In the first of what's sure to be a slew of year-end coverage, over at Portland Monthly, restaurant editor Karen Brooks curates a retrospective on the Year in Dining 2011. Among the year's standouts, according to the panel: The Portland Farmers Market, Salt & Straw, and Andy Ricker are bandied about as "Food Star of the Year," while Brooks dubs Portland’s baking scene (in particular, Nuvrei, Kir Jensen, and Kim Boyce's upcoming bakeshop) as the culinary scene "Ready for Prime Time" in 2012. [Eat Beat]
