New construction is in the planning stages for the Portland waterfront. The phased 44,000 sq ft project includes 25,000 sq ft of mixed retail and restaurant fronting Commercial Street. Part of the project would replace the building currently occupied by Sapporo.
Update: The Press Herald has published an article about this project.
This week’s issue of the Portland Phoenix includes an article on the challenges of restaurant work and the strategies owners use to find good team members,
Anyone that’s even spent a modicum of time working in the local restaurant industry, knows that it’s hard, sweaty, anxiety inducing work. It’s partly the reason why, despite Portland’s high density of four- and five-star restaurants (Portland’s got 395 eateries that brought in about 326 million dollars in revenue last year) and stellar foodie reputation, there’s a shortage of experienced, enthusiastic line cooks.
and an article about eateries in/near parks.
Public parks and food don’t always mix. Food carts and trucks can face special permitting issues, and predictability of traffic doesn’t always justify a food cart or truck near a public space. But the entry of TIQA Cafe & Bakery into the Castle in Deering Oaks Park — now open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk — could challenge this narrative.
The Portland Meatball Company, under construction in the former Pierre’s retail space on Exchange street, has applied for a liquor license. In his cover letter, owner Noah Talmatch describes PMC as a “full service lunch and dinner restaurant and bar, serving exceptional homemade pastas, sandwiches, soup and of course, exotic meatballs & pizza…decorated in a warm, New England style farmhouse decor”
The 3-page draft menu (page 64) includes meatball options like duck with goat cheese and cranberries, lamb merguez with harissa sauce, and smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers.
Noah Talmatch also owns Timber, which is located immediately adjacent to PMC’s construction site.
A new Asian fusion restaurant called 66S Fusion is under development at 425 Fore Street in the vacant retail space next to Gelato Fiasco. Westbrook resident and owner Jie Ming Liang describes 66S as a “Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) that will be serving Asian Fusion food with a menu consisting of Sushi, Teppanyaki Grill, Ramen Noodles and an Asian Meat Bun.” You can see a draft menu (page 101) in the material supplied by Liang with 66S’s liquor license application.
Bramhall plans to build an 984 sq ft outdoor deck in the parking plot of their building at 769 Congress Street.
The breakfast specialists at Extra Crispy have included Palace Diner in their list of America’s Best Diners,
…The hash brown potatoes are whole red potatoes that have been blanched, then crushed, then fried so that the skin is crispy and the interior is creamy. The locally-sourced eggs are rich and have yolks the color of saffron. Perfectly crispy strips of thick cut applewood bacon are so long that they snake around your plate (but the Taylor ham is what you really want). The toast is made from bread from local bakeries instead of packaged brands, and they serve it correctly by not stacking the pieces on top of each other so that they steam and get all soggy…
The Press Herald reports that Sala Thai is scheduled to close July 16th.
According to a letter to customers posted on the doors and at the bar by owner Jiraporn Thanop, the landlord has sold the building at 1363 Washington Ave., which is near the corner of Washington and Allen avenues. The restaurant’s last day of business will be July 16.
The Grow Maine Show has posted an audio interview with Neil Spillane from Fork Food Labs.
This episode is focused on the food business scene in Portland, Maine. Neil Spillane is co-founder and CEO of Fork Food Lab, a food entrepreneur’s incubator space that will be open 24/7 and feature a tasting room.
Fork Food Labs is in the final days of a $30,000 Kickstarter campaign.
The Press Herald has published an interview with seafood expert, South Freeport resident and author Barton Seaver about his new book, Two If By Sea.
Sometimes it seems like not a month goes by without a new cookbook by fish sustainability expert, chef and South Freeport resident Barton Seaver showing up in the mail. Most recently, it was the 304-page “Two if by Sea,” chock-full of recipes; indexes of fish species; short essays on sustainability, equipment and ingredients; more essays and step-by-step photographs on technique; and pictures of food, fish and Seaver himself fishing and cooking.
The Forecaster has published a report on the long running annual collaboration between Red’s and Maxwell to produce strawberry soft-serve.
Red’s Dairy Freeze in South Portland has been making soft-serve ice cream with strawberries from Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth since the late 1980s. The limited-edition treat is only available for a few days a year.