A new (or at least new to Portland) food truck called All Grill (instagram) is at Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth today. All Grill hails from Tampa, Florida and serves a menu of “[g]rilled food with a Venezuelan touch”.
Month: May 2022
Upcoming Events
Monday – it’s Memorial Day.
Friday – Tomaso’s new taco food truck Disco Jalisco is holding a prelaunch pop-up at the Rathskeller.
June 8/9 – the Knotted Apron will be hosting a 6-course dinner with the Back Bay Grill’s longtime chef/owner Larry Matthews.
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.
June 18 – the grand opening of the Absolem Cider tasting room in Winthrop, Maine.
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.
July 25 – 30 – the Kneading Conference is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 23 – 25 – the Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Lopez/Sansonetti Opening The Ugly Duckling
Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti have leased 246 Danforth Street in the West End where they plan to open a new daytime bakeshop and cafe called The Ugly Duckling (instagram). They hope to have The Ugly Duckling open by the end of July.
Our focus will be Buttermilk English Muffins with a range of flavors, freshly made tarts, Our Famous Trocaderos, Custards, Mousses and more. (There will be some Gluten free and vegan options also). It’s a Bakery/Patisserie Our way. We will serve espresso (and espresso drinks) and drip coffee from Speckled Ax beans. There will be house made preserves, spreads, jams and more for the muffins (that will also be available retail). And we will serve some breakfast style items in the morning also. Then come lunch the menu will shift and wine and cocktails will be available to pair with your charcuterie & cheese, or tinned fish, or sandwich. We will also expand on the Custom-Made Cakes or any occasion and tailor it to your tastes. And we will be open for Brunch on the weekends also. All in a great place to hang out in all day to eat and meet with friends.
Their aim is to create an inclusive space where everyone feels welcome,
This is a place where all the misfits find themselves, be you and proud. Because at the end of the day we are what we see in the mirror, and to my eyes we are all just perfect. It is our self-reflection and perception that matters, how we see ourselves that matters, we need to show up for us, we need to love us.
Lopez and Sansonetti will introduce a pay-forward system at The Ugly Duckling that will enable their customers to donate funds to feed members of the community. Funds that don’t get used by the end of the month will be donated to Maine-based nonprofits.
As you can see from the floor plan the space features a 15-seat horseshoe coffee bar as well as additional table seating in the front windows of the former PrintCraft shop. The Ugly Duckling will be available in the evening as an event space and to host private parties.
Lopez and Sansonetti also own and operate Chaval, and previously operated the now closed Piccolo.
Food Truck Update
The Portland Phoenix has shared an update on Eastern Prom food truck situation.
More than a dozen food trucks applied for 10 permits to operate this summer on Portland’s Eastern Promenade, which means the city will hold a lottery to decide which ones are allowed to do business in the popular park.
According to the article these trucks have all applied for a spot: On A Roll, Bogs Bakery, Mr. Tuna, Falafel Mafia, George’s North Shore, Gelato Fiasco, Eighty 8 Donuts, Vy Banh Mi, Cheese the Day, Tacos La Poblanita, Cargo Pizza Company, Twist, and Maine Maple Creemee.
Rosenthal on Palace Diner
Phil Rosenthal was interviewed by Forbes about the upcoming season of Somebody Feed Phil which is being released on Netflix tomorrow. In the interview Rosenthal calls out his meal at Palace Diner as his “happiest food experience” from the new season of the show.
Rosenthal: The Palace Diner in Biddeford, Maine. It’s an old railroad dining car [built in 1927] with a counter for 15 people. That’s it! And a little kitchen. The young chefs there have worked at very good restaurants like Gramercy Tavern in New York City. What they’ve done [in Biddeford] is kept traditional diner foods on the menu, but upgraded all the ingredients and cooking techniques. So [customers] are getting idealized versions of omelettes, French toast, pancakes, burgers, sandwiches. I loved them all. [Eating at the diner] became one of the favorite things I’ve ever done on this show.
Upcoming Events: Little Tandem, Scratch Baking, Somebody Feed Phil, Cocktails
Tuesday – Little Tandem is reopening in East Bayside.
Tuesday through Sunday – a number of local restaurants and bars are taking part in a week-long cocktail collaboration organized by Bully Boy, Lincoln & Maine and New England Distilling. Cocktail specials will be on the menu at participating venues that make use of spirits from those distillers and part of the proceeds will benefit Maine Needs. Maine Needs is a grassroots organization that tries to “meet the basic needs of families and individuals all over Maine.”
Wednesday – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast. Owners of Stars & Stripes Brewing and of Eighteen Twenty Wines will be among the honorees at the 2022 Maine Small Business Awards Ceremony.
Thursday – Scratch Baking is opening their renovated bakery in Willard Square.
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.
June 18 – the grand opening of the Absolem Cider tasting room in Winthrop, Maine.
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.
July 25 – 30 – the Kneading Conference is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 23 – 25 – the Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Scratch Reopening Thursday
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Staff at Scratch Baking Company (instagram) are busy putting the finishing touches on their newly renovated bakery. They are scheduled to reopen their landmark Willard Square location Thursday May 26th. Going forward their new hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, 7 am – 2 pm.
The new space features a roundtangle shaped space with a center island. Customers will enter through the left set of doors. First up on the trip around the bakery will be breads and bagels, followed by pastries along the long back counter, and then refrigerated and packaged goods on the final side. Coffee will be available—drip and espresso drinks—from the central island.
Blue Hill Peninsula: Harbor Cafe, Dennett’s Wharf
The Bangor Daily News has the scoop on some interesting restaurant developments in Castine and Stonington.
Max Katzenberg, who worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant and owned two highly praised restaurants in Brooklyn, recently took over the Harbor Cafe in downtown Stonington and plans to reopen Dennett’s Wharf on the Castine waterfront next month.
While Katzenberg, who had previously spent summers in Maine and moved to Deer Isle during the pandemic, brings big-city credentials and acclaimed chefs to the two projects, he promised he and his team are focused on upgrading what already made the two local favorites great.
The article explains that Max Katzenberg worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and was a co-owner of Olmsted (a Beard Best New Restaurant nominee in 2017) and Maison Yaki, both in Brooklyn.
The Harbor Cafe (instagram) project is in collaboration “with friend and Deer Isle dining veteran Matt Spector” which they bought “to prevent the town losing the Main Street fixture.”
For the relaunch of Dennett’s Wharf (instagram) in Castine is Katzenberg is working with Ingrid Paronich and Taylor Hester. Paronich has degrees from Johnson & Wales in Food Marketing and Hospitality and in Italian Gastronomy and Tourism from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Parma. Her recent work has been in restaurant operations and management in the Northeast.
Taylor Hestor will be the executive chef at Dennett’s Wharf. He was part of the original team at Sean Brock’s launch of Husk in Nashville. In 2017 he joined the team at Olmsted which that year was on the Bon Appetit list of the 50 Best New Restaurants in America and which was the Food & Wine 2017 Restaurant of the Year.
A Philly Eating Guide to Portland
Philadelphia Magazine has published an eating guide to Portland.
If your first thought when you hear “Portland” is the West Coast version, you’re missing out on one much closer to home. The coastal city about a six-hour drive from Philly is home to a surprisingly vibrant food-and-drink scene. Thanks to thriving local farms and seafood purveyors, an influx of chef talent from cities like Boston and D.C., and a supportive, hungry year-round community, the city proves that Maine cuisine is more than blueberry pie and lobster rolls (though you can get those, too!).
The article mentions: Tandem, Hot Suppa, The Holy Donut, Luke’s, Boone’s, Eventide, The Shop, Totally Awesome Vegan Food Truck, Maine Maple Creemee, Scales, Fore Street, Baharat, Minato, Twelve, Duckfat, Bissell, Oxbow and Allagash.
Review of Nura
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Nura,
…chef Dylan Gardner assembles nuanced, sub-$15 salads that showcase bitter greens, shaved watermelon radish and mint leaves along with the restaurant’s signature falafel – toasty outside and vivid green from cilantro and parsley inside. Here, you’ll also find excellent chicken shawarma sandwiches and bowls, spice-dusted French fries, and our favorite dish on the menu: Nura’s airy, garlicky, newly re-imagined hummus…Nura might represent the best bang-for-your-buck in Portland dining right now. Get there before the tourists and returning office workers do.