A&C Moving to South Portland

| Posted in Under Construction

Joe Fournier is moving A&C Grocery to South Portland where it will re-open as the A&C Soda Shop (instagram) sometime this summer.

The menu will carryover some old favorites from Washington Ave such as the cheeseburger and Italian sandwich while adding soups, salads, and dishes like moules frites and crab cakes. True to its new name the A&C Soda Shop will also serve ice cream floats, milkshakes, and herbal tonics. Wine-based slushies as well as beer on draft and in cans are also on the menu.

The A&C Soda Shop will be located in the former Terra Cotta Pasta building at 501 Cottage Road. In 2019 Terra Cotta moved to a new spot nearby and Nosh co-founder Matt Moran leased the property with plans to open a neighborhood restaurant. The new A&C is a collaboration between Fournier, Moran and Michael Gatlin.

A&C Grocery originally opened on Washington Ave in 2017 as a neighborhood grocery store. The concept transitioned into a popular sandwich shop before closing in 2021 with plans to relocate.

Interview with Sam Hayward

| Posted in People

News Center Maine has aired a really nice Rob Caldwell interview with Sam Hayward.

“Like playing rock-and-roll and jazz, which I was really familiar with, there was an improvisational aspect to [cooking] that really caught me, that really grabbed me,” he said. “I still love being handed a basket of ingredients and figuring out how to put them together and what to do with them.”

LB Kitchen Moving and Expanding

| Posted in Under Construction

Bryna Gootkind and chef Lee Farrington, the owners of LB Kitchen, have purchased the building on the corner of Congress and Smith Streets. Farrington and Gootkind plan on renovating the two storefronts on the corner and move LB Kitchen into that joined space later this year.

The new LB will feature a 21-seat dining room, sidewalk and patio seating, a dedicated space for takeout pick-up and a retail market with some of the staff’s favorite food and wellness brands.

Dunes (instagram), an artist-run gallery run by Boru O’Brien O’Connell, is slated to takeover the space formerly occupied by Lila East End Yoga.

The new LB Kitchen is expected to launch in September and the current iteration of LB will continue to operate from 249 Congress Street serving takeout until then. Once the move is completed, 249 Congress will be available for lease. The  949 sq ft space, includes a hood, grease trap, walk-in refrigerator, parking and a 200 sq ft patio.

Upcoming Events: Restaurant Week, Dila’s, Absolem, Slide Street, Belleville

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – March 12 – Maine Restaurant Week.

Friday – a new food cart called Slide Street Co. is holding a pop-up at Fork Food Lab, and it will be the grand opening of Dila’s (menu) at the Public Market House.

Saturday – the launch party for Absolem Cider is taking place at Anoche on Washington Ave, and Belleville is re-opening their North Street shop, 8 am to 2 pm.

March 7 – a 5-course Bissell Brothers beer dinner.

March 10 – the Roma Cafe is holding a 4-course Tuscan wine dinner.

March 13 – Judy Gibson and Lorne Wine are teaming up on a 4-course wine dinner.

March 29 – Maine’s newest cidery the Absolem Cider and Oxbow Brewing will collaborating on a beer/cider dinner at the Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford.

April 9 – the Beer With(out) Beards festival will be taking place.

April 22 – May 1 – 4th Maine Seaweed Week.

June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place.

Brewery Kitchens

| Posted in General News, Beer

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article on the development of food programs at Maine breweries.

Maine Brewers’ Guild Executive Director Sean Sullivan agrees. “Just from the perspective of how to diversify your business to meet the needs of the customers, it makes sense. How about a little food with the beer? It’s a way to make a more sustainable business.”

Forbes = Beer x Ice Cream

| Posted in Beer

The recent collaboration between Purple House chef Krista Kern Desjarlais and Allagash Brewing is the subject of a new article in Forbes magazine.

“Beer can be hoppy or bitter, and sugar can mask a lot of that,” Desjarlais says. “With the coolship beers and sour ales I have been using, the fruit undertones come forward and marry beautifully with the dairy in the ice cream custard.”

2022 Beard Awards Semifinalists

| Posted in Reviews

The 2022 list of semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation Awards has been released. There are 10 semifinal nominees from Maine:

  • Best New Restaurant – Leeward
  • Outstanding Pastry Chef – Kate Fisher Hamm from Leeward
  • Outstanding Baker – Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery
  • Outstanding Hospitality – Bao Bao Dumpling House
  • Outstanding Bar Program – The Jewel Box
  • Best Chef: Northeast – Bowman Brown, Elda/Jackrabbit; Vien Dobui, Công Tử Bột; Ben Jackson, Magnus on Water; Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food and Beverage; Damian Sansonetti, Chaval

The final list of nominees will be released March 16th, and the awards ceremony will take place on Monday June 13th in Chicago.

Related information:

Sacred Profane Brewing in Biddeford

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

A new Czech-style lager-exclusive brewery and ‘tankpub’ called Sacred Profane Brewing (website, instagram) is under construction at 50 Washington Street in Biddeford. Brewer Brienne Allan, formerly with Notch Brewing and a co-founder of Brave Noise, is launching the new brewery.

The restaurant will offer a menu of classic beer hall fare and a state-of-the-art beer service system engineered by Czech firms Lukr and GS Technik. The system will be the first of its kind in North America, enabling the team to provide a unique beer drinking experience.

“Our friends in the Czech Republic say that the brewer brews the beer, but the tapster makes the beer,” says Allan. “And we agree 100% that how you maintain and serve the finished beer is just as important as how you brew it.”

Working along with Allan will be a team that includes Michael Fava, the former head brewer at Oxbow Brewing, as the director of operations at Sacred Profane, as well as Carson James and Erin Sheehan, the co-founders of Lorne Wine in Biddeford, who will be heading up the food, hospitality and marketing programs. The team hope to open Sacred Profane by early July.

For more information on the beer program listen to the latest episode of the Good Beer Hunting podcast—the section on Sacred Profane runs from minute 34 to minute 38 in the recording.

Here’s a look at the draft food menu:

House Smoked Oyster – $18
saltines/mustard/onion

Pickled Curds – $8
Pilot bread crackers

Cretons – $12
Toast/mustard/sweet pickles

Chowder – $14
Smoked haddock/cream/potato/bacon

Ham Plate – $12
Country ham/pickle/garlic Mayo

Pult Tartare – $14
Dry aged beef/mustard seed/yolk/bacon/toast

North Haven Oysters – 6 for $16, 12 for $28
Mignonette classique’/lemon

Crab Louie – $18
Toast

Salad – $10
Little gem/ranch/pulverized dorito

Chicken Sorta Montreal Style – $18
Mashed potato/gravy/freezer peas

Schnitzel – $20
Pork steak/potato salad/maple mustard

Poutine – $16
Previously frozen French fries/curds/gravy

Curry Wurst – $18
House curry sausage/fries/mayo/ketchup

“Meat” Loaf Sandwich – $16
Bunch of veg in the shape of a loaf/Fish & Whistle milk bun/mayo/giardeniera/cucumber salad

Lobster Themidor – MP
Lobster/bernaise/fries

Maple Calvados Ice Cream – $8
A Parlor ice cream exclusive

Upcoming Events: Codex Pop-Up, Wine Dinners, Slide Street, Drink It Now

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – a Codex pop-up dinner is taking place at Petite Jacqueline.

Thursday – Judy Gibson is holding a Portuguese wine dinner, and there will be a 5-course Spainish/Portuguese wine diner at Evo.

Sunday – Allagash’s annual Drink It Now virtual event is taking place. Drink It Now that encourages beer enthusiast to pull those special bottles they’ve been holding on to out of storage and #DrinkItNow.

March 1 – 12 – Maine Restaurant Week.

March 4 – a new food cart called Slide Street Co. is holding a pop-up at Fork Food Lab.

March 5 – the launch party for Absolem Cider is taking place at Anoche on Washington Ave.

March 7 – a 5-course Bissell Brothers beer dinner.

March 29 – Maine’s newest cidery the Absolem Cider and Oxbow Brewing will collaborating on a beer/cider dinner at the Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford.

April 9 – the Beer With(out) Beards festival will be taking place.

April 22 – May 1 – 4th Maine Seaweed Week.

June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place.