Zagat has published a list of 10 Must-Try Restaurants on the Maine Coast.
From the Portland area the list includes: The Honey Paw, Central Provisions, Hunt & Alpine, Woodford F&B.
This Week’s Events: I Hart Food, Zamboni Lecture
Monday – the latest episode of the Food TV Network show I Hart Food will feature several restaurants in Portland including Boda.
Tuesday – cinematographer Zach Zamboni will speak at One Longfellow Square. Maine native Zamboni “has won three Primetime Emmys as well as a Peabody Award for his work on Anthony Bourdain’s food and travel shows”.
Wednesday – the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Friday – there will be a wine tasting at the Rosemont in the West End.
Saturday – 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, please provide details as a comment to this post.
Under Construction: Belleville
Here’s a look inside Belleville (instagram, website, facebook) the new bakery under construction at the intersection of Congress and North Streets on Munjoy Hill. Co-owner/baker Chris Deutsch hopes to open this fall in October serving French baked goods in the morning, and sandwiches and roman-style pizza at lunch time. Belleville is sourcing coffee from Tandem Coffee Roasters.
Deutsch learned to bake in Paris and prior to moving to Portland he operated a French bakery food cart in DC called Hot Hot Bakery.
The old newspapers below were found in the wall space during construction.
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Reviews: North 43, El Corazon, Chaval
Portland Magazine has reviewed El Corazon,
El Corazon’s tag line is “Mexican food from the heart,” and that it is. It’s also a good value for your dine-out dollar. This cheery little cafe predates the age of hipster small plates and artisanal whatnot in the friendliest possible way.
The Golden Dish has published a first look at North 43, and
The gazpacho was a thick and chunky soup, nicely spicy and served with grilled shrimp on the side. A composed salad was rich and complex with its assertive dressing, croutons and local tomatoes. Entrees like Statler chicken, perfect strip of beef, and classic crab cake were fine examples coming from a chef who knows how to mix flavors and basic ingredients into great dishes.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed the Chaval.
Our food was good overall though the potatoes needed a little more of a crisping and the chicken plate could have used more pizzazz. The bigger issue we ran into was that by then end of the meal, with about 5 of 7ish tables seated in the back room, my wife and I couldn’t hear each other speak. I think the small, partially enclosed room creates acoustic an issue which makes it exceptionally loud.
Under Construction: Rover Woodfired Bagels & Pizza
As reported last week, Rover Bagel (instagram, facebook) is moving their business from Salem, Massachusetts to Biddeford, Maine. Here’s some additional information shared by the Rover team about their plans:
- The new bagel bakery will be located at 111 Elm Street
- They are making good progress on building out the space and hope to be open in September
- They’ve outgrown their current digs and are moving to Biddeford for a number of reasons including co-owner Alec Rutter’s Maine roots. The growing community of food businesses in Biddeford have made that city an appealing place to locate.
- In addition to bagels, they’ll be selling bagel sandwiches and, on Friday and Saturday nights, wood-fired pizza.
Campaign for a Lobster Emoji
Luke’s Lobster founder Luke Holden has launched a campaign to convince the Unicode Consortium to add a lobster to the standard set of emojis, reports the Press Herald.
You can make your voice heard and show your support for this initiative by signing the Change.org petition.
Beverage Lawyer, Peach Crop
Today’s Press Herald has an article on mead maker turned law student Nick Higgins,
Higgins hopes to eventually use his experience as a mead maker to help other food and beverage entrepreneurs with the kind of legal issues that pop up while trying to start a food company.
and a report on this year’s bumper peach crop.
This Week’s Events: Channing Daughters, MCD Grand Opening, Bangkok Dinner, Farm to Fork Fondo
Wednesday – Hugo’s is holding dinner featuring wines from Channing Daughters, there will be a wine tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – The Great Lost Bear is featuring beer from Foundation Brewing.
Saturday – Maine Craft Distilling is holding the Grand Opening of their new distillery on Washington Ave with a lobster bake and live music, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – Local 188 is holding a Bangkok themed prix fixe dinner, and the Farm to Fork Fondo event is returning to Wolfe’s Neck for another year.
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, please provide details as a comment to this post.
Fire Closes Art District Otto’s
there was a fire at the Otto’s Pizza at 576 Congress on Sunday,
Sprinklers in the three-story building, which also houses Otto’s administrative offices on the upper floors, turned on and kept the fire from spreading. However, the water damage caused by the sprinklers was widespread and forced the business to close Sunday, Walsh said.
Reviews: Noble BBQ, Little Giant, Roma Cafe
The Portland Press Herald has reviewed Noble Barbecue,
I’ve waited and waited for the day when Portlanders would finally get to experience truly excellent pulled pork. Now I think I’ve finally found it. This is no slap in the face to other places around town that put out perfectly fine pulled pork. But the pork at Noble Barbecue, the new restaurant on outer Forest Avenue, is on a whole other level. It’s tender and incredibly juicy. It’s aggressively smoky. And there is plenty of bark.
the Portland Press Herald has published a bar review of Little Giant, and
Little Giant is looking to be the West End’s one-stop shop for good food, great drinks and carefully curated sundries. The newly opened restaurant component will be sure to add a little hipness to the Danforth Street lineup.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed the Roma Cafe.
I think Roma will stand with the big boys in the Italian food scene here in Portland. They are a little more on the traditional side than some, but their classic food is strong. Their atmosphere is warm, service friendly, and they offer a pretty comprehensive selection of traditional favorites. I’m confident they’ll be a very welcome addition to the food scene in this city.