Portland in a Snap has published an update on Fit to Eat. The Old Port eatery was recently bought by Mike Mastronardi who resume includes stints at Five Fifty-Five and the Haraseeket Inn.
“Five Fifty-Five really taught me how to cook,” Mike says of the fine dining restaurant, where he still works Sunday brunch.
Recently he was offered the opportunity to take over the reigns at Fit to Eat, and he jumped at it. He re-opened the shop two weeks ago with a pared down menu and scratch made breads.
A front page article on Maine Foodie Tours is in the new Food & Dining section of today’s Press Herald.
This two-hour walking tour was launched in June and developed by Pamela Laskey, owner of a new company, Maine Foodie Tours. The Old Port Culinary Tour takes visitors to local merchants who make and sell artisanal foods.
There’s plenty of sampling to be had, and guides share a bit about the city’s history and its thriving restaurant scene along the way.
The newly redone Food & Dining section (formerly Food & Health) now includes the Taste & Tell reviews that had been in the Sunday paper, a restaurant dining guide and a promise from editor Rod Harmon that this is just the start. “But don’t think that just because we’ve made a few changes to the Food section we’re going to rest on our laurels. We’re constantly on the loookout for new ideas to help make this section better.”
Elsewhere in the paper was an article about Wolfe Neck Farm “losing it’s famed beef cattle“.
The company that is currently raising beef cattle there, Pineland Farms Natural Meats, plans to remove the livestock by September, its president confirmed Tuesday. Erick Jensen said the operation was no longer economical, in part because of the measures that would be needed to keep manure from washing away and contaminating nearby clam flats.
Portland in a Snap has published a profile of The Corner Room.
The kitchen staff was hard at work in the open kitchen prepping for tonight’s dinner. The menu includes a la carte antipasti choices of meat, seafood, vegetables and cheeses plus a robust selection of salads, pizzas, paninis and pasta. Everything is priced at $15 or under. Look for a list of Italian wines to round out your meal.
Portland in a Snap has published a brief profile of Otto Pizza.
The Maine Switch has published a profile of The Salt Exchange.
Instead she characterizes the food as new New England cuisine. This mean such offerings as Pemaquid oysters under lemon celeriac cream & hazelnut ($7/$12), Wolfe’s Neck Farm steak & tellagio on sourdough with sweet and sour onion & spicy roast tomato mayonnaise ($10), spiced Maine coast cioppino with Casco Bay fish, shellfish & grilled sourdough crostini ($12) and pea risotto with butter poached clams & fresh morel mushrooms ($9).
The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Abby Harmon and Lisa Vaccaro, the owners of Caiola’s.
And as the owners of Caiola’s continue to expand their menu, they also plan to expand their space. Vaccaro said in October they will begin construction on a private dining room, which will partially expand into the outdoor patio area and will seat about 30 people, more than doubling the capacity of their current private dining room. The expansion, they hope, will provide space for more neighbors to join.
Type A Diversions has reviewed El Rayo, providing an early take on the new restaurant.
Bottom line: El Rayo lived up to expectations, at long last bringing fantastic Mexican fare to Portland.
For additional input see reader comments here and here.
And you might also want to take a look at this article from Portland in a Snap.
Photo Credit: Type A Diversions
The weekend edition of the Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of GRO Cafe,
Organic fair-trade coffee and a variety of smoothies and desserts likewise tap ingredients not likely found in your traditional restaurant. There’s fresh ground flax and local bee pollen that can be added to smoothies. Wheat-free croutons and hand-picked mushrooms are mingled with red peppers, avocado and onion for a house salad.
and a profile of Food Factory Miyake.
Food Factory Miyake offers so intimate a dining experience that now just might be the time to go before the onslaught of summer moths drawn to Portland’s culinary limelight makes one of the 30 seats as difficult to get as a free pass from the Portland parking patrol.
Professor Ardis Cameron, a professor of American and New England Studies at USM, is teaching a class this summer entitled “Project Chef: Documenting Portland’s Food Industry“. As part of the class, students will interiview local chefs, wait staff or others involved in the local food economy. Required reading for the course includes Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. According to the syllabus, “The project’s goal is to produce a narrative for public presentation and distribution.” I look forward to hearing what they put together.
The self-described coffee addict in charge of the Waiting for That Rocket’s blog has posted a profile of Bard Coffee Roasters.
Huzzah! There’s a new coffee shop in Downtown PTL! ((Because that’s exactly what I need – yet another place to feed my addiction)) The new place is called “Bard,” and it’s a surprisingly nice place. The interior is bright, there’s tons of seating, and the baristas have both personality AND smiles (something that may occasionally be lacking in my other coffee shops of choice).