Month: July 2022

Review of Regards

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 3 star review of Regards.

All the elements are there: from a hip, lime-bleached brick interior set off in dynamic washes of orange and pink, to unflappable service and an imaginative menu that seeks to intertwine mostly Mexican and Japanese influences. What’s missing is consistent, confident execution of dishes. Some are nearly at their best, like a tepache-inspired ice cream made with fermented pears, and a large-format shareable platter of grilled, miso-basted hamachi collar that needs the hit of acid from the charred lemon and less nori than is provided.

NA Beer

| Posted in Beer

This week’s Portland Phoenix includes an article about Maine’s growing non-alcoholic beer market.

Portland is renowned for its craft beer scene, its brewery parking lots packed with cars with out-of-state vehicles.

But two newer craft beers – 1820 and Kit NA – are setting themselves apart in a fairly big way: they’re alcohol-free.

Non-alcoholic beer has come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the days when a beer lover’s only options were O’Doul’s or St. Pauli Girl. Now, the market for craft non-alcoholic beer is taking off, and even the biggest beer snob can probably find something they like, from hazy IPAs to dark coffee stouts.

KitNA launched in 2021 and 1820 Brewing has just launched this month.

Bread and Olive

| Posted in Under Construction

Bread & Olive (facebook, instagram) is making progress towards an opening day at their location at the corner of Valley and Congress Streets. Owner Sarah Martin, who also operates the Bar of Chocolate Cafe on Wharf Street, is renovating the space formerly occupied by The 5 Spot to bring the new establishment to her neighborhood.

Bread & Olive will seat approximately 40 customers with a 9-seat bar and a collection of 4-top tables as well. Here’s a look at the draft menu (below). In addition Martin plans to serve daily specials such as chili, cioppino fish stew, salmon tacos, pizzettes, spinach and mushroom quiche, a mixed greens salad with pecans, blue cheese and sweet onions.

Upcoming Events: Kneading Conference, Fermentation Dinner

| Posted in Events

Monday through Saturday – the Kneading Conference is taking place.

Sunday – Onggi is holding a fermentation dinner with Sarah Owens.

August 5 – Time and Tide is hosting Francois Tuyishime of Yego Coffee for a conversation about, “coffee growing in Rwanda, the challenges of importing coffee during a pandemic, and more”.

August 6 – Dila Maloney, the chef/owner of Dila’s Kitchen will be competing in the Great American Seafood Cook-off in Louisiana.

August 10 – Radici is serving a 5-course dinner with pairings.

August 13 – the 91st Annual Saint Peter’s Bazaar.

August 19 – 21 – the 2022 edition of the Maine Apple Camp 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 8 – Oxbow is holding their annual Goods from the Woods event in Newcastle.

October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.

The Danforth Opens Friday

| Posted in Openings

The highly anticipated cocktail bar and restaurant The Danforth (website, facebook, instagram) will be opening this Friday at 4 pm. It’s located at the corner of Danforth and Clark Streets in the West End.

The space has been completely redesigned:

Upon entering the space, guests will encounter a 12-seat bar, the vivid focal point of the room with cascading liquor steps, surrounded by deep-hued banquettes, tables, and nooks. By day, the space provides big, generous windows that allow Golden Hour to soak into every corner. At night, the shades are drawn tighter, and a layered design reveals itself – with soft, inviting furnishings and lived-in décor. The designers, AAmp Studio, seamlessly integrate rich colors, textures, and eased millwork throughout the space, resulting in a classic yet playful ambience that evokes a sense of discovery. For guests looking to dine al fresco, an intimate outdoor patio behind the 75-seat restaurant lounge will offer full service, as well, beginning in August.

The Danforth is the Portland outpost of Gin & Luck the parent company of Death & Co. which operates craft cocktail bars in New York, Los Angeles and Denver. Their most recent book Death & Co Welcome Home: A Cocktail Recipe Book was a 2022 Beard Award nominee.

In addition to the specialty cocktails (menu below) that Gin & Luck establishments are known for, the beverage program also includes draft/bottled cider and beer, and a mix of more traditional and contemporary wines by the glass and bottle. The head bartender is Carlo Caroscio. with the beer and wine selection put together by general manager Lucy Comaskey. Shown upper left is the Golden Slumbers cocktail which is prepared with apple and pear brandies, blanc vermouth, appertivo bianco and verjus.

The kitchen is led by Michael Boomhower who has put together a menu (see below) that “celebrates honest, nourishing food with a focus on regional product”. When you visit The Danforth do not miss out on the roasted chicken which is served with smoked butter pan sauce, corn, shishito peppers and chilis. Boomhower hales from Vermont. In Portland he has most recently worked at Central Provisions and Union.

The Danforth will be open 7 days a week, 4 pm – 1 am. They will begin taking reservations on Wednesday July 27th—until then all seats are available on a walk-in basis.

 

1820 Brewing Company

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

A new non-alcoholic brewery called 1820 Brewing Company (website, facebook, instagram) is soon to launch.

The Portland-based brewery produces four beers, a raspberry sour, an American pale ale, an IPA, and a blond ale. All four are available in six-packs. The beers are being distributed by  Nappi and Pine State, and are already on the shelves at the UFO Store in Naples. 1820 hopes to see their products on bottle shop shelves and on restaurant and bar menus across New England.

1820 is an independently operated business. It’s been founded by Alan Lapoint who also owns DL Gearys Brewing which he bought from David and Karen Geary in 2017. Lapoint shared that he is, “excited about the mission of this new company and its focus on the NA market, which is growing by triple digits nationally”.

Upcoming Events: Oga Suya, Yao Yao, Little Brother, Outstanding in the Field

| Posted in Events

Monday – Oga Suya is holding a Nigerian barbecue pop-up dinner at Fork Food Lab. Little Brother is throwing a party at Fork Food Lab, “[w]e invite you to eat, drink, watch the old Chinese movies we’ll be projecting on the wall outside our HQ, and dance to a special guest DJ set of Asian soul/funk/psychedelia curated by Dad’s Denim.” Onggi is hosting Yao Yao (Liu Bian Tan, Alana Dao, Matthew Im) for a midday pop-up.

Thursday – 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.

Saturday – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will be 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.

July 31 – Onggi is holding a fermentation dinner with Sarah Owens.

August 13 – the 91st Annual Saint Peter’s Bazaar.

August 19 – 21 – the 2022 edition of the Maine Apple Camp 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 8 – Oxbow is holding their annual Goods from the Woods event in Newcastle.

October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.

Twelve Now Open

| Posted in Openings

The highly anticipated restaurant Twelve (website, Instagram) launched this past Thursday. Twelve is located at 115 Thames Street in the Portland Foreside development along the Eastern Promenade walking trail.

Here’s a look at a few of the dishes from their 4-course tasting menu shown here are the monkfish with trout roe in whey broth (upper left), the Tomato Tonato appetizer (center right) topped with confit egg yolk, and the farro sabayon appetizer (bottom left) served with English peas.

The kitchen at Twelve is headlined by Colin Wyatt (formerly with Eleven Madison Park) along with pastry chef Georgia Macon, chef de cuisine Hannah Ryder, and sous chefs John Alden Glover and Cameron Gokey. The general manager is Daniel Gorlas (formerly with Per Se) and the bar program is managed by Portland native Sylvi Roy. You can find bios on many of the key staff on the Twelve instagram account.

While reservations at Twelve are nearly all booked up for the next month or so, walk-in space is available at the bar and outdoor seating area. Twelve is currently open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 pm to 10 pm.

Brea Lu Cafe Moving

| Posted in Under Construction

Brea Lu Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) has announced they’ve leased a new space at 100 Larrabee Road in Westbrook. The new location will seat 170 people—up from 45 at their current location—and will include an in-house bakery as well.

Thank you for being soooooo patient. Here is your payoff. Our new space is located at 100 Larrebee Rd Westbrook. We finally signed a lease. We’re extremely excited. We are going from 45 seats to 170. Hopefully you’ll never wait again. Also we will be having a bakery inside the restaurant. We will also be welcoming Heather Norton back to our restaurant. She will be our full time baker. So looks like the gang is getting back together. I’m so excited. Dear Westbrook We Love You. We Could Never Leave You.

Brea Lu was originally located at 428 Forest Ave. After a fire in their building they relocated in 2016 to their current spot at 9 Cumberland Street in Westbrook.

Update: the Larrabee Road move fell through, according to a report from the Press Herald the owners are now in talks to move to a different spot in Westbrook.