Food & Wine restaurant editor Raphael Brion (instagram) was in town for a few days this week exploring the Portland food scene. He visited Leeward, Bar Futo, Ugly Duckling, Helm, The Honey Paw, Eventide, Fore Street, Via Vecchia, Room for Improvement, Zu Baker, Tandem, Smalls (where in addition to lunch he had a mini cake from Siblings Bakery), Twelve, and Regards.
Follow along on his travels across the country (and any future return to Portland) via stories on his instagram account.
Welcome to the January 2024 edition of My Kitchen, Their Table, an interview series with the chefs and culinary professionals who work hard to satisfy our small city’s big appetite. This month we’re featuring an interview with Barak Olins the founder and head baker of ZUbakery. Visit our instagram on next week, to see Barak and his team at work at the bakery.
A boat builder turned bread maker, Barak Olins is a master of craftsmanship and tradition. Originally from Tennessee, he moved to Rockport, Maine, to build boats. Eventually, his love affair with cooking became his profession when he and two partners opened Cafe Uffa (now the location of El Corazon in Longfellow Square), in 1995. In their quest to prepare everything from scratch, his journey in breadmaking took off.
In 2000, Olins launched ZUbakery out of a barn in Freeport equipped with a hand built woodfired oven and age-old techniques. From milling locally-grown grains to proofing at ambient temperature, his bread is as traditional as it gets. “I’m not an innovator. I’m not trying to reinvent bread. I don’t believe I can create a loaf of bread better than those before me,” he humbly explains.
For over two decades, he sold exclusively at farmer’s markets in Brunswick. On Fridays, the day before a market, he would sleep in the barn on a cot after he loaded the final batch of bread into the oven. The following day, after only a few hours of sleep, he would haul nearly 180 pastries and 300 loaves of bread to the market. “It was romantic for years, and then I said, I can’t do this anymore,” he says, laughing.
In 2022, Olins went from barn to boulangerie when he took over a space at 81 Clark Street in Portland’s West End. After many months of renovations, he opened the doors on October 21st, 2022. Inspired by a 1930s French bakery, it is chic, minimalist, and intentional. The 650-square-foot space has an open kitchen separated from the retail area by a narrow marble countertop and paned window — a cozy spot to watch your daily bread being made. Like all things Olins, there is beauty in its simplicity and practicality — from the wood shelves piled high with willow baking baskets to the proofing trough and work tables he built himself.
Unlike most bakeries, the counter at ZUbakery is far from fully stocked at the time of opening. Rather, Olins and his small, talented crew bake throughout the day. His menu, or rather schedule, begins at 9 a.m. with pastries served alongside coffee and tea. From late morning to early afternoon, they load the shelves with bread. Then, pizzettes and focaccia hit the counter until close at 5 p.m. This schedule allows the baking crew to start their day at a reasonable hour (if you consider 5 a.m. reasonable) and allows you to get an exceptionally fresh, even warm loaf of bread. Also for sale are housemade biscotti and granola, local honey, olive oil, ceramics made by Olins’ wife, Mimi, and a small selection of thoughtfully sourced wine.
Continue reading to learn more about Olins’ “unfussy utilitarian” approach to baking, where he’s ordering takeout from, and which brewery you’re most likely to find him at.
THE INTERVIEW
AR: How would you describe your baking style?
BO: I don’t make bread with a lot of other things in them. They’re fairly simple and rustic. I’m really interested in reclaiming that word because now you can go to a grocery store and buy artisanal, rustic bread, but that word rustic really means something. To me, it means handmade, regional, unfussy, and utilitarian.
AR: Why do you mill grains in-house?
BO: For one, it gives me the opportunity to work directly with the farmer. Also, flour loses flavor and oxidizes if it sits around for a long time. Eventually, the germ oil can go rancid. Freshly milled flour adds a layer of flavor. The range of offerings at my bakery is relatively small, and I want everything I do to be done as well as possible, so having control over the wheat that I use and the flour that I have is really important.
AR: What is your favorite pastry to make?
BO: I just love scones. I think they’re so good. I make an Irish scone with currants. They’re really simple. The trick is how you handle it. You don’t want to overwork the dough.
AR: What about your favorite bread?
BO: I make one called pavé. That’s French for a paving stone. It’s so good for dipping in olive oil or with a salad. The loaf is large, somewhat rectangular, and slightly flat. I usually make it with buckwheat, whole wheat, and white flour.
AR: What are the ingredients in pavé?
BO: Flour, water, salt, and starter. A bread recipe is more accurately a baker’s schedule. It’s not so much the ingredients as it is your technique of working the dough, how long you’re fermenting it, how you shape the loaf, and, of course, the wheat you’re using. One schedule that works for many bakers is cold fermentation. Sometimes shaped loaves cold-ferment in a cooler overnight. I don’t do that. My bread, with few exceptions, is always fermented at ambient temperature. Sometimes, I use refrigeration to slow it down, but I aim to do everything at room temperature. I don’t like relying that much on technology, and I like being more in touch with the dough as it’s going along.
AR: What is one of your favorite dishes in Portland?
BO: At Yosaku, they still make soba noodles in-house daily. For me, a bowl of cold soba noodles with dashi, wasabi, and grated daikon is magical. It’s not innovative. It’s just perfect. There’s no flavor that doesn’t need to be there. And it’s beautifully presented. That’s my dish.
AR: What is one of your go-to spots in Portland?
BO: I really love Bahn Appetit, the little takeout spot on Cumberland Avenue. They’re excellent. Everything I’ve had there is delicious. The Bahn mi is really good. I love honest, straightforward cooking. I don’t need to be surprised by combinations.
AR: Where did you eat one of your most memorable meals?
BO: One of my favorite dinners ever was at Bresca. At the time, I didn’t know who Krista Kern Desjarlais was. My wife and I sat at the bar looking into the kitchen. It was a sweet, cozy place with a small menu. Everything was delicious — the food, the wine. We were totally in love with it.
AR: Where do you go for a drink?
BO: I love Bunker Brewing. It’s a little off the beaten path. It’s on the backside of a building with some picnic tables. It reminds me of my favorite parts of what Portland was like twenty years ago. And the beer is so good. I’m not a big cloudy IPA drinker. I like their Machine Pilz and Salad Daze IPL. The one that transports me to an Irish or English-style bitter is the Chickadee nitro beer.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Previous editions of My Kitchen Their Table have featured Courtney Loreg, Chad Conley Atsuko Fujimoto, Matt Ginn, Jordan Rubin, Cara Stadler, Thomas Takashi Cooke, Ilma Lopez, Bowman Brown, Brian Catapang, Kelly Nelson, Lee Farrington & Bryna Gootkind, Jake and Raquel Stevens, Tina Cromwell, Nathaniel Meiklejohn, Evan Atwell, and Mimi Weissenborn.
The My Kitchen Their Table series is brought to life by food writer Angela Andre Roberts, and the generous sponsorship by Evergreen Credit Union and The Boulos Company.
Chocolats Passion has announced that a key member of their staff, lead chocolatier Sarah Levine (shown above), has become a co-owner of the business with founder Catherine Wiersema.
Almost 4 years ago, Sarah walked into 189 Brackett Street, résumé in hand, and was hired as a Chocolatier. Two years ago, Catherine promoted her to Lead Chocolatier, and delegated to her all production and day-to-day management of our growing team. All along, Sarah proved herself central to our vision of quality and creativity in crafting our artisan confections.
Today, we are so excited and proud to share that Sarah is now Catherine’s co-owner in the business. We make a fantastic team, and look forward to keeping our beloved Chocolats Passion on a path of excellence, fun, and ever better chocolates with our wonderful crew!
Longtime managers Emily Phillips and Courtney Packer have taken over ownership of Miyake and Pai Men Miyake from Masa Miyake. Packer and Phillips aren’t planning on making any big changes. Their intention is to keep the hours, menu, and “overall essence” of both businesses the same moving forward. The new owners have been managers at the restaurants for more than ten years.
Chef Miyake will be handing over culinary leadership of the flagship Miyake restaurant to his longtime sous chef Bounahra Kim towards the end of January. He’ll continue to be a resource through the transition to Packer, Kim and Phillips.
Masa Miyake opened Food Factory Miyake in 2007 at 129 Spring Street. The small BYOB sushi bar quickly developed a reputation for excellence. The restaurant moved to its present location in 2011 and for a time the original space was home to Miyake Diner, an izakaya-style restaurant. Pai Men Miyake opened on September 15, 2010. After a pandemic induced break and renovations Miyake on Fore Street reopened on December 1, 2022.
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Here’s a look back at the 2023 year in food. It’s been a very busy year of events, openings and, sadly, of closings too. Read on for a refresher on the year we just experienced and for a look at the new restaurants, bars, pizzerias, and other business that are in the pipeline.
Closings – Some restaurant close every year whether due to retirement, lack of business success, owners interest in pursuing a new venture or external personal circumstance. However, 2023 has clearly seen much more than its fair share. 2023 has been notable not only for the overall number of business closures, but also for touching established businesses as well as more recent arrivals alike.
To name just a few there was Little Woodfords, Maine Mead Works, the Rosemont wine bar, and Bull Feeney’s in Q1, Blue Spoon (since reopened in Rockport), Tiqa, Full Turn and Timber in Q2 and Vena’s shared plans not to launch their new bar/retail shop, Petite Jacqueline, Rick’s Lobby Cafe, The Danforth, Wolf Peach in Camden in Q3, and the CBD on Congress, the Other Side Deli, Judy Gibson, Radici, The Snug and Cabana in Q4. See this page and the month-by-month recap below for a fuller accounting of the departures.
Hopefully as we head into 2024 we’ll see this peak in these losses to the food and dining community subside.
Maine Food Map – The energy that’s powered the Portland area restaurant scene for the last decade is also now making an impact on communities across the state. New hospitality businesses are launching in small towns like Waterford and Alna as well as in tourist destinations like Rangeley and Eastport. Nowhere has that entrepreneurial activity been more keenly evident than in the Midcoast. However, the last two years have also seen notable establishments opening in locations like Gardiner and Lewiston—cities that weren’t at the top of anyone’s #TheNextBiddeford list. A pandemic influenced in-migration to Maine from other states is one of the contributing factors which has brought experienced professionals to (or back to) Maine and a growing customer base for the businesses they’re creating.
Take a look back the 2023 reporting on the Maine food scene for more details, but here are some of the highlights:
Upcoming in 2024 – There remains a strong pipeline of new businesses under development in the Portland area. For a full list see our Under Construction list. Here are just some highlights to look forward to:
There are also several other exciting new projects in the works that we’ll be writing about soon. Check back soon for all the details.
January – 11 Maine chefs and restaurants were on the Beard Awards semifinalists list. Salvatore’s Hoagies and Badger Bagels launched; the new LB Kitchen, Bake Maine Pottery Cafe and Auntie’s House opened, Badger Bagels debuted; Little Woodfords, Omi’s, Maine Mead Works, the Rosemont Wine Bar, and the Legion Square Market in South Portland closed.
February – The Danforth (which has since closed) was selected by Imbibe magazine for their annual Imbibe 75 list of the “people and places who are helping to shape the way we’ll drink in the months ahead”. Caleb Landry, Adam Sousa, and Matt Brown announced plans to launch the Portland Distilling Company. Joseph Rank recently took over ownership of Big Sky Bread Company. Nezinscot Farm in Turner was named a James Beard America’s Classics Award winner. Lenora and The Ugly Duckling opened, and Rivalries closed.
March – Double Great Coffee announced their plans for the former Hilltop Coffee space, construction began on Cantina Calafia, the Rose Foods guest chef bagel sandwich series, the New England Beer Summit and Maine Restaurant Week took place, Forbes has published an interview with Jonathan Baker about his artisanal ice business, Rebel Cheesesteaks announced plans to open a restaurant on Congress Street, Press Herald reports on how a maturing craft brewing industry is adding food service to evolve their business model. The Quarry in Monson was named a Beard Awards nominee in the Outstanding Hospitality category. A fire broke out at the construction site of the new Brea Lu Cafe location in Westbrook pushing back the opening date for the popular eatery. Papi and Thai Esaan opened and Maps reopened after an extended renovation. Maples shutdown their location in Yarmouth and moved to New Gloucester. Bull Feeney’s closed and Rwanda Bean closed their location on Thompson’s Point.
April – The staff at Cong Tu Bot formed a union, Maine Seaweed Week took place, chef Johnny Spero from the Michelin-starred Reverie served a 9-course dinner in Portland, Crispy Gai sous chef Amadeus Florendo held a pop-up serving contemporary Filipino cuisine, Travel & Leisure published an article celebrating Biddeford, seven Maine food producers were winners in the 2024 Good Food Awards, Papi Door-gate got rolling, The Danforth and the Hunt & Alpine were recognized by Tales of the Cocktail in their 2023 Regional Spirit Awards. Freedom’s Edge announced plans to open a tasting room in East Bayside. Bread & Friends, Room for Improvement, Coastal Creamery, Modestman Brewing, and The End of Portland opened. Pat’s Pizza, Tiqa, Blue Spoon (which as since reopened in Rockport), Pho Huong, Captain Sam’s closed.
May – The founders of The Great Lost Bear sold the business to longtime managers Michael Dickson, Mary Dickson and Andrew Pillsbury. Amovie called City of Servers about the Portland restaurant industry premiered. The Infatuation has published an eating guide to “The Best Restaurants In Portland, Maine“. Bloomberg has published a pair of articles on where to eat and stay in Maine and Portland. The Maine Sunday Telegram told the story of 5 food trucks that were making the transition to becoming restaurants. StarChefs featured 10 Maine chefs and sommeliers as part of their On The Ground photo series. Harshore and Oxbow began work to expand into the former Maine Mead Works space. Bar Futo held an 8-course dinner in collaboration with chefs Tracy Chang, Christine Lau, Tim Ma, and Shuai Wang, Sang Lee, and Nikhil Naiker. The Friends of Woodfords Corner launched a new farmers’ market. Cherished Possessions announced plans to open a new restaurant in Allen’s Corner. Full Turn, Stroudwater Distilling and Timber closed.
June – The Quarry in Monson was the 2023 winner of the Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality, a fire took The Grill Room out of commission, Mark Law took over as the CEO of Rosemont Market, Cider Club Portland celebrated its 5th anniversary, Down East published an interview with Sam Hayward about his first cooking job which was on Appledore Island in 1974, Portland Wine Week took place, Bon Appetit included Rover in Biddeford and Rose Foods in Portland to their list of Very Best Bagels in the US outside of New York and the tristate area, Food & Wine has included Bite Into Maine in their list of America’s Best Lobster Rolls. Angoor shared plans to open a self-pour wine bar on Fore Street. Owl & Elm in Yarmouth, Khmer Kitchen, Volcano, Lecha, and the South Freeport Village Market opened.
July – Ajambo Africa has published an article about the Oga Suya mobile Nigerian barbecue business run by Young Francis and Rose Barboza, Vena’s decided not to proceed with opening their bar and retail shop, George + Leon’s, the South Portland outpost of Modestman Brewing, Night Moves, Quanto Basta, Twirl, Little Pig, Bite Into Maine, the Clam Bar, and Henry’s Public House opened.
September – The New York Times included Tinder Hearth in Brooksville in their 2023 list of the 50 restaurants they’re “most excited about right now”. Travel and Leisure declared the Blue Hill peninsula “One of the Best Places to Eat in the U.S. Right Now“. The Maine Sunday Telegram published a feature article about Joshua Miranda. Harshore Distilling released word of their line of Shorebird bourbons. 7 Maine food industry professionals were included in StarChefs list of Rising Stars in the Costal New England region. An all-star line-up of female chefs from Maine collaborated on multi-course Fabulous Femmes dinner to benefit MOFGA and to highlight Maine women in farming. Wine Enthusiast included Vessel & Vine and Maine & Loire on their list of The Best Wine Shops of 2023. Allagash was named the Brewery/Brewer of the year at the Great American Beer Festival. Matcha Mood opened in Portland and Barber Brothers opened in South Portland. Steve and Michelle Corry shared plans to close Petite Jacqueline, and both The Danforth and The Maker’s Galley closed.
October – Chad Conley sold his stake in Ramona’s to his co-founder Josh Sobel. Papi beverage director LyAnna Sanabria is featured in a Wine Enthusiast article entitled 8 Hispanic Drinks Pros Making an Impact on the Spirits and Cocktail Scenes. The Maine Sunday Telegram publised a feature article on the fast growing Maine cider industry. The Prentice Hospitality Group purchased The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth. Cantina Calafia opened their takeout window while they continue the buildout of their restaurant, Rick Woods from the Rick’s Lobby Cafe found a new home at The Proper Cup. La Benedicion and Asia Eats opened in the Public Market House. When Pig’s Fly and Porttown opened and The Grill Room reopened after the fire that knocked them out of action earlier in the year. Botanically Curious shared their plans for a retail location on Congress Street. The Bar and Bites on Exchange Street closed as did the Bayside location of Banded Brewing, the Congress Street Coffee By Design location and the Other Side Deli on Veranda Street.
November –Punch named Room for Improvement to their list of the Best New Bars of 2023, The Maine Sunday Telegram published a feature article about Marilou Ranta the chef/owner of The Quarry in Monson, Maxim magazine has published a list of the 10 Best Places for Drinks in and around Portland, chef Joseph Robbins was invited to cook at the White House Tribal Nations Summit. Construction began at Mesa Grande Taqueria, at Jerome’s in the former Snug space, and at Argenta Brewing in Bayside. Orange Bike Brewing launched, Broadway Bowl and Thistle & Grouse opened. Radici, The Snug and Judy Gibson closed and the owners of Solo Cucina shared they’d put the market up for sale.
December – Big Tree Hospitality announced plans to relaunch their takeout restaurant XO Burger & Wings, Chocolats Passion won six medals from the 2023 Academy of Chocolate competition in London. Construction got underway for Bar Publica, Sacred Profane and Leisure Time Cocktails on Thompson’s Point. Nosh Tacos opened, Chocolats Passion opened their new West End chocolate shop, as did the bookstore cafe/bar Novel. Cabana, Citrus, and Taytene in South Portland closed.The most popular articles published on Portland Food Map in the past year.
For an additional perspective on the past year in food see the Maine Sunday Telegram Dine Out Maine: Best of 2023 article, and the Portland Old Port 2023 wrap-up.
This is the 14th year running that Portland Food Map has published a year in review article. Take a walk down memory lane by checking out these past editions that covered 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
Former Portland bartended Trevin Hutchins graces the cover of the new edition of Imbibe magazine. He’s profiled in their annual Imbibe 75 features which highlights the “people and places shaping the way we drink”.
Hutchins is now the bar manager at Aphotic in San Francisco. which has its own distillation license which enables Hutchins and his team to develop custom spirits, liquors and distillates for the drinks on the Aphotic menu.
Edible Maine has published an interview with Joe Robbins who is the chef at Bissell Brothers in Milo.
Chef Joe Robbins’ mission is proving that cultural preservation is not locked in the past by bringing contemporary indigenous cuisine to the front and center of Maine’s food scene – one plate at a time.
Punch has published an article about Papi beverage director LyAnna Sanabria’s recipe for the classic Puerto Rican drink Coquito.
While coquito is often shorthanded as Puerto Rico’s answer to eggnog, the comparison is not quite right, Sanabria notes. While the two drinks share some characteristics—boozy, creamy, spiced—coquito tends to be lighter-bodied than eggnog, meant for sipping in warmer weather. It also has a complicated heritage entwined with the island’s colonial past.
Joseph Robbins, the chef at Bissell Brothers Three Rivers in Milo, has been invited to cook at the White House Tribal Nations Summit taking place on December 6th and 7th.
Robbins is one of a small team of Indigenous American chefs participating in the event. His draft menu includes a turkey roulade made with squash and cranberries served over a wild rice and apple salad with a pumpkin pipian sauce. In addition to representing Indigenous American cuisine Robbins shared he also appreciates the opportunity to showcase produce and meats from Maine farms.
Robbins is Penobscot and has been one of a growing cadre of chefs raising the visibility of Indigenous American cooking traditions. A visitor to Bissell Brothers in Milo will find a menu grounded in local foods and featuring some dishes that make use of indigenous ingredients and food traditions.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article about Marilou Ranta who is the chef and owner of The Quarry in Monson. The Restaurant won the James Beard award for Outstanding Hospitality in 2023.
In the dining room, there are unforced smiles all around. Regulars get big bear hugs. Newcomers get hugs, too. “She’s a great hugger,” said Martha Lerman, a hug recipient who was dining at The Quarry for her first time on a Thursday evening in mid-September. Ranta was especially delighted to meet a Filipino couple who had driven from Massachusetts to check out The Quarry. Word about the 5-year-old restaurant “in the boonies,” as Ranta puts it, is getting around.
The Sunday Telegram also includes a 3½ star review of Maine Street Bistro in Brunswick,
Lean into Maine Street Bistro’s French menu and you’ll be rewarded. Co-owners and co-chefs John Holm and Brandon Franklin built their impressive skillsets of classic French techniques separately, but together in Brunswick, they’ve come up with a largely traditional menu that holds promise.
and an article about the rapid expansion of Brickyard Hollow Brewing which has added five locations in the last 12 months.
As Moll and his partner were first launching Brickyard Hollow in 2018, they realized the significance of the winter carnival photo. “We were trying to create a craft brewery that was a gathering place for this little community, and that picture really helped present that,” Moll said.