In search of Figa: gone today, here tomorrow, John Golden Review for Portland Press Herald Blog

Portland Press Herald: Bar Guide: Friendly Figa moving up list of 'bars to frequent'

For Brazilians, Figa is a symbol of good luck. For Portlanders, Figa is a newish bar/restaurant found on Congress Street by looking for the bright orange sign among the surrounding stores and studios. Read more...

Down East: The Spice Route

Lee Farrington was just six when she began to understand the alchemical power of an open flame. �My earliest recollection is coring a tomato, dropping it in boiling water, and watching the peel come off,� says Farrington, who first learned to cook in her grandmother Mary�s Kentucky kitchen.Read more...

Down East: Finding Figa

Figa belongs to a breed of restaurant that used to dominate the Portland dining scene: Owner-chefs performing like culinary alchemists from their closet-sized kitchens and 20-seat restaurants. These were boites balanced on shoe-string budgets. Portland�s a good place for this, a small city environment with big aspirations in a town where rents are still cheap. Read more...