Rwanda Bean has announced that they don’t plan to reopen their South Portland location.
After much contemplation, we have officially decided that we will not be re-opening at our South Portland location.
We remain immensely grateful for all the memories and stories shared over coffee through the years. We will miss our friendly neighbors and community on that side of the bridge.
The City has made a decision on regulations impacting food trucks on the Eastern Promenade.
The Eastern Prom has become a favorite spot for trucks to set up in recent years, and this spring the city began looking at different plans to better manage the impacts. Rather than lining the Eastern Prom roadway, food trucks will be allowed only in the middle-level parking lot on Cutter Street, which connects the prom to East End Beach, according to a memo Interim City Manager Danielle West wrote to the City Council on Friday.
Masa Miyake is renovating his eponymous Fore Street restaurant with plans to reopen this summer, hopefully in July. The newly refreshed space will seat 28, with an 9-seat sushi counter and another 20 seats between the new L-shaped bar on the left and tables along the right-hand wall.
The menu will feature “shareable plates, including traditional Japanese preparations, dishes of Masa’s personal creation, rolled sushi, sashimi, and nigiri”. The bar menu will offer sake, wine and beer as well as house-designed cocktails that make use of Japanese spirits and ingredients. When they reopen Miyake will no longer offer an omakase option.
Seating will be available on a first-come first-serve basis with a guest wait list. Miyake will be open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday evenings.
Casa Novello has announced plans to reopen their Westbrook restaurant on May 3rd.
We are excited to announce that we are reopening on Tuesday 5/3. We still have our two original BOH staff and they are excited to train our new Chef and new team members so there are no changes in any of the recipes!! I cannot thank all of you for the overwhelming support and Love we received! We are so looking forward to celebrating with all of you!! Kimmy, Karen, Leah, Sarah, Nick, Brandon, Derek and Hannah can’t wait to get back to work… And we are excited for all of our new staff to join our Casa family!! PLEASE SHARE!!! Call for reservations. We are also going to be open on Mother’s Day 4-8…
Casa Novello had closed indefinitely in early April due to a lack of staff and at the time it seemed likely they were likely to close permanently.
Through May 1 – the 4th Maine Seaweed Week will be taking place.
Wednesday – the regular Portland Farmers’ Market season begins on Wednesday April 27th in Deering Oaks Park. The market has been in operation since 1768.
Wednesday through Friday – the Northeast Aquaculture Conference & Exposition is taking place in Portland.
Thursday – Friends & Family is collaborating with American Fizz on the kick-off of an all American wine list they’ll be serving through Sunday.
Saturday – Novare Res is holding their annual celebration of Oxbow beers with Farmhouse Funkadelic, serving 22+ Oxbow beers.
May 2 – Death & Co will be taking over the bar at the Hunt & Alpine Club.
May 3 – Upcoming restaurants Twelve and Bar Futo are collaborating on a dinner taking place at Evo; there are a 5:30 and 8:30 seating.
May 4 – Chaval is holding a Star Wars themed May the Fourth dinner, and Liquid Riot and Cheese Louise are teaming up on a 5-course dinner.
May 11 – Crispy Gai is hosting a dinner in collaboration with Little Brother Chinese, Norimoto Bakery, Indy’s Sandwich, Ghee, Pho Huong and Golden Wat on a 5-course dinner. The dinner is a benefit for United Asian Communities.
May 25 – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Dinner Mates,
Just the concept of gathering inside a restaurant with a dozen or so folks you may not have met yet for a leisurely dinner fueled by vibrant conversation and fine wine seems so retro right now, so pre-2020. After living in relative isolation for two pandemic years, many at the Dinner Mates tables at Ruby’s in early April said the new club has come into their lives at just the right time.
and a review of Leeward—the first Sunday Telegram review published since March 2020.
Conceptually, Leeward fits right in with its fellow finalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. Chef Jake Stevens’ pasta-centric, eclectic Italian menu has some over-seasoning kinks to work out, but the kitchen’s strengths are on full display in dishes like sticky pork ribs sprinkled with nutty toasted flax seeds and a creamier take on Green Goddess dressing that I’d happily eat on any vegetable…Cocktails and moderately priced wines (most bottles clock in at around the mid-$50s) are also must-try items, especially the smoky, yet phenomenally balanced Italian on Holiday…Front-of-house manager Raquel Stevens leads the bar team as well as the friendly, knowledgeable servers who seem to love the place as much as locals and tourists do…
Onggi (website, instagram) will be opening their fermentation-focused shop at their new location at 131 Washington Ave (the former A&C Grocery) on Saturday April 30th. The move will more than quadruple their space—from 300 sq ft to 1,300 sq ft.
The store will feature a new pastry and lunch service that will be available to go or to enjoy at the counter, window seats or outdoor tables. In addition to some popular items from the Onggi 1.0 menu (e.g. sourdough chocolate chip cookies) the offerings will include options like miso scallion scones, kimchi pork handpies, and matcha black sesame butter mochi. The lunch menu will specialize in fermentation-focused dishes including their own take on the Korean classic Bibimbap.
The retail shop is also set to expand with the introduction of house-made fermented products, equipment, and “fermenty alcoholic beverages”. In the future the second floor of the building will be used to hold classes, workshops, and events.
“Ferments have fascinated – and fed – us our entire lives and we believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of fermentation: richer flavors, improved health, and cultured community,” says Marcus Im, one of Onggi’s three co-founders. “There is so much we can do to educate others and build excitement around all that fermentation can offer, and we hope whoever visits Onggi will share some of our enthusiasm and fall in love with our expanded in-store experience.”
Onggi was founded by Amy Ng, Erin Zobitz, and Marcus Im in April 2021. Onggi was originally located in one of The Black Box retail spaces on the corner of Marion Street and Washington Ave.
Onggi will be open on April 30th, and then starting May 4th will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm, and on Sunday 10 am – 4 pm.
Photo Credit: Onggi.
After a few days of soft openings the new Stars and Stripes Brewing Co. (website, facebook, instagram) tasting room at 3 Spring Street will open today at 2 pm. The tasting room is located in the space formerly occupied by Lio.
The “Mess Hall” food menu includes pizza, fries, chicken tenders, chicken wings, a charcuterie box and a kid’s “cuterie snack box”.
Stars & Stripes opened their original location in Freeport in November 2018. Today’s hours at the Portland location will be 2 – 10 pm.
Nom Cafe (instagram) will be opening this Sunday. It is located at 23 Forest Ave in the space formerly occupied by Yobo. Nom Cafe will initially be open Thursday- Sunday, 8 am – 2 pm.
Owners Som Mantasut and Genko Stanilov plan to serve breakfast and lunch with a menu inspired by the food from the Balkans.
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Photo Credit: Food photos courtesy of Nom Cafe
Tuesday – a new business called Jonesin’ is holding a pop-up at Fork Food Lab. Jonesin’s serves “Jamaican inspired cuisine with Asian influences”, and Brian Ross, the creator of Quarantine Kitchen, will be participating in a Maine Voices Live interview.
Wednesday – Oxbow Brewing is hosting a Fermentation Fair organized by The Resilience Hub & Portland Maine Permaculture.
Thursday – Wayside will be serving a 4-course prime rib dinner, and Yes Yes Pizza will be holding a pop-up at Howie’s Pub, and the owners of Monte Rio Cellars will be at Lorne Wines for a smash burger and wine event.
Friday – May 1 – the 4th Maine Seaweed Week will be taking place.
April 27 – the regular Portland Farmers’ Market season begins on Wednesday April 27th in Deering Oaks Park. The market has been in operation since 1768.
April 27-29 – the Northeast Aquaculture Conference & Exposition is taking place in Portland.
May 2 – Death & Co will be taking over the bar at the Hunt & Alpine Club.
May 3 – Upcoming restaurants Twelve and Bar Futo are collaborating on a dinner taking place at Evo; there are a 5:30 and 8:30 seating.
May 4 – Chaval is holding a Star Wars themed May the Fourth dinner.
May 25 – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.