Category: People

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Olive Cafe owner Rayan Elkhatib.

How did you first get into the restaurant business?
I’ve been in the industry since I was 15 years old. My parents kind of planted the seed. They both had little cafes like this (in Florida) and I always worked with them. My mom taught me the cooking part of the industry and my dad pretty much showed me the business side. It caught on, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Before I came here, I was the assistant manager for a really nice restaurant in Del Ray Beach called City Oyster. I was well-rounded, I had all the experience and it was time for me to open my own shop and see what I could do with it.

The Press Herald reports that Vivian’s Drive-In on Forest Ave is changing hands.

After 21 years of running one of Portland’s most beloved, and cheapest, burger joints, Donna Morgan is selling Vivian’s Drive-In. But despite rumors that the Forest Avenue business might be closing, Morgan said it isn’t going anywhere.

Vivian’s was founded in 1952 by Vivian L. Vintinner. Vintinner sold it in 1964 to Joyce Perry who then sold it to Donna Morgan in 1995.

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Hugo’s co-owner Arlin Smith.

LO: What do you think the secret is to excellent service?
AS: One thing that I try to push … is the difference between hospitality and serving. Anyone can be a server. You don’t have to have a voice, you just have to have feet and hands and be able to take food from one place to another. Hospitality is going above and beyond, to guide a person, to be generous, to anticipate their needs before they even know that they need them. That’s what separates just serving people and really taking care of people. This is one of the most unique dining experiences in New England, never mind in Portland. It’s not for everyone — you have to come here not just to get sustenance, you have to come here to have an experience, to allow us to take care of you. If you want to go out and be taken care of, I don’t know many places that do it better than here.

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Joe Catoggio, co-owner with his wife Diane of the Bayside American Cafe.

LO: Can you tell me a little bit about the menu?
JC: We inherited a brunch menu. As I said, he’d [Roger Bintliff] been winning “Best Brunch” quite often. We largely stayed with that same theme. We just tried to refine it a little bit, change it up about 15-20 percent every year … bring in some new items, lose some items. We’ve downsized the menu a bit so we could focus more on specials. The Louisiana Bayou Benedict (grilled andouille sausage, homemade corncakes, two poached eggs and spicy Cajun hollandaise sauce) was a special that we created for a benefit for Hurricane Katrina. It became a menu item directly after that because it was just so popular. It’s one of our biggest sellers. … We’re very well known for our corned beef hash. We created a special last summer, which was a cinnamon bun pancake, and that’s taken off unbelievably.

Paul Trusiani (article, obituary) passed away Saturday at the age of 81. Trusiani founded Paul’s Food Center on Congress Street in 1975.

In his early years, Trusiani worked for Hannaford Brothers Co. as a buyer, retail counselor and head of procurement. He went on to work as vice president and general manager of Martin’s Foods before deciding to establish his own company, Paul’s Food Center. He operated the business with his former wife, Annamarie Ross Trusiani. The partners have 12 to 15 full and part-time employees.

Their son, Jim Trusiani, said the family has no plans to sell or close the business.

“The family’s intent is to continue to run the store the way Dad did,” his son said.

Update: For additional information see this article from the Portland Phoenix.

The Press Herald has published an interview with Rob Tod, owner of Allagash.

Q: What attracted you to beer brewing?
A: It combined everything I loved. It had a bit of science, biology and chemical reactions and it had a big creative component with recipe-writing and a mechanical component with pipes and wiring and valves. It wrapped up everything I loved in one nice package and on top of it all, it was beer.

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Travis Colgan and Anna Connolly, the owners of Abilene in Woodfords Corner, and a tasting report on their menu.

I began with Anna’s favorite dish on the menu, an appetizer called Manchego Toast, which consists of homemade focaccia bread, doughy and warm, topped with melted Manchego (a Spanish cheese), garlic, shallots and fresh mushrooms, over a sherry and mushroom broth. The bread soaks up the broth, and you can dip the toast in as well. However you choose to eat it, it’s rich, hearty and satisfying. Anna mentioned that, as she and Travis were drawing up the menu, this was the first item they knew they had to include. The dish, she said, evolved from working with a Spanish chef in a restaurant down in New Orleans.