About Little Scarlet

My name is Portia Formento and I’m the writer and creator of Little Scarlet - a food blog dedicated to foods I love and the places that serve them. I was born here in New York and grew up in a part of New Jersey that truly brings honor to the Garden State. After four years of wonderful Southern eating in college (thank you, Virginia!), I moved back to New York and have been eating and writing ever since.

Little Scarlet hard at work!

This picture of me was taken at Cockrell’s Creek Seafood Deli in Virginia, just after the Urbanna Oyster Festival (if you’re ever in the area in early November, you have to go!)

I’m a “meat and potatoes” kind of girl at heart, but was lucky enough to grow up in a no-picky-eaters kind of household, in a wonderfully diverse town full of great foods from all over the world. I love really flammable green curry and salty Virginia ham, vegetable korma and bibimbap, bánh mì and afternoon tea, matzoh ball soup and my mother’s chili. I count down the days every year to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party (best pulled pork I’ve ever had!), and I love asparagus straight from the ground. I could live off of rye toast and Winesap apples.

I’m so grateful for all of my readers and you all ask a lot of questions about me and Little Scarlet! I’ve answered the most frequently asked questions below, but if you ever want to ask me anything, please shoot me an e-mail - I promise I’ll get back to you.



Q: What do you do when you’re not running Little Scarlet?
I work for a scientific publishing house. We publish a lot of books and journals, it’s kind of a big deal... I love country music, modern art, dogs, and walking around the city, and I spend way too much time on epicurious.com while watching Law & Order re-runs.

Q: Why did you start Little Scarlet?
I started Little Scarlet during the summer of 2009, hoping to gather enough clips to merit press passes to various food festivals - you know, try to eat fabulous food for free! Not too long after, I became a Featured Publisher with Foodbuzz, and they’ve really been a big help to me with achieving that goal.

Q: Why do you call the blog “Little Scarlet”?
The name “Little Scarlet” is a nod to many different things: childhood memories, my college years in Virginia, a love of summer camp (and the color red!), summers in North Carolina... It was the perfect name for this blog for many reasons - that, and it’s the one my sisters liked best.

Q: Can I e-mail you for dinner recommendations?
The only thing I love more than eating great food is telling other people about it! If you’re planning a visit to New York (or any other destination you’ve seen mentioned on Little Scarlet), please do send me an e-mail (littlescarlet (dot) blog (at) gmail (dot) com) - I’d love to hear from you.

Q: Do you have a good recipe for gumbo? What about a way to use up cauliflower? Have any great ideas for St. Patrick’s Day/Cinco de Mayo/National Sandwich Day?
I love getting questions like these. I have a huge mental rolodex of favorite recipes, a coffee table littered with food magazines, and a bookshelf overcrowded with cookbooks. I would love to help you come up with a great recipe or menu for whatever you have in mind, so please feel free to ask!

Q: Do you write all your own recipes?
I do invent some of them, but more often they’re my own adaptations of recipes I’ve found online, in cookbooks, or on some of the truly wonderful food blogs that are out there. And occasionally, I just pass along a recipe exactly the way that I found it. I always rewrite the recipe directions, but if the recipe isn’t 100% original, I’ll always post a link to where it came from.

Q: Can I send you a free product to review?
Yes, you can definitely send me products! I never write about products I don’t like, but if I do like it and think it would be a natural addition to Little Scarlet, I would certainly post a review. I will, however, always disclose if a certain product I mention was given to me as a free sample - it’s only fair to my readers.

Q: Can I link to your blog? Can I use one of your photographs on my blog or quote you in a review I’m writing?
Everything on this site is protected by copyright, as explained here. Please be sure to ask me before reproducing any content or photographs.



I hope you’ll come back to Little Scarlet for restaurant reviews, recipes, and more! Please see Little Scarlet’s Contact page (above or here) for more information on how to stay in touch.

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Event Reviews
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Creative Commons License
“Little Scarlet” by Portia E. Formento is licensed under a Creative Commons License.