Portland Maine is known for it’s wide array of great local businesses. There is a great deal of support and enthusiasm for them all to be successful. Portland is particularly known for its restaurant/food scene as there is so much amazing local food available here. We have some of the best meats, seafood, cheeses, produce,and grains right here! It is much easier here than in many places to buy and eat fresh, local and in-season.
The North Star Music Cafe opened up a little over a year ago in April of 2007 and wears many hats. They are a cafe that serves fair-trade teas and coffees, wine, local and imported beers (Portland also has a really strong beer culture… some of the best is brewed right here!) fresh, local, homemade and healthy foods that cater diets (they even offer millet bread and spelt bagels that are made in a local bakery that I’ll review sometime soon!). They are also an incredibly successful music venue that features local acoustic musicians, and gallery showcasing local artists. We are lucky to have them here!
In a time where oil and gas prices are totally ridiculous, where we are all pinching our pennies a bit more aggressively, it is more important now than ever to spend wisely, locally and sustainable.
Tamara, a chef from the North Star, knew exactly what to concoct as an incredibly versatile and healthy pick me up. A homemade energy bar! These bars totally rock my world. They are called Star Chaser Bars and are made in two varieties, peanut butter (with raisins) and chocolate (with a peanut butter base and vegan chocolate chips). You can see and pronounce of all the ingredients, they’re made with honesty and love and have this ‘melt in your mouth’ quality that makes them completely addictive… all this on top of only costing you $1! Yep, that’s right. $1 for a bar made from truly wholesome ingredients, for a bar that will support a local business AND your health. All this verses many other bars made in other states or other countries that will cost you three times as much. Yeah, I’ll still by by greens bars because I’m a creature of habit with a bit of a spending problem when it comes to the bars… this we all know.
Tamara’s Star Chaser bars are super soft and would be delicious crumbled up into yogurt, or even warmed up just a tiny bit to be mixed into some vanilla ice cream for both a decadent and healthy dessert. The ingredients for the chocolate version are: Organic peanut butter, Raw honey, Rolled oats, Organic cocoa, Organic Walnuts, Sesame seeds, Organic sunflower seeds, and vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips. Although there is no nutritional information available, these guys are wheat-free, and certainly full of fiber, very healthy fats and protein, and chocolate for the soul.
Ceck out the North Star! www.northstarmusiccafe.com
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