Month: July 2016

Restaurant Work

| Posted in General News

This week’s issue of the Portland Phoenix includes an article on the challenges of restaurant work and the strategies owners use to find good team members,

Anyone that’s even spent a modicum of time working in the local restaurant industry, knows that it’s hard, sweaty, anxiety inducing work. It’s partly the reason why, despite Portland’s high density of four- and five-star restaurants (Portland’s got 395 eateries that brought in about 326 million dollars in revenue last year) and stellar foodie reputation, there’s a shortage of experienced, enthusiastic line cooks.

and an article about eateries in/near parks.

Public parks and food don’t always mix. Food carts and trucks can face special permitting issues, and predictability of traffic doesn’t always justify a food cart or truck near a public space. But the entry of TIQA Cafe & Bakery into the Castle in Deering Oaks Park — now open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk — could challenge this narrative.

Under Construction: The Portland Meatball Co.

| Posted in Under Construction

The Portland Meatball Company, under construction in the former Pierre’s retail space on Exchange street, has applied for a liquor license. In his cover letter, owner Noah Talmatch describes PMC as a “full service lunch and dinner restaurant and bar, serving exceptional homemade pastas, sandwiches, soup and of course, exotic meatballs & pizza…decorated in a warm, New England style farmhouse decor”

The 3-page draft menu (page 64) includes meatball options like duck with goat cheese and cranberries, lamb merguez with harissa sauce, and smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers.

pmc_floorplan

Noah Talmatch also owns Timber, which is located immediately adjacent to PMC’s construction site.

Under Construction: 66S Fusion

| Posted in Under Construction

A new Asian fusion restaurant called 66S Fusion is under development at 425 Fore Street in the vacant retail space next to Gelato Fiasco. Westbrook resident and owner Jie Ming Liang describes 66S as a “Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) that will be serving Asian Fusion food with a menu consisting of Sushi, Teppanyaki Grill, Ramen Noodles and an Asian Meat Bun.” You can see a draft menu (page 101) in the material supplied by Liang with 66S’s liquor license application.

66S-Fusion

Top 50 Diners: Palace Diner

| Posted in Reviews

The breakfast specialists at Extra Crispy have included Palace Diner in their list of America’s Best Diners,

…The hash brown potatoes are whole red potatoes that have been blanched, then crushed, then fried so that the skin is crispy and the interior is creamy. The locally-sourced eggs are rich and have yolks the color of saffron. Perfectly crispy strips of thick cut applewood bacon are so long that they snake around your plate (but the Taylor ham is what you really want). The toast is made from bread from local bakeries instead of packaged brands, and they serve it correctly by not stacking the pieces on top of each other so that they steam and get all soggy…