I hope that I bring to the topic of local cuisine a somewhat different point of view. Like some other local food bloggers, I am a recent transplant to Maine, having just moved to South Portland from Queens, New York, where I lived for the last ten years. In my peripatetic life, Queens may be the closest I have to a hometown. By some measures, Queens is the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S., so I have developed the reflexive inclination, wherever I may be, to seek out the best representations of various international cuisines. Thus, the primary emphasis of this blog will be on what, for lack of a better word, is often called "ethnic food," i.e., the foods that reflect the most recent waves of immigration to this country, whether it comes from my own kitchen or those of local restauranteurs, bakers and shopkeepers.
What I will not be doing is comparing local offerings unfavorably to the place I left behind. That would be high foolishness. If anything, this blog may serve as a standing riposte to those friends back in New York who expect me to regret the move. Spite may not be the highest of motives, but I hope it makes for good reading and good eating.
Another relevant feature of my background is my (partial) Greek heritage. This is reflected in the title, a pun on the Greek word orexi and the oldest of epic poems, Homer's Iliad. (And the blog description on top is a loving parody of the opening lines of the Odyssey.) When a Greek host wishes his guests to enjoy a good meal, he says kali orexi. This can be translated into French as bon appetit, but orexi is more than simply appetite. One of the oldest of Greek words, it can mean desire or lust as well. When ancient philosophers urged their followers to moderate and control their desires, the word they used was orexi.
Being Greek means that I grew up with feta cheese, yogurt, olive oil, oregano and good bread as staples, and with lamb, grape leaves, spanakopita, horta and loukoumades as comfort foods. This is by no means how I eat all the time, but it shaped my palate, and it is what I tend to fall back on when at a loss or in need of consolation.
It also means that, like many other children of Greek immigrants, I spent a good deal of my early years in restaurants that my parents either worked in or owned. People who grow up like that either can never escape the restaurant business, or develop a lifelong immunity to it. For me it is the latter--I will never work in a restaurant again, full stop--but dining out remains one of recurrent pleasures. More importantly, it left me with a great respect for anyone who makes a serious effort at making a living from the preparation and service of good food. It is a hard life, which is even harder when one is new to this country, and especially when one goes the hard route of bringing the flavors of an old home to the palates of a new one.
A few final notes and disclaimers. Aside from being the author of this blog, I am also: Stay-at-home father to the wonderful child pictured above, husband of the newest librarian at the South Portland Public Library, a freelancer, and a sometime grant writer looking for a home in the local non-profit and/or higher education communities. The frequency of updates to this blog will vary, based on the demands of those other roles, though I will try for at least one per week. I have signed up for Google AdSense, which I hope isn't too much of a nuisance for readers. I do not choose the ads that appear on here, nor do I necessarily endorse all the businesses whose ads appear. As is in the nature of any food blog, I will often have praise for a local restaurant, shop or food producer. In no case will I have accepted any consideration in exchange for such praise, aside from a tasty meal purchased at their regular prices. A general rule of thumb will be "if I don't have anything nice to say, I won't say anything at all." Regular characters / dining companions for now are my wife, henceforward referred to as Hot Librarian (HL for short), and my daughter, henceforward the Little One (LO for short). Any other recurrent characters who begin to appear as we settle down here may be similarly pseudonymized.
And just as Odysseus could not have completed his journey without the labor of his crew and the aid of Calypso or Nausicaa, so I cannot do it alone. Particularly since I am new to the area, and as yet unfamiliar with all that it has to offer, I encourage comments. Comments are not actively moderated, so all I ask is: No spam, and please be generally respectful.
Kali orexi!
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