XO to Open Friday

Big Tree Hospitality is planning to launch their new restaurant this Friday at 5pm. XO Burger and Wings (website, instagram) will be  serving a “menu full of crushable Americana” with options like the Good Morning Burger (shown) with egg, red onion jam, hash brown and hot sauce, the XO Burger with XO sauce, banana peppers, and smoked cheddar, Chili Crisp Wings with house chili crisp and scallion, and a Grilled Caesar with grilled romaine, house mackerel caesar, mackerel “anchovies” and parmesan.

XO will be operating out of Hugo’s in Portland and Eventide Fenway in Boston with purely a takeout/delivery service model.

Big Tree Hospitality is led by Andrew Taylor, Mike Wiley and Arlin Smith. In 2012 they bought Hugo’s from then owner Rob Evans and Nancy Pugh and in the same year launched Eventide. They went on to  create The Honey Paw in 2015 and open Eventide Fenway in 2017.

Photo credit: Zack Bowen Photography

Central Sandwich & Provisions

Starting this morning, Central Provisions is launching a new menu and concept under the name Central Sandwich & Provisions.

Open 7 days a week 9am to 6pm, Central Sandwich & Provisions will be offering up a menu (see below) that includes breakfast fare, sandwiches, soups, salads, drinks and a select list of CP provisions. A few of the regular CP menu items are coming back in a new form on the new menu. For example, the popular fried cauliflower dish (ras al hanout, chickpeas, feta, herbs) is now augmented with apple and hummus and transformed into a wrap.

You can place an order online, in person, or call 207-805-1085 starting at 9am for breakfast and 11am for lunch.

The Central Sandwich & Provisions menu will also available through the CarHop delivery service.

The regular Central Provisions menu and concept is expected to eventually return.

Jing Yan Opening Wednesday

A new Munjoy Hill Asian-inspired restaurant Jing Yan (facebook, instagram) is slated to open for takeout on Wednesday. Jing Yan is located is located at 90 Congress Street in the space formerly occupied by Lolita.

The overall layout of the restaurant has remained the same with a number of changes to the interior design to align the look with the new restaurant concept. Co-owner Britt Langford has hand-painted a panoramic mural along the banquet wall as well as a circular motif above the front table that features a Jing Yan, a species of Bejing swallow that the restaurant is named for.

Husband and wife Leo Zhang and Britt Langford are the co-owners of the restaurant, and Chris Petrillo has joined the team as Jin Yan’s chef. Langford and Zhang met in China where the couple ran the Bar 4 Nine cocktail bar before moving to Maine.

Hours are Wednesday through Monday 11 am – 11 pm. The kitchen closes at 8 pm but a limited late night menu is available 8 – 11 pm. Jing Yan will be open on Thanksgiving.

Here’s a look at the opening night takeout menu. Jing Yan will also have available milk and fruit teas, mocktails and soft drinks to go.

Terlingua Reopens on Wednesday

Terlingua (website, facebook, instagram) is set to officially open their new Washington Ave restaurant on Wednesday. The new location featured a large outdoor seating area and the classic Terlingua menu of barbecue, tacos, and other Southwest dishes and cocktails. Food and drinks are available for onsite outdoor seating and for takeout.

Terlingua has also opened a new market onsite that offers grab and go food and cockktails from their menu as well as wine, beer and other provisions.

Terlingua is open Wednesday through Sunday. The market is open 11:30 – 9, and the restaurant is open 3 – 9.

Tiny’s on Peaks Island

Tiny’s (instagram) a new food truck business on Peaks Island is launching tonight. Tiny’s is the creation of Sara Devereux, the current executive chef of the Crown Jewel and a former sous chef at Eventide. Devereux is serving a menu of “Southern cooking with pan Asian flare”.

Tiny’s is located at the Greeks of Peak food truck and will operate every other week Thursday – Sunday.

Mount Desserts Pie Co. Now Open

The Mount Desserts Pie Company (facebookinstagram) opened for business on Exchange Street on Sunday.

They’re located in the former Holy Donut space, and are building out a permanent location on Fore Street. Today’s menu included a range of sweet and savory hand pies (mushroom, caramelized onion and gorgonzola, brie and raspberry) as well as full sized fruit pies. Mount Desserts will soon also be serving coffee made with beans sourced from Fonte Coffee in Seattle.

Cong Tu Bot Takeout

After a long Covid hiatus, Cong Tu Bot (website, facebook, instagram) will be re-opening this Sunday for takeout, 2 – 8 pm. All ordering will be online.

CTB will launch with a limited menu but plans to expand hours out to 11 – 8, and bring back more of the old menu and even some new dishes as they move forward. In future weeks online order for Sunday pick-up will go live 1-2 days ahead of time.

Roll Call Now Open

After a few week of pop-up events serving delicious roast beef and porchetta sandwiches, Roll Call (website, instagram) is now open for business at 81 Clark Street in the West End. Their hours will initially be Friday through Sunday, 11 – 3.

Owners Michael and Siobhan Sindoni plan on expanding the menu and days of operations over time. In addition to the sandwiches, Roll Call also has on their evolving menu a kale salad, buttermilk panna cotta, meatballs.

Rigby Yard Now Open

The new beer and wine hall called Rigby Yard (instagram) is now open. It’s located at 50 Wharf Street and is owned by the same group of people that launched the Independent Ice Co.

Rigby Yard features an “expanded bar, large socially distanced tables that can accommodate parties of up to 8 people, a private tasting room and comfortable leather seating around a gas fireplace” serving Maine draft beer, wine and a full cocktail program as well as  casual food menu.