Month: April 2011

Under Construction in SoPo: Bathras Market, Mr. Delicious, Taco Trio

| Posted in Under Construction, Uncategorized

Three new businesses are under construction in South Portland:

Bathras Market– the Bathras Market was a mainstay in Willard Square for 35 years (1954 – 1989). Now the former owner’s grandson and his wife are working on bringing the market back to life. They will be selling “local and natural foods, cheeses, meats, wine, beer, and specialty food” as well as “seafood, including lobsters, as well as sandwiches and distinctive prepared foods.” They’re targeting early May for the grand opening.

Mr. Delicious– Glenn Perry and Ian Hayward are teaming up to open a “a small but complete grocery store, with selective produce, meat and fish, wines and lots of prepared foods” in Willard Square. The plan on having “lots of grilled and braised meats, and, above all, genuinely memorable sandwiches.” Mr. D will be located in a building at 7 Pillsbury Street. They’re target open date is mid-July.

Taco Trio – a late night taco shop is planning to open in South Portland on Ocean Street. According to The Forecaster, the owners are Manuel Peña and Karen Massmussen.

“This will be like the traditional food you get on the streets of Mexico,” he said. “Soft corn tacos and traditional spices.” For now it will be a lunch take-out with brunch once a week, but they hope to offer dinner service in the future.

This Week’s Events: OF Farms and Fables, Anne Lappe, The Greenhorns

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Bar Lola is holding a wine dinner featuring West Coast wines.

Wednesday — there will be a wine tasting at RSVP and a cooking class at Black Tie.

Thursday — There will be a dramatic reading of the play Of Farms and Fables at SPACE Gallery for the opening night of Food+Farm 2011. The Great Lost Bear will feature Sebago Brewing for their weekly Thursday night showcase, and LeRoux Kitchen will have a baking demonstration.

Friday — Food+Farm continues with a talk by Anna Lappé from the Small Planet Institute. A beer tasting is taking place at West End Deli.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center. Food+Farm moves out to Cape Elizabeth in the morning to “wake up” the Cultivating Community farm and in the evening back at SPACE there will be a screening of The Greenhorns followed by a discussion with the director. Sweet Marguerites will be offering tastes of their excellent chocolate at whole Foods.

Sunday — Food+Farm wraps up on Sunday with a pair of workshops on urban farming at the Urban Farm Fermentory.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

New Food Blog: Eat Here. Go There.

| Posted in Reviews, PFM

A new food blog entitled Eat Here. Go There. has been added to the Food Map blog list. The author is a transplant from West Virgina and a self described “newbie Mainer, writer, bon vivant, wife, and puppy momma”. The most recent two posts are reviews of Pai Men Miyake and Boda.

Finally, Ben decided on the Pork Hocks braised in Star Anise, which the menu told us is one of the most popular dishes in Thailand! Score! The pork was so tender it came apart easily with a fork, and it tasted great, with just the slightest hint of licorice from the star anise. All in all I thought it was one of the most interesting combinations of spices I have ever had in a dish. I would consider it a must try for anyone.

Under Construction: Foley’s Bakery & Apsara

| Posted in Under Construction

Foley’s Bakery is returning to 1 Monument Square to take over the space that was most recently occupied by Mousse. I’ve also heard that a second bakery may be opening in Monument Square this Summer but don’t have any firm details on that yet.

A Cambodian restaurant called Apsara is under construction at 349 Cumberland Ave. For a long time this was slated to be the home of Mitpheap World Cafe.

See the Under Construction List for information on other up and coming businesses in Portland.

2 More Weekend Events: Wine & Soup

| Posted in Events

Here’s a couple more events for you to consider for your weekend calendar:

Saturday, 4-6 pm at Freeport Cheese & Wine – Ned Swain from Devenish Wines will be pouring a set of wines from Oregon and Washington state. The wines were imported by Wayne Clark, a former resident of Southern Maine who started Orwa Wines to bring wines from the Northwest to his former home state.

Sunday 7-10 pm – SPACE Galley is hosting Soup which is billed as a “collaborative public dinner event and democratic experiment in micro-funding for creative projects in Portland.” If you go, don’t forget to bring a bowl, a spoon, $5 and your 5 minute presentation. 10 people will get selected at random to present their idea and everyone present gets to vote on which proposal wins all the entrance proceeds for the night. The food “donated by Scratch Bakery, 50 Local, home, Aurora Provisions and Local Sprouts”.

Reviews: Market Street Eats & Harmon’s Lunch

| Posted in Reviews

From Away has published a review of Harmon’s Lunch,

The burgers at Harmon’s are thin, and cooked to a solid medium. They are topped with a thick layer of American cheese, which melts and oozes perfectly into the nooks and crannies on the surface of the burger. The “red relish” is a kind of pickle relish/tomato hybrid, and the onions are sublime; slow cooked for so long that they become incredibly sweet, with the consistency of a marmalade.

and a review of Market Street Eats.

The pita that Market Street Eats uses almost requires a new term to be invented; the word “wrap” is no longer really descriptive enough. These are some inspired sandwiches, served by a friendly, conversational staff, in a casual restaurant space that it’s easy to imagine yourself visiting at least weekly.

Gogi Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Gogi is now open for business. The menu is a mash-up of Latin American and Asian food such as Shiitake Mushroom Tacos, Kimchi Fried Rice and Scallop Ceviche. Prices range from $2.50 for the Tofu Taco to $8 for the Crabmeat Quesadilla. Gogi is owned by Ian Farnsworth who also runs Slainte.

Bar Review of Figa

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Bar Guide has published a review of Figa.

The bar menu is chosen specifically by Farrington, with input from her staff. With wine offerings evenly split between reds and whites and available by glass ($7-$15), half bottle and full bottle ($29-$88), there are many choices for a wine enthusiast. Especially of interest at Figa is the sparkling wine selection, with about ten different options it is one of the most extensive I have seen. If you want to try out a few, order the Sparkling Flight ($13), a sampling of Rose Brut, Cava and Prosecco sparkling wines.

Review of Shanghai Tokyo

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Press Herald has published a review of Shanghai Tokyo.

Shanghai Tokyo has three personalities — one Chinese menu, one Japanese menu and a Thai menu. It would certainly take more than one visit to determine whether a diner is a good match for a place that has 288 items on its combined lunch and dinner menus. (Yes, I counted them.) We zeroed in on the lunch menu, which is much more manageable on its own.

Novare Res & Ebeneezer’s, “Legendary Beer Bars”

| Posted in Profiles

Josh Christie profiles Novare Res and Ebeneezer’s in part 8 of his series on The Beer of Maine.

Maine is lucky enough to have two beer geek meccas known ’round the land. When beer websites, magazines, and periodicals list the best beer bars in the country, you can rest assured that Ebenezer’s, Novare Res, or both will pop up. Both combine the best of British pubs, German beer gardens and Belgian cafes. Good food? Heck yes. Great atmosphere? You bet.

And the beer? The beer?! Out of this world.