Category: Openings

Rhum Opens Today

| Posted in Openings

Rhum (website, facebook, instagram) held an friends and family preview last night and opens to the public today—the bar opens at 4pm and the kitchen at 5pm.

The tiki bar and restaurant is a partnership between Jason Loring, owner of Nosh and Slab; Mike Fraser, owner of Bramhall Pub; Nat Towl, builder and designer with the all star team of Frank Warren Anderson, Fred Eliot, Sam Babcock, and Rebecca Ambrosi.

The bar serves tiki-themed cocktails such as the King Kong Sledgehammer, Painkiller, Junglebird and mocktails. You can also get large format drinks (“Why settle for a flagon when you can have the whole cask?”) that serve up to 7 people.

Rhum features a raw bar serving Island Creek Oysters by the half dozen and seafood towers that include Peruvian scallops, Mexican shrimp, Maine mussels, king crab and lobster. There’s also a menu of small plate dishes. My favorite so far has been the Hiramasa Poke (photo) made with coconut vadouvan, pineapple and fried shallots. See below for the full list of options, and pictures of the food and space are available on Instagram.

rhumfood

Woodford F&B to Open Wednesday

| Posted in Openings

Woodford Food & Beverage (facebook, twitter, instagram, website) has announced plans to open on Wednesday January 20th at 5pm.The 85-seat restaurant is located in the center of Woodfords Corner, 660 Forest Ave, at the location of the original Valle’s Steakhouse.

Chef Courtney Loreg with owners Birch Shambaugh and Fayth Preyer have had as their goal to create a “classic neighborhood eatery where you can count on having a reasonable, simple meal or, when you feel like it, something a bit more special”.

Here’s and advance look at the opening night menu (click to enlarge). There’s a daily rotating list of specials (I’m looking forward to Friday’s braised lamb shanks) along with a mix of classic neighborhood restaurant dishes like roast chicken,  strip steak, brussels sprouts, mussels and roast beet salad. The menu’s accompanied by a food friendly list of wine and beer and a short list of cocktails.

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Woodford Food & Beverage will be open dinner 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays). They plan to start serving Sunday brunch (10-3) on January 31st.

Intervale Mercantile Now Open(ish)

| Posted in Openings

intervalesignIntervale Mercantile Co.(instagram) had a soft opening on Saturday and is now “slightly open“, 10-2 Monday through Friday with a grand opening planned for Saturday.

Intervale is located at 4 School Street in Freeport. A studio and retail shop for Erik Desjarlais’ line of Weft & Warp brand products (knife rolls, aprons, leather goods, etc) as well as a growing assortment of vintage chefs knive, grooming products and an interesting collection of flatware based jewelry and decorative items.

Run for Breakfast

| Posted in Reviews, Openings

Both endurance athletes and dedicated brunch fans will find something to like in Portland’s newest food blog Run for Breakfast. Husband and wife running partners Mike and Katie write about their weekend run and the destinations they stop for breakfast along the way. The latest is a review of Dutch’s,

We’ve actually been to Dutch’s quite a few times now.  The first time I had been lured in by a Yelp Reviewer who poetically said something to the effect of their home fries being like hash browns and tater tots getting married and having beautiful square children.  That’s no lie.  The home fries, hash browns, whatever you call them are amazing; crispy, crunchy on the outside and soft and potato-y in the middle.

They’ve also written up visits to Abilene, The Honey Paw, Union and The Sinful Kitchen.

Built on Family

| Posted in Openings, History

2015-12-01_21-50-07A new book titled Built on Family about the India Street Italian-American community is now on sale at Anania’s on Congress Street.

It includes a chapter on the  food traditions of the neighborhood and the area’s Italian owned restaurants and groceries including Amato’s, Anania’s, Micucci’s, Commercial Fruit, the Village Cafe, Taliento Suprette, Sangillo’s, Cremo’s Bakery, and Al’s Lunch. The book also includes hints of a possible alternative origination story for the Ham Italian sandwich.

You can read more about the book and author Jamie Carter Logan on the CreateSpace website,

“Built on Family” covers the physical neighborhood, the importance of the local Church, the immigration patterns, home life, and the establishment of businesses. It traces how family and kinship were present in all activities – a trait brought over from Italy and not distinct from other Italian settlements in the United States.

With personal interviews conducted by the author intermingled with census research and photos, the book uses humorous and touching stories to bring historical data to life.

Tomaso’s Canteen Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Primary_Logo_RGBTomaso’s Canteen(website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is now open.

Tomaso’s is located in the former Sangillo’s building at 18 Hampshire Street. Owner Sam Minervino has fully renovated the space; a long bar runs along the right wall and a kitchen has been installed at the back. The opening night menu includes the Wings (buffalo, Thai chili, or dirt) as well as single, double or triple Flat-Top Burgers and sandwiches such as Blackened Haddock, Fried Chicken and Italian Sausage with peppers and onions.

Tomaso’s is named for Minervino’s great grandfather.

Roustabout Now Open

| Posted in Openings

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Roustabout(twitter, instagram, facebook, website) is now open. Last night’s menu includes dishes such as Pasta Fagioli, Seafood Salad with octopus, chickpeas chilies and bitter greens, Bolognese with garganelli, fonduta and basil, Roast Chicken Fra Diavolo, Skate Piccata and Eggplant Parmesan.

The 75-seat restaurant and bar is located at 59 Washington Ave near Oxbow, Tu Casa and Terlingua and immediately next to Maine & Loire.