Don Lindgren talks history of lobster preparation

"Lobster has been identified with the state of Maine for ages and you can find the word Maine in the names of recipes for lobster going back to at least the late nineteenth century."

Meet Don Lindgren, owner of Rabelais: Fine Books on Food & Drink. You're guaranteed to learn something new in this latest video from our Hard Tellin' series with Knack Factory. Don shares with us some history of lobster in recipes and cookbooks. Here's hoping that dogfish follows in the same footsteps as lobster and bluefin tuna. Watch the video and let us know what you think. Happy Fourth! We hope you're eating lots of lobster and fish this holiday. 

A hungry Antiquarian and his love for food and drink

"If I'm looking at a book and it wants to tell me as many stories as it can tell me, it's going to tell me the story of the author of the book, the people who compiled it, perhaps even the people who created the recipes that are one step removed or ten steps removed. What happens to that book after it's sold out into the world? It starts to accumulate all the information about who owned it, what they thought of it, what they disagreed with, and then passing it to the next person to start that whole process all over again."

We wanted to spend time with someone who is equal parts insightful and sort of magical. Our friends at Big Tree Hospitality (Hugo's Restaurant, The Honey Paw and Eventide Oyster Co.) inspired us to talk with the great Don Lindgren of Rabelais: Fine Books on Food & Drink. It is safe to say that Don absolutely did not disappoint.

Hard Tellin' Cousins and Maine Lobster

"It's a surprise to me how many people know about Maine. Everyone has such fond memories whether they are are from there, used to vacation there, or has family there. Everyone is so excited to tell us how they're tied to Maine."

Many thanks to Sabin Lomac of Cousins Maine Lobster for meeting and talking with us at their flagship location in NCIS: Los Angeles. Thanks to Jim Tselikis for helping to set this up.

This is another installment in a series we're producing for Maine Coast Fishermen's Association in which we try to better understand the ins and ours of the Maine fishing industry.

The series, Hard Tellin', aims to demystify how fish get from the water and onto our plates, and to introduce us to those who make that happen.

Gross Confection Bar Pop-Up

Feast your eyes on this "Gross Confection Bar" Pop-up event by Brant Dadaleares at The Honey Paw. It is seriously, seriously gross. Special thanks to Odd Couple for the tunes.

Brant Dadaleares Makes an Eclair

We invited Brant Dadaleares out to a dilapidated garage in Western, Maine. There, he made a breathtaking eclair.

Music by way of Torche. Thanks, Torche!

Flanagan's table and Ilma Lopez Present: Fabulous Femmes

We are so lucky to call Ilma Lopez (Piccolo and, most recently, Caiola's) a client and a friend. We were equally lucky to have been present at Fabulous Femmes, an all star collaboration benefit for the The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center hosted by Lopez and Flanagan's Table.

The lineup included Chefs:

Ilma Lopez
Melissa Kelly [Primo Restaurant]
Krista Desjarlais [The Purple House] 
Cara Stadler [Tao Yuan Restaurant + Bao Bao Dumpling House]
Kim Rodgers [Hugo's Restaurant]
Briana Holt [Tandem Coffee]

Including amazing treats by:

Alysia Zoidis [East End Cupcakes]
Leigh Kellis [The Holy Donut]

Wine pairings with: Erica Archer [Wine Wise]
And drinks by: Briana Lopez [Liquid Riot Bottling Company]

We talked with the chefs about what drew them to participating in the event.

Foundation Brewing Company Party at the Thirsty Pig

As part of our ongoing work with our friends and clients The Thirsty Pig, we were fortunate to join them for their Foundation Brewing Company party late last week. In addition to Allison Stevens of the Pig, we had a chance to talk with John Bonney of Foundation and local man about town Kevin Oates. You'll also catch Vanessa Bresson from Bread & Circus, who you'll also see performing in the background.

Knack Factory Featured in New York Times Article

Photo by Zack Bowen of Knack Factory featured in the NYTimes

Congratulations to our great friends at The Honey Paw on this impressive coverage. We really do love these folks, and following them around for the past few years—both the Big Tree Hospitality family and the Pisha-Duffly's—has been a highlight of the opportunities we have been afforded as part of our work.

(Also, it's splendidly surreal to see one of our photos credited in The New York Times.

The Noodle Making Process at The Honey Paw

We created a video series highlighting the noodle making process at The Honey Paw! Here's the first look. Thanks for watching!

This job included eating caviar all day, so that's cool.

Browne Trading Company, located on Commercial Street in downtown Portland, Maine is an importer and distributor of fine caviar, fresh fish and smoked seafood. They hired us to produce this video about their caviar operation. 

An amazing night at Flanagan's Table with an all-star lineup

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One of the great pleasures of our work is that we get to spend time with many insanely talented folks we love and look up to. Last night at Flanagan's Table we were presented with one of those occasions.

The event presented a six course tasting to benefit the Maine-based organization Full Plates Full Potential. The lineup included Steve Corry, Rob Evans, Sam Hayward, Jeff Landry, Larry Matthews and Lee Skawinski. Arlin Smith hosted the event. That that we are able to work in proximity to some of these amazing folks—and to be fortunate to call several our clients—is beyond an honor.

Winter Point Oysters + Clams

As part of our ongoing coverage of the Pisha-Duffly's Family Feast series, Zack went out and spent some time them and the folks at Winter Point Oysters. Winter Point will be providing clams for the upcoming Family Feast event (Hams and Clams) at Slab this Sunday (September 28th).