Coffee by Design is celebrating their 25th anniversary this Sunday at their Diamond Street shop. The party includes Burundian drummers, and Ethiopian coffee ceremony, live music, food trucks and much more. Here’s a link to the full schedule.
Maelily Ryleigh’s Closing
The Press Herald reports that Maelily Ryleigh’s is closing on Monday.
If you’re a fan of Maelily Ryleigh’s, the popular breakfast and lunch spot at 949 Forest Avenue, just past Walton Street, better go this weekend for your scrambled eggs and corned beef hash. The owners of the restaurant have announced it will close permanently on Monday.
Under Construction: The Cheese Shop 2.0
The Cheese Shop of Portland (website, instagram, facebook) has announced plans to move into larger digs on Washington Ave later this year.
Owners Will and Mary Sissle opened The Cheese Shop opened September 28, 2018 and have quickly developed a loyal customer base working out of their container sized space in The Black Box incubator. The expanded store will be located in the front 950 square feet of 107 Washington Ave. They hope to open in September and until that time will continue to run their business out of its current location.
The new store will sell the same range of goods with a slightly larger selection. They’ll also begin offering evening classes and have some space for seating and producer demonstrations.
The Sissles met when the pair worked at Cowgirl Creamery in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to moving to Portland they were on the staff at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge where Will was the international cheese buyer and Mary worked in the shop and handled their media relations. Mary Sissle is a originally from Maine having grown up in Cape Elizabeth. Will Sissle is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional.
Home Kitchen
Maine Women Magazine has published an article on the home kitchen life of chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti.
The room is painted a warm brown called Nutmeg. “I loved the color,” Lopez said, “but the name did it.” Throughout the kitchen are figurines of lizards and dinosaurs, courtesy of their daughter, as well as pigs, courtesy of the chefs in the family, who have a fondness for all things pig-related (their cast iron Griswold bacon press is often on display and in use for much more than just pressing bacon). There is a selection of Venezuelan rums on a side table—“My family brings a different bottle of Venezuelan rum every time they visit,” she says—as well as a spice collection in a wooden box, given to them by a regular customer on Piccolo’s fifth anniversary (the “wood” anniversary).
Under Construction: Speckled Ax Coffee
Speckled Ax Coffee has leased space on Thames Street where they plan to open a second location.
Owner Matt Bolinder is planning a similar coffee program to Congress Street “with a few surprises”. The Thames Street space will have a small kitchen which be used to “offer a focused but extremely high-quality menu of breakfast and lunch staples, with a few twists from coffee countries of origin.”
Bolinder is aiming to open the new shop sometime in October.
Scattaloni Bakery Moving to Biddeford
Andrea Swanson, owner of the Scattaloni Bakery in Monument Square, has announced plans to move her bakery to Biddeford. The last of operations in Portland will be August 2nd.
This Week’s Events: Wine, TempoArt, Greek Heritage Festival, Juicy Brews
Monday – there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire with Ismael Gozalo of MicroBio and Álvaro de la Viña.
Wednesday – Chris Deutsch from Belleville and Niky Watler and Martha Leonard of Maiz will be the guest chefs for a TempoArt dinner, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – it’s the first day of the Greek Heritage Festival, and there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire with Georgian winemakers Beka Gotsadze and Zurab Mgvdliasvhili.
Friday – it’s the second day of the Greek Heritage Festival, and there will be a wine tasting at the Munjoy Hill Rosemont.
Saturday – Mast Landing and Hop Culture magazine are co-hosting the Juicy Brews festival, it’s the last day of the Greek Heritage Festival, chef Madison Butler is kicking off a promotional cross-country food tour by taking the Downeaster from Portland to Boston, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.
Tales of the Cocktail Nominee
Northern Hospitality by Andrew and Briana Volk is a final nominee for Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book category in the 2019 Tales of the Cocktail awards program.
Visit the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation website to see a complete list of nominees.
Review of Dutch’s
The West End News has reviewed Dutch’s,
With a slight shortage of breakfast options on the peninsula, especially given the profusion of culinary choices in Portland ….. Dutch’s fills an important downtown niche for working stiff urbanites, students, and for those “from away.” As good a breakfast and lunch diner gets here- this is probably it. I will go back. Dutch’s impressed me more this time than from my first visit, a few years back. They’ve stepped-up their game: their product, and their space.
and the Maine Sunday Telegram has explored the food at Hadlock Field.
Bánh Appétit Opening Saturday
Bánh Appétit (instagram, facebook) has announced plans to open on Saturday.
Owner Tuyet Le leased 171 Cumberland Ave, the former Ten Te Piè location, where she plans to serve “banh mi, banh bao, banh pateso and more”.