The process of converting all the past blog posts into the new system will take some time. I will chip away at it as time allows. In the meantime you can read the posts from October 2007 here.
| October 31 Nancy English has published her monthly calendar of wine tastings that are taking place in Maine during the coming month. The schedule includes many events right here in the Portland area as well as some more further afield. |
| October 29 Portland Food Map was the subject of an article by Justin Ellis in today’s Portland Press Herald. |
| October 28 A new sports bar called Flask is planning to open on Spring adjacent to Katahdin. |
| October 27 Fat Baxter’s had it’s grand opening today. The small East End market was crowded with customers when I stopped by to pick up some lunch (a prosciutto and apple sandwich and a bottle of peach lambec). |
| October 24 Today’s issue of The Maine Switch has a new review of the Dogfish Cafe and an article about Fat Baxter’s which “is scheduled to officially open on Saturday”. The weekly newspaper also has a very interesting article about the cultivation and consumption of oysters including a long list of local restaurants that serve the tasty shelfish. For those of you interested in going to the Green Elephant, you can take a look at the lunch and dinner menus posted on their new website. |
| October 23 There’s a new review of Viet Bankok Cuisine by local blogger Accidental Vegetables. |
| October 21 Mims Brasserie garnered 3½ stars from N.L. English in a review published today on MaineToday.com. There’s also a new review of Miyake by local blogger Type A Diversions. |
| October 20 Siano’s, a brick oven pizzeria, has opened up on Stevens Ave next to Pat’s Meat Market. Fat Baxter’s, the highly anticipated East End market, are now predicting that they will open next weekend. |
| October 18 A new ethnic market called International Market has opened up on Vannah Ave in the location formerly occupied by Portland Spice Co. |
| October 17 The Green Elephant, an Asian inspired ‘vegetarian bistro’, has opened up on Congress St across from the State Theater building. The Breakfast Club has come back from a long Summer break with a critical review of Becky’s Diner, and Brian Duff has written a critical review of Local 188 in the latest issue of The Portland Phoenix. |
| October 13 A Brazilian steak house is planning to open at 100 Commercial St—the former location of Oolong and Portland’s Restaurant and Bar. The restuarant will be called Gauchos Churrascaria. The reviews that I’ve read on their existing location in Manchester, NH have mostly been positive. |
| October 12 The blogger at Type A Diversions is asking for her readers to vote on what restaurant she does her next review of. So far there’s been one vote for King of the Roll. Two new restaurants-in-the-making have been added to the growing list of new start-ups, Star East Cafe and Mexico Lindo. Goodfellas, a bar on Warren Ave, has also been added to the site. |
| October 11 Todd Richard has covered Fresh Approach in the latest article in the The Portland Phoenix‘s Twenty$pot column. Also, Avery Yale Kamila from The Maine Switch has reported on the purpose and plans of the Portland Food Co-op. |
| October 9 Take a look at the newest section of the PFM website. This new area is home to a growing number of street maps that show where the restaurants, bakeries, markets and other food businesses listed on the site are located. About half of the maps have been created already, covering 23 categories from Bakeries to Wings. The remainder are being worked on and will launch over the next couple weeks. The street maps are intended as a supplement to the links to reviews and other commentary already on the site. The new maps are set-up in a way that is easy to bookmark and link to so you can share them with others. If you have any comments on the new feature, please email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com. |
| October 8 Cultivating Community, a local non-profit that makes sustainable farming a core part of its mission, has been added to the site. There’s a new review of Yosaku from Type A Diversions that’s critical of recent changes at the restaurant. Also, a new halal market, Al-Mustaqim Halal Market, has opened up in the West End, located next to Binga’s Wingas on Congress. That makes at least four halal markets in Portland; they add to the depth and variety of the ethnic food scene in the city. |
| October 7 The From Way Away blog commented on an over population of Thai restaurants in Portland (9 soon to be 10). Here are a few other numbers: Italian restaurants (13), Chinese restaurants (8), sushi restaurants (9), variety stores (22), pizza (12). What do you think? Too many, not enough, just right? |
| October 4 MaineToday.com reviewed the Bar of Chocolate Cafe. It’s the the first review published of this small Wharf St bar/cafe/desert destination. Also, the Blue Spoon was reviewed in The Maine Switch. |
| October 2 Leonardo’s Pizza has opened a store on Forest Ave within a block or two of two other pizzerias, Stavros Pizzeria and Deli, and Pizza Joint. There’s no place to sit down inside, just a small counter for ordering. They primarily run a pizza delivery service although you can call in an order and pick it up yourself. |
| October 1 A new review of Bonobo has been published in the October issue of Portland Magazine. The author refers to the new space as “whimsical” and decries “Bonobo Bellissimo!” about the pizzeria’s signature pie. |