Category: People

Chef Marilou Ranta, Maine Street Bistro, Brickyard Hollow

| Posted in Reviews, Beer, People, Profiles

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.

Sunday Telegram: A Helping Hand, Review of Mainely Noods

| Posted in Reviews, People

The Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article about the culture of mutual assistance within Portland food and dining industry.

In a tough, fast-paced business where something often, seemingly inevitably, goes wrong, Maine restaurateurs, bakers and brewers in Portland and beyond have countless tales of coming to each other’s aid, or being the recipient of help. In the month leading up to Thanksgiving, we asked them to share with us instances of giving and getting.

The paper also includes a review of Mainely Noods.

After nearly four years in business, Portland’s Mainely Noods is beginning to show signs of burnout. Its effervescent visual design aesthetic remains firmly in place, but fading photos and untidy workspaces lend the restaurant a neglected vibe. The menu isn’t much of an improvement.

LyAnna Sanabria

| Posted in People

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.

Looking back at her own journey toward defining a sense of identity after settling in Maine, “I realized that I had always been hosting Puerto Ricans, people of color and the queer community through flavor and hospitality. I was the representation I was looking for and I could represent through the menu, flavors and the bar space as a whole.”

A Change at Ramona’s

| Posted in People

Ramona’s has announced that Chad Conley has sold his stake in the company to his co-founder Josh Sobel. Both Sobel and Conley have shared that it’s a friendly and mutually beneficial change for them both. Conley is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

No major changes are anticipated to the menu or overall program at Ramona’s.

Ramona’s initially opened as a takeout service in April 2020 and began seating customers indoors in March 2022.

Joshua Miranda

| Posted in People

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a feature article about Joshua Miranda who leads The Miranda Group that operates Blyth & Burrows, Via Vecchia, Papi and Henry’s Public House.

The 51-year-old Munjoy Hill native developed his acumen as a restaurateur over decades of experience in the industry, starting when he was just 8 years old, working as a busboy at a restaurant in Raymond where his dad cooked. He recalled going behind the bar as often as 10 times a shift to make himself virgin tequila sunrises, fascinated by the stacked effect of the liquids.

“It felt comfortable, natural,” Miranda said. “I loved layering the grenadine over the orange juice and learning how much ice was the right amount. I really paid attention to it.”

Rising Star Costal New England Awards

| Posted in Reviews, People

StarChefs has released their list of Rising Stars in the Costal New England region.

In New England, cold, snowed-in nights turn into long, sunny beach days. In our over 100 editorial visits across Rhode Island, Maine, and the Massachusetts Islands, we found a group of industry professionals defying the odds of seasonality, embracing the unique challenges of an economy that burns hotter than the summer sun, and understanding how to keep themselves and their teams stimulated and engaged in the winter months. There is a serious focus on agriculture, aquaculture, as well as innovations in showcasing what is fished and farmed locally. From the Narragansett to the Casco, StarChefs is proud to welcome in our newest class of Rising Stars. 

A number of Portland area chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders are on the list. Congratulations to all the honorees:

Read more about the Rising Star Awards Program on the starchefs.com website.

Bite Into Maine Interview

| Posted in People

Mainebiz has published an interview with Sarah and Karl Sutton, the owners of Bite Into Maine.

MB: How did you finance your startup costs?
Karl Sutton: In 2011, after yet another failed loan application, the loan officer looked at me and suggested we seek out the three F’s for financing. The three F’s? I hadn’t heard of this. He explained: Friends, Family and Fools. It was pretty clear we had to figure it out on our own. After maxing out our credit cards, liquidating 401ks and borrowing $4,000 from Sarah’s father, we were up and kinda running.

2023 Best New Bartender Semifinalists

| Posted in People

Congratulations to Lyanna Sanabria on being named a semifinalist Best New Bartender by Punch. Sanabria is the beverage director at Papi (website, facebook, instagram), the new Puerto Rican cocktail bar that launched earlier this year on Exchange Street.

The bartenders below have been selected as 2023 Best New Bartenders semifinalists—each possessing a distinctive point of view on drink-making, a genuine passion for the hospitality industry and a desire to push it forward.

Punch will be releasing a list of the top 10 Best New Bartenders of 2023 on October 10.

Interview with Chef Lulu Ranta

| Posted in People

Down East has published an interview with Lulu Ranta the chef/owner of The Quarry in Monson.

What did it feel like to be shortlisted?
Scary, because I’ve never talked about James Beard. To me, that’s for elite chefs. I work hard for my artists and for my guests. That’s what I strive for. But James Beard, now you have the accolades, now comes all the expectations. And I can’t even call myself a chef. My husband and kids say, “Mom, you’re a chef.” I say, “No, I’m not a chef. I’m a cook.” Chef, for me, it’s too formal. I’m not formal. But I mean, James Beard is a huge honor. That’s beyond my wildest dream.