Author: PFM

Fire on Fore Street: Street & Co, Dancing Elephant, Joe’s NY Pizza, Mark’s Place (Updated)

| Posted in General News

There was a 3-alarm fire on Fore Street early this morning. According to a report from the Press Herald,

[Fire Chief] LaMoria said at least five businesses in the building at 420 Fore St., which faces both Fore and Wharf streets, were severely impacted, including Street & Co., the Dancing Elephant II and Joe’s New York Pizza.

He said the businesses could be closed for several days if not weeks.

For additional information see this piece from WMTW.

UPDATE: Here’s some clarification and further detail from The Forecaster,

The blaze damaged businesses including the Dancing Elephant II Indian restaurant, Joe’s New York Slice Bar, and Mark’s Place, LaMoria said. There were also reports of damage to Street & Co. The apartments above the businesses were not damaged by the fire, but were damaged by smoke and water.

The Munjoy Hill News has also posted a report on the fire.

Development Could Affect El Rayo

| Posted in General News

Both the Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News have published a report on a proposal that would lead to the redevelopment of the corner of York and High Streets, the current location of El Rayo.

The J.B. Brown official said fans of the popular Mexican eatery currently at the site should not worry.

“I could see something like an urban grocer on the ground floor and residential units on the top three floors,” Veroneau said. “Our intention is to have El Rayo be part of any development of that site.”

 

Review of Empire Chinese Kitchen

| Posted in Reviews

eggrollMap & Menu has published a review of Empire Chinese Kitchen.

First up were the delicious peking duck buns (my personal favorite) and the har gow (one of a few of the gluten-free options on the menu). It’s a standard rule of thumb for me that pretty much anything served in a steamed bun will be awesome, and the savory peking duck didn’t disappoint – I’d highly recommend trying it…

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

2013 Apple Season

| Posted in Farming

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about the 2013 apple season and the paper’s annual guide to apple picking in Maine that dozens of varieties from Baldwin to Wolf River.

“Last year we not only had a freeze, but we had hail in June, so this year is 100 percent better than last year,” said Ellen McAdam of McDougal Orchards in Springvale. “But even if we had had a good crop last year, this year is looking beautiful. The size is great, the color is great, the apples taste really good. It’s a wonderful year.”

Booze, Fish & Coffee: Salvage BBQ & Blue Rooster

| Posted in Reviews

Friends Brian Ericson and Bo Bigelow have launched an audio food blog called Booze, Fish & Coffee. They plan to seek out and

tell tales of delicious things: the best and freshest seafood, the finest local brews (beer, coffee, and others), and the off-the-beaten-path bars, bakeries, restaurants and farmstands where the locals go.

For their first two sessions they’ve published reviews of Salvage BBQ and Blue Rooster Food Company. They’re both well worth the time (approx 20min per episode) to listen to.

Fit for Foodies: Bar Lola, Fore Street, Hugo’s

| Posted in Reviews

Bar Lola, Fore Street and Hugo’s have all made it on to the 2013 OpenTable list of 100 top restaurants that are Fit for Foodies.

The top 100 were selected among 15,000 OpenTable customers in the US based on restaurant customer ratings during the past year.

“These restaurants put the wow factor in everything they serve,” says Caroline Potter, OpenTable Chief Dining Officer. “Through pure imagination and ingenuity, they’re taking culinary creativity to another level with delicious dishes that are as fun to eat as they are to share on social media.”

Chief Dining Officer…what a great job title.

Reviews of Elsmere and Empire

| Posted in Reviews

Portland Portland Peter Eater has published a review of Elsmere BBQ,

Now it’s official – the Portland area has a new BBQ restaurant that is ready to serve your BBQ needs. Go now so they stay in business. I want to make sure this one is around for a while. They deserve to be and I can only imagine everything will continue to get even better as they hit their stride. After all, they just opened.

and The 207 Foodie has published a review of Empire Chinese Kitchen.

Empire is worth trying. If you A. Love Chinese food, B. Need dim sum in your life, C. want to try something new or are just curious, then Empire is for you. Having a dim sum restaurant in Portland, Maine just shows how great of a food city we live in, so take advantage of another new place to try!

Under Construction: Oscar’s New American

| Posted in Under Construction

A new restaurant called Oscar’s New American (facebook) is under construction in Yarmouth in the space formerly occupied by the Sea Grass Bistro. Chef/owner Nick Krunkkala was formerly the chef at Fog Bar and at Rock City Cafe in Rockland. According to Oscar’s Facebook page they hope to open this month, and are

…a farm to table concept focusing on local ingredients. We make everything in house from our bread to our ice cream. At Oscar’s we try and give the diner the most unique eating experience with our menu changing weekly.

This Week’s Events: Common Ground, BiBo’s Wine Dinner, Zapoteca Tequila Dinner

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting the monthly local foods networking breakfast, and the IfAA is kicking off their dinner series.

Wednesday — there will be a Pretty Things tasting at the Bier Cellar, the Makers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory in the afternoon and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place in the morning.

Thursday — there will be a Malbec tasting at the Public Market House.

Friday — it’s the first day of the Common Ground Fair and BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe is holding a wine dinner.

Saturday — there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading, it’s the 2nd day of the Common Ground Fair, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Zapoteca is holding a tequila dinner, the 14th Annual Trail to Ale is taking place, it’s the last day of the Common Ground Fair.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.