I suppose the recurrence of 50 degree weather whet my appetite for a hearty fish stew, which turned out to be the perfect lunch for me today.

Any number of Portland restaurants could have fit the bill. But I decided the best place for it was Scales in the Portland Public Market. At $10.95 it’s a good deal, since versions of it abound at nearly double the price at Scales’ related eateries, Street & Company and Fore Street.

The aioli that is attractively drizzled over the serving is delicious, and the well made stew itself is filled with mussels, swordfish and mahi-mahi in a concentrated broth. It’s served with a warm dinner roll, which was just right.

While at the market I noticed that the Maverick Meat Market has finally opened. It looks a lot different from the former Forbes site. I’m not sure why management, for instance, decided to remove the old meat cases in favor of installing self-serve receptacles, where all the meats are packaged in supermarket plastic wrap.

Perhaps they felt it would catch the public eye. I’m not so sure.

Does this mean there won’t be a butcher on the premises? We hardly need another basic meat emporium when Hannaford’s and other supermarkets do an admirable job.

Alas, there is a full-time butcher. And I asked him about the products on display. He explained that all the meats are natural, a term which can fleetingly border on “organic” without the certification. The pork comes from Canada and the chickens are Murray’s free range. He wasn’t sure where the lamb hailed from, but Maurice, the head butcher who was not there today, would know for sure. The beef is Black Angus. Specialty cuts of meat can be ordered in the morning and picked up by afternoon.

I was hoping that this new shop would be a specialty butcher. Certainly, with the Market’s ties to Pineland Farms, a better direction might have been to open a shop using local producers. I rumble around the county easily enough buying meats from local farms like Spring Brook and Sunrise Acres. If you haven’t had Spring Brook’s beef or pork, go to their Greely Road shop in Cumberland Center and buy their flank steak or any of their farm raised pork. They’re all first rate.

I suppose market research didn’t occur to anyone. It’s no secret that an organic or specialty meat market does not exist anywhere in our region. To have one in Maine’s largest city would have made sense and have filled a void. But I guess realities are realities at the Public Market, and the aim is to serve the proverbial general public.

What also puzzles me about this new place is why the name Maverick was chosen. It’s clearly derived from the Public Market’s restaurant of the same name—an establishment that’s barely received any critical acclaim whatsoever.

In a city known for its fine restaurants why promote such a mediocre one to offer a predetermined concept of “value?” I’ve been to Maverick’s on numerous occasions, if only out of curiosity, to see if they’ve improved. For the most part the menu and execution of dishes are lackluster.

I don’t think it’s an auspicious beginning for the Maverick Butcher Shop to debut on the heels of a lame namesake.

Still, I hope it succeeds, and that my comments are ultimately proven totally wrong. I will shop there and report back.

On a brighter note I’ve been anxiously waiting for the India Street bakery to open. In case you haven’t heard, this is Dana Street’s newest venture. It’s a bake shop devoted to American baking, with gold old-fashioned cakes and pies.

It’s called Two Fat Cats, Sweets from Scratch. Apparently the name of the bakery heralds from the baker/proprietor who has two fat cats. Cute.

The baker is a very pretty young woman named Kristen DuShane, who’s no stranger to the Portland food scene. She’s both a chef and baker but prefers the sweet side of her profession. She has had stints at Fore Street, Café Uffa and Una.

The menu will include cupcakes, yellow cakes, all manner of birthday cakes-- with classic frostings like vanilla, chocolate and meringue.

Specialty cakes available daily will include black forest cake. coconut cake, strawberry cream cake, red velvet and Boston cream pie. The shop will also offer seasonal fruit pies and cream pies. Other sweets include crisps, cobblers, puddings, ice box cake as well as cookies, whooppie pies and biscuits.

The shop sounds like it will be a winner. Certainly the notion of an American bake shop is a rarity these days. Truly, what can be more satisfying than American baking based on classic techniques?

Between 158 Bakery in South Portland, which has splendid breads and baked goods, Foley’s, for the fancier stuff and now Two Fat Cats, Portland could become known for its fine bakeries.

By the weekend we’re supposed to be back into the summer swell of temperatures, which couldn’t happen soon enough for me since that’s the kind of weather I like for barbecuing.

I’m even more excited about barbecuing since I discovered a fabulous new cookbook on the subject. It’s called Peace, Love and Barbecue, which I found at Longfellow Books. If they’re out of it, they can order it quickly.

If you love barbecue fare, I urge you to get this book. It’s written by pit master Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe who offer a compendium of recipes, techniques, lore and other information from renowned BBQ joints and shacks in the south all the way to the famous Jake’s Boss Barbecue in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

The diversity of BBQ fare runs the gamut. From Brunswick Stew, Shout Hallelujah Potato Salad, Mike’s Comforting Bread Pudding, Elizabeth’s Black-Tie Cole Slaw, Wilbur’s Hush Puppies, Caroline McLemore’s Cornbread Salad, 17th Street’s Tangy Pit Beans…well, you get the idea.

So far I’ve tried Mama Faye’s Home-Style Potato Salad, which uses both mayonnaise and sour cream in the dressing and it’s wonderful; Mike’s Crunchy Cole Slaw, a recipe from the famous 17th Street Bar & Grill in Murphysboro, Illinois, and McLemore’s Cornbread Salad, which is a regional dish that is utterly delicious.

I also found one of my all time favorite recipes for barbecue sauce that goes by the name of Apple City Barbecue Sauce. Its secret ingredient--no surprise--is grated apple. I made it last night to slather onto Pork Chops on the grill. It’s a great sauce, so good in fact, that if it weren’t so easy to make I’d do it in big batches and can it.

There are many BBQ sauce recipes in the book, with lots of information on rubs, spices and no shortage of wisdom on the etiquette and technique of proper barbecue.

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