Category: General News

Eater Maine has published some details on the renovations underway at Hugo’s.

For her weekly Portland Daily Sun column Natalie Ladd looks at the futility of trying to predict when a restaurant will be busy or not.

These things are in addition to the obvious method of comparing sales and head counts. I’ve seen many places with flow charts and graphs, all intended to make food and alcohol ordering, and doing the kitchen and front-of-the house schedule a snap. Contrary to all the “what ifs” and basic common sense, these things just don’t always hold true when predicting how busy it’s going to be. In other words, betting on the timing of the financial peaks and pitfalls of the restaurant business would be foolish for a gambler and chalk up a win for the house at Oxford Casino.

Remi Designs is a finalists in the American Institute of Architects restaurant design competition for their work on Outliers Eatery. It’s a people’s choice award and voting is open to the public.

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about growing number of food trucks in Portland.

The food truck movement is hitting high-profile speed bumps in some major U.S. cities. But in Portland, where the scene is emerging this spring, vendors and city officials say they have an opportunity to succeed where other cities are struggling.

The Lobster Shack, J’s Oyster Bar and Dimillo’s all get passing mention in an article about lobster rolls that appeared in the current issue of Bon Appetit.

Truth be told, all lobster rolls in Maine start out at a baseline of being very good and proceed upwards from there. For me the lobster roll is more than just culinary transcendence or proof that simple food made simply is the most soul-satisfying of all. It is summer itself…

The article is not yet available online.

Natalie Ladd’s column in today’s Portland Daily Sun talks about the stresses of working at a restaurant during the summer tourists season and includes a top ten list of things that servers wished they could say but never do.

1) “How many pints of Mountain Dew refills are you going to let your 12-year old drink?” Not only am I super busy, but the kid is climbing the walls and you waving me down like I’m a taxi cab is really obnoxious.

According to Maine a la Carte, Bresca will be closed for the summer while owner Krista Kern Desjarlais focuses on her new venture, Bresca and the Honey Bee.

Today’s Press Herald reports that the Legislature is considering changes to Maine’s restaurant inspection program.

State legislators said Monday they will consider increasing the frequency of restaurant inspections and hiring more inspectors a day after the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram reported that Maine has one of the least rigorous restaurant inspection programs in the nation, both in terms of frequency and making information available to the public.

The Urban Farm Fermentory is offering CSF shares. For $99 or $175 a Community Supported Fermentation share buys you a variety of kombucha and hard cider products as well as tickets to their annual event and more.

Pure Pops will be selling their yogurt and fruit popsicles at the Saturday farmers market starting this weekend. Pure Pops is one of the businesses operating out of the Bay One extension to UFF on Anderson Street.

Rising Tide and Urban Farm Farmentory have a proposal in to the city to modify the rules for East Bayside to make new types of business activities and events possible in the neighborhood, according to an article in today’s Press Herald.

Now, two local businesses are spearheading an effort to loosen restrictions in the industrial zone so they can host special events, farmers markets, craft markets, artist studios and a community kitchen for food truck operators.

The goal of the changes is to give small-scale producers setting up shop in East Bayside an outlet to connect directly to consumers, said Eli Cayer, owner of the Urban Farm Fermentory, who has been helping to draft the changes.

For more information about the porposal, read this memo from the City’s Planning Department.