Category: Openings

Highroller Lobster Now Open

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Highroller Lobster Co. opened their new brick and mortar restaurant today at 104 Exchange Street. They plan to be open Wednesday through Sunday starting December 6th.

Founders Baxter Key and Andy Gerry launched their first food cart in June 2015, and for this project Key and Gerry have partnered with Peter and Noah Bissell from Bissell Brothers Brewing.

As with other mobile food operations that have opened brick and mortar establishments (Mami, Baharat, East Ender, Bite Into Maine, etc) the expanded space and equipment has provided an opportunity to expand from the original food cart menu and add beer, wine and spirits to the options they offer.

Here’s a look at the menu:

Elda Opening Tuesday

| Posted in Openings, Uncategorized

A new restaurant named Elda (website, instagram) is scheduled to open this Tuesday in Biddeford. The restaurant is in the space formerly occupied by Custom Deluxe at 140 Main Street. Chef/owner Bowman Brown has also expanded into the adjacent space renovating both and adding a bar.

Brown has moved from Salt Lake City where he was the co-owner and chef of Forage (instagram). He was recognized as part of the 2011 class of Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. Additionally, Brown has been a Beard semifinalists in the Best Chef: Southwest category for six years running from 2011 to 2016.

Here’s a look at the menu from Thursday night’s friends and family dinner:

The name Elda is a reference to the Icelandic word meaning ‘to cook’ as well as the name of Brown’s great-grandmother, Elda Whiting Brown.

This Week’s Events: Frederiksdal Kirsebaervin, P’Alante Maine, Closing Maine’s Hunger Gap, Beaujolais Nouveau, Sweet Tooth Truffles, 1820 Wines, Thanksgiving List

| Posted in Events, Openings

Monday – Eighteen Twenty Wines will be interviewed on WMPG’s radio show Food Stories, and Bier Cellar is holding a Frederiksdal Kirsebaervin cherry wine tasting. Bier Cellar describes he tastes as “wines [that] live in the union of red wine and Port”.

Tuesday – Restaurants across the state are collaborating in P’Alante Maine to raise money for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Wednesday – Mark Winne will be speaking at USM about Closing Maine’s Hunger Gap: Exploring Myths, Realities, Solutions, Old Port Wine Merchants is holding a Thanksgiving wine tasting, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – MJ’s is celebrating the release of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau and Petite Jacqueline is holding a Beaujolais Nouveau wine dinner. A Fall wine tasting is taking place at Maine & Loire, and there will be a release party for Same Sun at The Thirsty Pig.

Friday – Oxbow is releasing Native/Wild Barrel Select: 89, Sweet Tooth Truffles is holding a launch party at Fork Food Lab and Eighteen Twenty Wines is opening their tasting room.

Saturday – Falafel Underground is holding a Turkish Pop-up Dinner in Biddeford, Bolster Snow is kicking off their new brunch service this weekend, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thanksgiving – see the our list of restaurants serving Thanksgiving Day dinners.

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.

Bite Into Maine Opens Tuesday

| Posted in Openings

Bite Into Maine (website, facebook, twitter, instagram) will be opening their new 12-seat brick and mortar kitchen/cafe at 185 Route 1 in Scarborough on Wednesday Tuesday.

The space will serve both and as a prep area to keep their two food trucks amply supplied throughout the summer months and a destination where Bite Into Maine fans can go all year round to get their lobster roll fix to eat in to take out.

Hours are 11 – 4 on Sunday, closed Mondays and 11 – 6 the rest of the week.

Update: Bite Into Maine shifted their opening day to Tuesday.

This Week’s Events: Portland Beer Week, SMCC, Goodfire Brewing, Tuna Debunked

| Posted in Events, Openings

Monday – Portland Beer Week continues through Sunday. Visit the PBW site for the full schedule and see the our Beer Week highlights list.

Wednesday – Hugo’s is holding a beer dinner with Allagash, the SMCC Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs are holding A Light on the Point, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – The Thirsty Pig is hosting the Goodfire Brewing launch party, DiMillo’s is holding benefit dinner for Full Plates Full Potential, and there will be a lectures at GMRI entitled Tuna, Debunked: Myths and Misconceptions.

Friday – there will be a wine tasting at the Rosemont in the West End.

Saturday – there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

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.

Belleville Bakery Opens Today

| Posted in Openings

Belleville (instagram, website, facebook), the new bakery at the intersection of Congress and North Streets on Munjoy Hill, is slated to open today. Chris Deutsch and Amy Fuller are serving croissants (be sure to try-out the chocolate almond) and other traditional French baked goods along with Tandem Coffee in the mornings. The lunch menu includes options like a prosciutto, sharp provolone and giardiniera sandwich and roman pizza.

The couple learned to bake in Paris. Prior to moving to Portland they operated a French bakery food cart in Washington DC called Hot Hot Bakery.

Belleville will be open 7-3 Tuesday through Friday, and 8-3 on the weekend.

Veebie has Launched

| Posted in Openings

A new food service has launched in the Old Port. Veebie (website, facebook, instagram) partners with local restaurants to handle online ordering and distribution of a set menu each day. Think of it like a modern day automat.

To use the service, customers order and pay for their meal on veebie.me (menus go live at 9am) and then pick up one of the premade dishes out of the “cubbies” assigned to them at the time of purchase. The kiosk is located in front of the Nickelodeon Theater.

The current version of Veebie is a prototype without locking compartments so an attendant is in place to help out. Future versions of Veebie will have digitally controlled locks and the option for both hot and cold meals.

The current list of restaurants working with Veebie are: Daily Greens, Union Kitchen, Sisters Gourmet Deli, B Good, and Foodworks.