A recent dinner at Vinland in Portland, a restaurant known for its commitment to sourcing locally, featured Maine seaweed from Atlantic Holdfast Seaweed Company in each of the tasting menu’s five delectable courses. The evening was part of a series of special events hosted by Maine Fare in celebration of Maine’s bounty, and sponsored by Maine Farmland Trust. The next tasting event will focus on Maine’s hard cider revival, with samplings from six cidermakers from across the state.
Above: Sparkling fresh halibut served with wakame, lovage, oyster mushrooms, and parsnip whey.
Hand-picked Peekytoe crab with fried nori, radish, and strained yogurt.
Bang Island mussels with kelp, garlic, coriander, and yogurt whey. House-made brown bread made with parsnip puree and fermented oat flour.
Monkfish with dulse emulsion, shiitake mushrooms, sunchokes, and nettles.
Diary of a Tomato 
How, uh, interesting. Not my cup of tea, I’m afraid, but great that you are finding such exotic local offerings.
Thanks so much Lou for your comment, it reminds me not to take anything for granted!
YUM!!! I love arame, a chewy, nutty, soft-flavored algae, but I have no problem with diving into those bolder flavors! Plates look beautiful! :)
My favorite of all is dulse… I keep a bag of it in my car for snacks when I get stuck at the bridge ;)
This particular menu is not something I’d order, but proud to say I live close enough to have fresh seafood in Portland whenever I get the urge. Glad you had a delicious meal. :-)
Not everyone’s cup of tea and I was glad to find a fellow seaweed fan to go with!
My kind of meal. Been a long, long time since I had Irish moss would love a dish of the Irish Moss custard.
I love how seaweed is being referred to as “the new kale”!
It looks like an amazing meal!
It was lovely to see another talented chef’s use of this local ingredient!