The process of converting all the past blog posts into the new system will take some time. I will chip away at it as time allows. In the meantime you can read the posts from December 2007:
| December 31 Rabelais Books is hosting an event with David Wondrich, an “internationally-recognized authority on cocktails and their history” and author of IMBIBE!, this Friday from 5-7 pm. Blogger Accidental Vegetables has posted comments about her recent visits to Thanh Thanh 2 (“I continue to be favorably impressed”), Empire Dine and Dance(“I really wanted to like Empire”), and Pom’s Thai Taste (“Overall our experience at Pom’s was outstanding”). Portland Magazine has published a new review of Green Elephant. |
| December 30 PM Artist Stephen Quirk has begun a project photographing local kitchens. Photos of Zu Bakery, West End Deli, and Bresca are available so far. |
| December 30 AM Gauchos Churrascaria opened for business this week at 100 Commercial St, former location of Oolong. MaineToday.com has a new review by Nancy English of Ribollita. Alison LePage, author of the Local Foodie locavore blog, will be a guest on WMPG’s (FM 90.9) show Big Talk on Thursday January 3, at 7:30 pm. |
| December 27 The Phoenix‘s Brian Duff has published his food predictions for 2008. The Maine Switch has a new review of Bull Feeney’s, as well as tips on buying Champagne and dealing with New Year’s Day hangovers. |
| December 25 According to The Bollard, the new owner of the Chestnut Street Church plans on turning the historic building into a restaurant. |
| December 23 According to a recent post on the eGullet Forums, Gauchos Churrascaria, a Brazillian steakhouse, will be opening for business on December 27. |
| December 22 Type A Diversions has published reviews of Tandoorand of Fore Street. |
| December 21 Passage to India had its grand opening this week. They are in the spot formerly occupied by Soffrito on Wharf Street. |
| December 20 PM Empire Dine and Dance is the focus of an article from The Forecaster on the changes taking place on Congress Street. |
| December 20 AM Siam Orchid, a “Thai takeout place” located in One City Center’s food court, was reviewed in the Go section on MaineToday.com. |
| December 19 PM Empire Dine and Dance and Bintliff’s American Cafewere reviewed in this week’s issue of The Maine Switch. The Portland Phoenix has a new article from Brian Duff on the growth and diversity of online information sources focused on the Portland restaurant scene. Along with Portland Food Map, Duff mentions Portland Psst!, Type A Diversions, From Way Away, Accidental Vegetables, and The Breakfast Club. |
| December 19 AM Blogger From Way Away has filed another report on his quest to sample all locally available poutine. You may recall, his first stop back in October was Duckfat; he gave them an overall scrore of 3.66. This monthhe reported on a visit to The Frog and Turtle which got an overall score of 1.8 for it’s interpretation of the classic fries and gravy dish. |
| December 17 Binga’s Wingas has closed its Portland St. location. A sign on the door explains, “Due to repeated vandalism, this location will only be open for parties and private functions.” |
| December 16 Nancy English gave Whole Foods Trattoria 2 out of a possible 5 stars in the review published today on MaineToday.com. English writes, “With the enormous range of food steps away, I imagined the corner of Portland’s Whole Foods Market that serves hot meals would be worth trying out. For the most part, I was wrong.” The Bollard is reporting that the owner of Digger’s and Liquid Blue has lost his appeal for an entertainment license and that the decision may spell the the end for the two local bars. |
| December 14 Today’s Press Herald reports that Freeport has given Gritty’s the go ahead to build a 24 foot tall silo to store barley malt. The silo will hold up to 50,000 pounds of grain. |
| December 13 There’s a new review of the Flask Lounge in the Go Magazine section of MaineToday.com. Also in today’s paper is a Community Voices article by Chichun Tsou about the role of rice in East Asian cultures. The Portland Phoenix has an article by Lindsay Sterling on her experience cooking with West Ender Sally Ng. |
| December 11 Fog Cutter Coffee had its first day in the old Maine Roasters location at 529 Warren Ave yesterday. To celebrate their new location coffee was free to everyone who stopped by. Nancy English has published a new installment of her holiday shopping series on Chow Maine. The three articles so far have covered caviar, holiday breads, and, my favorite, chocolate. |
| December 10 The Breakfast Club has published a new review. Benny Girl, Wild Toast and the rest of the Breakfast Club crew visited Ruski’s on Danforth St. They gave it an overall rating of a B. |
| December 8 Fog Cutter Coffee plans on opening their new location on Warren Ave Monday morning. |
| December 7 PM Empire Dine and Dance opened their doors to the public today. They’re running a cash bar and a limited menu at the moment. Credit card processing and a full menu are expected to come online next week. A group called Sacarrapa Boys is going on stage tonight at 9pm. On an unrelated topic, Downtown Lounge has opened back up. |
| December 7 AM Today’s Press Herald has a detailed article about Freaky Bean and its purchase of Maine Roasters. The article mentions that Freaky Bean plans on opening additional locations next year in South Portland and Scarborough. It goes on to say that the Maine Roasters location on Warren Ave has been closed and is being sold to Fog Cutter Coffee “which owns drive-through operations in Cumberland and South Portland.” According to Fog Cutter, their new location will be open by the end of the year. |
| December 6 The Maine Switch has published a review of Casa Novello, an Italian restaurant located in Westbrook. The Portland Phoenix has an in-depth article on the ongoing development of the Portland Food Co-op. There’s a new review on MaineToday.com of Leonardo’s Pizza. |
| December 5 On November 30 Freaky Bean Coffee entered into an agreement to purchase Maine Roasters Coffee. The acquisitions spreads their reach northward into Falmouth and Yarmouth. Freaky Bean VP, Andrew Kessler tells me that they anticipate a slow transition as they take the time to learn more about the neighborhoods and their new customers . . . The Bollard is reporting that a restaurant called Chef et al will be moving into the former Venue Bar & Grill location on Forest Ave, and that Granny’s Burritos has unexpectedly closed . . . Portland Psst!is reporting that the owner of The Front Room will be opening a new restaurant called The Grill Roomat the former location of Natasha’s. Also according to Psst!, Pom’s Thai Taste opened today which pushes the official count of Thai restaurants in the city to 11. Quite day for restaurant news in Portland. |
| December 3 The Downtown Lounge is temporarily closed for renovations. Chris2fer has been added to the list of local food bloggers. The latest print edition of The Bollard includes recommendations on family friendly restaurants. Among those that the author recommends are O’Natural’s, Flatbread, Three Dollar Deweys and Mekhong Thai. Also in The Bollard is an article on forgotten cocktails by John Meyers, the bartender at Local 188. You can pick up your free copy of The Bollard at Coffee by Design and many other local locations. Blogger Type A Diversions has posted a review of Duckfat; a recent visit changed her previously negative impressions of the Middle St sandwich shop. |
| December 2 Nancy English gave Bonobo 4 fours stars in the review published today on MaineToday.com. English sums up her impressions of the West End pizzeria by writing “The craftsmanship here assures you of an exceptional thin-crust pizza; ask which are the lighter ‘new generation’ pies if you like more of the crunch.” Also in today’s paper is an article on the closing of the Village Cafe. |
| December 1 The top 10 restaurants viewed most often on Portland Food Map for the month of November are:
Bresca has remained in the top spot for the past 3 months running while the other nine slots have been somewhat fluid. |