Linden + Front in Bath

| Posted in Under Construction, Maine

A new restaurant called Linden + Front (instagram) is under construction in Bath in the former Relish/Salt Pine Social building at 244 Front Street. Owners Zac and Khristine Leeman are renovating the 3,535 sq ft building and hope to launch the 85-seat restaurant in February.

The Linden + Front menu is still under development but the overall plan is to serve modern takes on classic comfort food with a wide selection of small plates and entrees including woodfire dishes, steak and chop, and dishes for vegetarian and vegan diners. The bar program will offer local draft beers, wine and L+F takes on classic cocktails. Linden + Front will initially be open for dinner but they do hope to eventually add brunch/lunch service too. They’ll have a 20-seat patio open seasonally.

Zac Leeman grew up on nearby Orrs Island and is a graduate of Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island. The Leemans met in Minnesota where they were both worked in the restaurant industry.

They opened their first Maine restaurant, Sundrenched, on Bailey Island in 2022. Sundrenched will reopen for the season in May.

Upcoming Events & NYE List

| Posted in Events

Monday – the restaurant at the Inn by the Sea is serving a 4-course dinner; $90/adult, $35/children (4-12).

Thursday – Browne Trading is holding a caviar and champagne tasting.

New Year’s Eve – we’ll add special NYE dinners here as restaurants announce their plans.

  • Bao Bao – is serving an Around the World with Dumplings prix fixe dinner; $58.88 per person.
  • Bar Futo – will be serving an NYE enhanced menu including waygu, caviar, truffles and uni.
  • Central Provisions – will be serving a 5-course dinner; $300 per couple.
  • Crispy Gai – will be serving a 7-course dinner that’s billed as a “ballered up version of our convenience store faves”. $100 per person.
  • Evo – will be serving a 6-course dinner; $160 per person.
  • Helm – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $100 per person.
  • Isa – will be serving a 3-course dinner; $110 per person.
  • Knotted Apron – will be serving a 6-course dinner; $130 per person.
  • Ore Nells (Biddeford) – will be serving a BBQ buffet (4-9 pm).
  • Regards – will be serving a multi-course dinner; $95 per person.
  • Salt Yard/Luna – the ground floor and rooftop venues at the Canopy are running a combination NYE program; $159 per person.
  • Tao Yuan (Brunswick) – is serving a prix fixe 10-course Peking Duck Dinner; $98.88 per person.
  • The Garrison (Yarmouth) – will be serving a 4-couse dinner; $130 per person.
  • Thistle & Grouse – will be serving a 3-course dinner; $90 per person.
  • Other restaurants may also be open serving their regular menu. Check with your favorite spots for hours on Sunday, December 31st, or take a look at reservation availability on Resy or OpenTable.
  • Mr. Tuna – has some sushi party boxes.
  • Zao Ze (Brunswick) – has  a ready-to-eat party kit that feeds 4; $88.88 per person.

January 1 – Shay’s is holding a New Year’s Day brunch.

January 5/6 – Roma Cafe is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the restaurant with a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings.

January 8 – Marilou Ranta, the chef/owner of the Beard Award-winning restaurant The Quarry in Monson will be speaking at the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta.

January 20 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Catering.

January 27 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Christian Hayes from The Garrison.

February 10 – The Portland On Tap beer festival is taking place at the Cross Insurance Arena. Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Krista Kern Desjarlais from Bresca and The Purple House.

February 18 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval and Devin Finigan from Aragosta.

March 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner.

May 11 – CiderFeast, an “all-inclusive tasting event celebrates craft ciders from some of the top cider makers in New England and beyond” is taking place.

June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.

August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

Maine Food & Dining News

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know on what’s going on:

  • Maine’s newest cidery, Sea Hag Cider (instagram) recently opened their tasting room. They’re located at 315 Commercial Street in Rockport. They’re open Fridays through Sunday. Sea Hag ciders are made from Macintosh and Paula Red apples from Randall’s in Standish.
  • Edelweiss (instagram) is opening a pastry and chocolate shop in the building that’s been under construction this year at 5 Alfred Street. The new shop is expected to open in January.
  • Costa Media (instagram)—the new Camden outpost of Cafe Louis (website, facebook, instagram) in South Portland—held their soft opening Thursday night. Moving forward they’ll be open Friday through Tuesday, noon – 9 pm. Costa Media is located at 50 Elm Street in the former Wolf Peach building.
  • The Holy Donut has announced plans to open a new donut shop in Brunswick this spring. It will be located on Route 1 in a building formerly occupied by a Tim Horton’s.
  • The Pen Bay Pilot published an article about Albatross, the new restaurant set to open soon in Camden.
  • The storm earlier in the week impacted numerous restaurants in its path. This report from Maine Public about the Augusta/Hallowell/Gardiner area, and this one from the Bangor Daily News provide some insight into the issues restaurants are dealing with as they recover.

Cabana is Closing

| Posted in Closings

Cabana has announced that they’ll be closing their Middle Street bar and restaurant on December 31st.

Words are not enough to express how sad we feel to inform that Cabana will be closing its doors this December 31st of 2023. The reason behind our closure is due to unforeseen family health issues. As you all know family will always comes first and be our priority. Therefore, the founder and creator of Cabana, Rene has decided to step down and take over his family business and responsibilities. So, he will be passing his ownership to somebody else.

The message goes on to say that, “As of now, we don’t have any information about what the future holds for one eleven Middle Street.”

Cabana was launched in August of 2022 by René Emilio Peña.

Another Round – Board Game Bar and Cafe

| Posted in Under Construction

A board game bar and cafe called Another Round (website, instagram) is under development at 549 Congress Street in the storefront between Nosh and Regards.

Another Round will have around 250 board games available to play. Owner Harry Sultan hopes to have something for just about everyone with games for people playing in groups, in pairs and solo. Another Round will have classics like Monopoly (including the Portland edition) and Uno, games like Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride as well as perhaps less well known ones like Brass Birmingham, Scythe and Twilight Imperium.

Sultan envisions Another Round as “laid back place to relax with great games, specialty coffee, excellent beer, and a welcoming community”. The 36-seat cafe (see floor plan below) will have a variety of seating options including a bar, couches and tables for gaming and a banquette along the right wall. Sultan is working with Woodhull to designer buildout the 1,397 sq ft space. The interior is expected to make use of natural materials with wood running throughout the space accented by an abundance of greenery. He hopes to launch Another Round by the start of summer.

Another Round will be serving brewed and espresso-based coffees, local beers on tap, wine, a selection of cocktails as well as nonalcoholic options. Sultan hopes Another Round will eventually be roasting its own coffee, but he will initially be sourcing from independent Maine roasters and from Coffee Project New York. Another Round will also have a light food program including pastries for their morning coffee customers and light fare throughout the day.

Sultan (linkedin) attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and has a background in digital media and audio/podcast production. He most recently worked as an executive producer at Food52.

Upcoming Events & NYE List

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – La Gallera will be popping-up at Cabana. Coals is holding their 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Building contest.

Wednesday – it’s the opening day at Novel (website, facebook, instagram) located at 643 Congress Street.

Thursday – The Portland Harbor Hotel is holding an event featuring the children’s book Chowder Rules: The Story of an Epic Food Fight. Sacred Profane is serving a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner. The Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta will be screening Cup of Salvation a film about restoration of the Armenian wine industry—the Damariscotta River Grill and Bred in the Bone are both holding Armenian wine dinners after the movie. Oun Lido’s is popping up at The Jewel Box.

Friday – The Portland Museum of Art is screening the 4-hour movie Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros.

Sunday – The Harbor Bistro + Terrace is serving a 4-course Christmas Eve dinner.

Christmas

December 28 – Browne Trading is holding a caviar and champagne tasting.

New Year’s Eve – we’ll add special NYE dinners here as restaurants announce their plans.

  • Bao Bao – is serving an Around the World with Dumplings prix fixe dinner; $58.88 per person.
  • Bar Futo – will be serving an NYE enhanced menu including waygu, caviar, truffles and uni.
  • Central Provisions – will be serving a 5-course dinner; $300 per couple.
  • Crispy Gai – will be serving a 7-course dinner that’s billed as a “ballered up version of our convenience store faves”. $100 per person.
  • Evo – will be serving a 6-course dinner; $160 per person.
  • Helm – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $100 per person.
  • Isa – will be serving a 3-course dinner; $110 per person.
  • Knotted Apron – will be serving a 6-course dinner; $130 per person.
  • Ore Nells (Biddeford) – will be serving a BBQ buffet (4-9 pm).
  • Regards – will be serving a multi-course dinner; $95 per person.
  • Salt Yard/Luna – the ground floor and rooftop venues at the Canopy are running a combination NYE program; $159 per person.
  • Tao Yuan (Brunswick) – is serving a prix fixe 10-course Peking Duck Dinner; $98.88 per person.
  • The Garrison (Yarmouth) – will be serving a 4-couse dinner; $130 per person.
  • Thistle & Grouse – will be serving a 3-course dinner; $90 per person.
  • Other restaurants may also be open serving their regular menu. Check with your favorite spots for hours on Sunday, December 31st, or take a look at reservation availability on Resy or OpenTable.
  • Mr. Tuna – has some sushi party boxes.
  • Zao Ze (Brunswick) – has  a ready-to-eat party kit that feeds 4; $88.88 per person.

January 1 – Shay’s is holding a New Year’s Day brunch.

January 5/6 – Roma Cafe is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the restaurant with a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings.

January 8 – Marilou Ranta, the chef/owner of the Beard Award-winning restaurant The Quarry in Monson will be speaking at the Lincoln Theater in Damariscotta.

January 20 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Catering.

January 27 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Christian Hayes from The Garrison.

February 10 – The Portland On Tap beer festival is taking place at the Cross Insurance Arena. Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Krista Kern Desjarlais from Bresca and The Purple House.

February 18 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval and Devin Finigan from Aragosta.

March 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner.

June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.

August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

Novel Opens Wednesday

| Posted in Openings

Novel (website, facebook, instagram) is set to open this Wednesday. It’s located at 643 Congress Street near Longfellow Square. The combination bookstore, coffee shop and bar serves coffee (which they roast in-house), beer, mocktails, wine and cocktails along with baked good and quiche, pie and flatbread (see full menu below).

Owners Joshua Ames and Nate Donovan have partnered with The Green Hand bookshop to stock the shelves with a wide assortment of fiction and nonfiction books including a children’s section.

The ~50-seat space has a variety of seating options including standard tables, counters in the window a 7-seat bar, leather couches and even a pair of rocking chairs. Novel will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 8 am – 10 pm.