Portland in finals for national Food Network Awards

PORTLAND – The state’s largest city has proven that there’s more to Maine than clam chowder, lobsters and corn on the cob.

Portland is one of three finalists for “Delicious Destination of the Year” in the 2007 Food Network Awards. The others are Minneapolis, which intends to prove it has more to offer than lutefisk “hot dishes,” and the “other” Portland out West.

Portland Mayor Nick Mavodones Jr. refused to engage in trash talking about the competition.

“I think they’re both bigger cities than Portland, so the fact that we’re a 65,000-person community and we’re stacking up against those that are considerably larger says a lot about Portland and the quality of the eateries here,” he said.

The winners will be announced during the network’s first awards show on April 15. The host will be celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

The awards show was taped on Feb. 23 in Miami, but the Food Network is keeping the winner under wraps. Not even Emeril is talking.

A Food Network team chose Portland and the two other contenders after visiting new and established restaurants, bakeries and markets.

Susan Stockton, senior vice president for culinary production at the network, called Portland “a small city with a big voice” and said folks in the food scene here are “passionate, proud and well-versed about their part of the food world.”

“Not only do they take advantage of their amazing seaside bounty,” she said, “but they have developed a system of local farmers, bakers, creative chefs and foodies who keep raising the bar on the quality and diversity of their offerings.”