Month: May 2013

This Week’s Events: Josh Christie, Paciarino Cooking Demo, Johnny Appleseed, Drinking with Men, Wicked Good

| Posted in Events

Monday — In’finiti is holding a Broadbent Selections wine dinner.

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting the monthly Local Foods Networking Breakfast.

Wednesday — Ned Wight owner of New England Distilling will be at The Great Lost Bear making cocktails using his gin, and  the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Josh Christie author of Maine Beer: Brewing in Vacationland will be at Rising Tide for a book signing, Paciarino will be doing a cooking demonstration, there will be a lecture at the Maine Historical Society on Johnny Appleseed, and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beers from Harpoon Brewery.

Friday — Rosie Schaap author of Drinking With Men will be speaking at SPACE, and there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont.

Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market of 2013 is taking place, Wicked Good Street Kitchen will be at Rising Tide as part of the brewery’s weekly food truck series.

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.

Review of Ri-Ra & Maine Restaurant Inspections

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Ri-Ra.

RiRa does Irish-inspired pub fare extremely well. Traditionalists and meat lovers will enjoy the pub menu and community atmosphere. If the upstairs is open, try dining there for a less crowded experience. The stout-steamed mussels are amazing.

They’ve also published a set of four articles about restaurant inspections in Maine.

Under Construction: Otto in South Portland

| Posted in Under Construction

According to an article in Sentry, Otto Pizza is planning to open a new location in South Portland at 159 Cottage Road.

The property, currently vacant, that may become the new Otto was previously a Getty gas station. It sits on a busy downtown intersection at Cottage Road and Highland Avenue surrounded by the South Portland Public Library, the Holy Cross School and Red’s Dairy Freeze.

Artemisia Cafe Now Serving Dinner (Updated)

| Posted in Openings

Artemisia Cafe on Pleasant Street has started serving dinner, Wednesday through Saturday. The evening service is run by husband and wife team Guy and Heather. You can see photos of the menu below (click to enlarge).

The restaurant wasn’t very busy when I was there, but based on my meal (Muhummara appetizer, Pappardelle with Braised Chicken for a main course followed by Lemon Vanilla Layer Cake) I can’t imagine that will be the case for very long.

Update: According to a PFM reader comment, Heather and Guy are Maine natives who spent time working at restaurants in and around San Francisco including Chez Panisse.

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Under Construction: Bissell Brothers Brewing

| Posted in Beer

Mainebiz has published an article about Bissell Brothers Brewing Company, a new brewery under development in Portland.

According to their business plan, the two brothers aim to brew unique, complex, unfiltered ales targeted at the growing market of craft beer in Maine and greater New England. The beers will be packaged in both kegs and silver 16-ounce cans sold in four packs, the latter of which they say is a rapidly growing segment of the craft beer market. They plan to sell, distribute and promote their product in-house, essentially by word-of-mouth and personal connections.

The article also makes passing mention of Banded Horn Brewery.

Reviews of Blue Rooster & Nosh

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review Blue Rooster,

The rest of the menu, though, costs no more than the typical Portland sandwich (around $7) and tastes a good deal better. Many of the details are fantastic, like pickling the yellow tomatoes on the porcetta sandwich, which brings out its fruitiness (and its grapefruit color) even as it adds some sour. A sweet-salty pork belly, with a nice crispy edge, was stuffed with a spicy, juicy sausage. All the richness was cut by some sharpness arugula and the sour tomato. Thoughtful!

and The Golden Dish has published a review of Nosh.

One memorable sandwich that I had at lunch a while ago was something called Maine Shrimp Bah-Mi: fried shrimp on a house-made hoagie with foie gras pate, pickled cucumber, hot sauce and cilantro.  Only a culinary maverick could dream up this combination to stuff into a hoagie, the aftermath being you adjust your belt notch one less.

Reviews of Olive Cafe, Little Tap House, Standard Baking

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a review of Olive Cafe,

My lunch date went for the Mediterranean Plate ($9.99), which was a glorious array of hummus, falafel, tahini sauce, seasoned and fried cauliflower, house salad and fresh pita bread. She said it was plentiful and flavorful, and a heck of a bang for one’s buck. Suffice to say, neither one of us can wait to get back there.

and a bar review of Little Tap House.

I ended up ordering a beer not yet listed on the print menu from a new brewery out in Lyman: Funky Bow’s End of the Line Pale Ale on tap. Being in a new bar, I figured I’d try the new brew. The bartender even offered me a small glass with a sip or two to try before I committed to a pint. I was not one bit disappointed.

Lauren Loves to Eat has continued her Portland series with commentary on Standard Baking.