Dec. 5 incident killed 15-year-old Westbrook High student Tyonna Adams.
Man, 70, accused of robbing bank with squirt gun indicted on robbery charge
Donald Sturton of South Portland told police he was having trouble paying his bills and was taking medication to treat depression and anxiety.
More Maine restaurants designing thoughtful menus for younger diners
Some chefs say they want to be sure kids have healthy choices, offering more than the usual dinosaur-shaped chicken tenders and mac-and-cheese.
In the week’s Wrap, some breaking lobster news
Larry the Lobster is Woolwich-bound, and another lobster roll food truck is headed to Cape Elizabeth.
Stop whatever you’re doing. A South Berwick man is selling lobster buoy baseball bats.
Bill Page has made upward of 40,000, and he also sells bases made from lobster trap rope.
Ruling that links coffee to cancer isn’t a buzzkill at local java shops
Coffee shop owners and coffee drinkers say they need more evidence that their favorite brew contains a potential human carcinogen.