Month: September 2014

Review of Lolita

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Lolita.

These come with the local mushrooms and toast ($4) and an heirloom tomato salad ($9). I savor the freshness of the Black Kettle Farm cherry tomatoes with basil and the tang of the bleu cheese (that we left in this time), and find it goes well with the bite of the freshly sliced Bresaola, Crespone and Coppa salamis from Long Island and San Francisco. We also enjoy the warm, creamy sauce on the oyster mushrooms mixed with thyme and garlic, as well as the Jasper Hill Harbison cheese from Vermont and Lakin’s Gorges Prix de Diane from Rockport.

Heirloom Apples/Maine Apple Sunday

| Posted in Farming

This week’s Phoenix includes an article on heirloom apples in Maine.

These aren’t far-off planets as envisioned by a science-fiction writer; rather, these unusual names and appearances describe heirloom apple varieties. As students trundle off to school, the nighttime temperatures begin to dip, and the daylight lessens, apple trees all across Maine are ripening. While we have come to think of apples as only “red” or “green” (and usually disappointingly mealy), local orchards are now offering apples with a plethora of tastes, textures, and uses.

Today, Sunday September 14th, is Maine Apple Sunday. Check out the Maine State Pomological Society website for a complete list of participating orchards.

Review of Fishin’ Ships

| Posted in Reviews

The Blueberry Files has reviewed Fishin’ Ships.

The O.G. preparation of the fish and chips was certainly good – crispy batter, flaky fish, not unpleasantly greasy, with crunchy fries – but the taco was my favorite. Next time, I’ll explore the flavored batters and dipping sauces, as I’m more excited by the unusual flavors the rest of the fish and chips preparations have to offer. 

Under Construction: Huong’s Vietnamese & Ramen Suzukiya

| Posted in Under Construction, Uncategorized

Two new restaurants have submitted their liquor license applications with the city:

  • Ramen Suzukiya is a new noodle house under construction in the newly renovated store front at 229 Congress Street. According to their cover letter, father and son owners Katsuaki and Cory Suzuki plan to serve “fresh homemade ramen noodles using a variety of flour[s] from grain mills in Maine and New England” and that they eventually hope to “cultivate many of the vegetables we will use in my restaurant.”The Suzukis hope to open the restaurant in October. The draft menu (page 68) includes several ramen dishes (shown below) as well as gyoza and rice bowls.
    suzukiya_menu
  • Huong’s Vietnamese Restaurant is under construction at 267 Saint John Street in the space formerly occupied by Vietnam Restaurant. Owner Huong Thi Thu Le hopes to open the restaurant later this month serving “authentic Vietnamese food”. Here’s the salad and pho sections of the menu. The full draft menu is on page 47 of the materials for Monday night’s City Council meeting.
    huongs_menu

For information on all the restaurants under development see the Portland Food Map under construction list.

Bill Murray Beer Week (Updated)

| Posted in Events, Beer

billmurrayAs part of this year’s Portland Beer Week, Novare Res is collaborating with a set of Maine breweries to create Bill Murray inspired beers. Novare has launched a social media campaign (hash tag #billmurraybeerweekME) to persuade Murray to come to Portland and try them out.

BDN beer blog If My Coaster Could Talk reports, “The list of brewers and Bill Murray inspired beers isn’t official yet but the participant list so far is pretty impressive, keep an eye out for updates and expect some fun brews for this event.”

Portland Beer Week will take place November 1-7.

Update: The Press Herald has published an article about this initiative which includes details on the participating brewers.

Reviews: Timber & Central Provisions

| Posted in Reviews

The Golden Dish has reviewed Timber,

With two drinks, tax and tip–and no dessert—this meal was hardly a bargain at $90, but it was awfully good.  My next “budget” meal there will be the rotisserie chicken—half a bird for $19.  Add in all the sides, cocktails and more, well, Timber is a steak house extraordinaire and you have to pay accordingly.

and the September edition of Down East includes a review of Central Provisions.

There are other Asian accents. The yellowfin tuna crudo has a hint of sesame, radish, and mustard — just enough to complement the pink flesh dissolving on your tongue. The spicy beef (carpaccio) salad has a nice Sriracha kick. And the halibut — a beautiful hunk of fish, seared crispy on the top and beribboned with grilled garlic scapes — has just a hint of heat from garlic and jalapeño to brighten the flavor of this dense fish.

Under Construction: C Salt Market

| Posted in Under Construction

csalt

The C Salt Gourmet Market (facebook) is slated to open soon in the center of Cape Elizabeth. According to a Forecaster article published earlier this year, Co-owner Mike Concannon “compared the concept to Clayton’s Cafe in Yarmouth and Aurora Provisions in Portland’s West End.”

C Salt plans to sell “Coffee, muffins, cookies and bakery items, gourmet sandwiches and grab and go meals.” The newly constructed building is located at 349 Ocean House Rd.

Interview with John Naylor at Rosemont

| Posted in People

The Press Herald has published an interview with John Naylor, co-owner of Rosemont.

Q: You’ve gone from one store to four and a catering operation. What are the plans for growth?
A: If we’re going to expand, our kitchen needs to get bigger and our warehouse needs to get bigger, so were going to start looking for space. We’re at about 4,000 square feet at the warehouse and we’re looking to expand to 10,000 to 12,000 square feet. We’d like to be able to take big animals in bigger pieces (for the butcher shop) and to get into preservation with the produce and offer Maine products year-round. That’s our mission now, to find that space. If we could have a warehouse big enough to help farmers store their crop, it could open up business with institutions. For instance, I’m on a committee that’s looking at how we get more local food into Portland’s public schools.

Reviews: The King’s Head & El Rayo Scarborough

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a bar review of The King’s Head,

On a recent night, Amager Envy and Gluttony IPAs from Denmark were on tap, as well as Thornbridge Halcyon IPA out of England, Dieu du Ciel from Quebec, local brews like Bissell and Banded Horn, and even Prosecco.

Binet says “there will be no comfort beer” on tap, which means if you’re looking for Pabst Blue Ribbon and the like, you won’t find it here.

and has reviewed the new El Rayo in Scarborough.

There are lots of great starters on the menu, including fried plantains with chipotle mayo ($4.95), fried shisisto peppers dusted with sea salt ($7.95) and one of my favorites from the other El Rayo, Mexico City-style corn on the cob basted with chipotle mayo and dusted with cojita cheese ($4.95). I went with the corn-jalapeno fritters served with jalapeno jelly for those who want more kick. The small, thin fritters were nice and crunchy on the outside, soft inside with whole kernels of corn hidden throughout. These were as good as I remembered them, but at $5.75 for an order of about a half-dozen, they seemed a bit pricey.