4 Star Review of Quanto Basta

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 4 star review of Quanto Basta.

Pizza toppings are locally inspired and seasonal, but the true star of each pie is the airy, chewy sourdough crust. When it’s baked to blistered perfection (as it usually is), English’s pizzas are superb. Don’t miss the bright, savory, olive-and-lemon-peel-topped Limone or the remarkably light Pizza Rossa, a vegan pie with an herby, sweet, raw tomato base. Appetizers like raw vegetables with bagna cauda, and lean bresaola topped with greens tossed in an insanely tasty preserved lemon vinaigrette are also worth ordering, especially with a glass of wine from the moderately priced, all-Italian list.

Owner Betsy English launched the Quanto Basta food truck in 2021. The Quanto Basta restaurant is located at 249 Congress Street and opened in July which is when the photos above were taken.

Leisure Time Cocktail Company

| Posted in Under Construction

A new 50-seat bar called Leisure Time Cocktail Company (instagram) is under construction on Thompson’s Point. Leisure Time will feature draft cocktails and freezer cocktails using local ingredients and premium spirits. A future phase of the business will see Leisure Time expand into selling canned and kegged cocktails.

We are dedicated to using the science of botany and molecular gastronomy to make craft cocktails accessible to a wide audience while also adhering to the longstanding traditions of mixing a good drink you can sit back, relax and have fun with.

The Leisure Time food menu prepared by chef Emma Reed will include pierogis and hand cased hotdogs/sausages as well as a rotating selection of soups and salads. Vegan and gluten free options are expected to be on the menu.

Leisure Time is being launched by Kai Parrott-Wolfe and his business partner Matt Noyes. Parrott-Wolfe grew up on Peaks Island and after working at a number of NYC bars launched his own establishment in Brooklyn—the now closed Post Office Whiskey Bar. He returned to Portland in 2019 and has been working as the bar manager at Luke’s Lobster.

Leisure Time will be located in the back right corner of the building Bissell Brothers is in. The space was originally a Cellardoor event room and most recently was a Rwanda Bean cafe. Noyes and Parrott-Wolfe will be renovating the 1,400 sq ft space to add banquette and table seating and reconfigure the space behind the counter with equipment needed for the bar. They envision a space that is “a mix of 60’s lounge, your grandparents’ camp and a botanist’s lab” which is a “cozy space at lunch for professionals to do work or families from the children’s museum and a cocktail lounge at night to have snacks or dinner at before a show down at the Point.”

Parrott-Wolfe and Noyes hope to open Leisure Time this spring.

To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars, breweries, bakeries and other hospitality businesses in development visit the Portland Food Map Under Construction List.

Chocolats Passion Wins 6 Medals

| Posted in Reviews

Chocolats Passion (website, facebook, instagram) has won six medals from the 2023 Academy of Chocolate competition in London:

  • A gold medal for their Yuzu Nougat
  • Four silver medals for their Blueberry Corn, Passion Fruit Vanilla, Prickly Pear Mango and Peppermint
  • A bronze medal for their Lime Habanero

A total of six US-based chocolatiers won 16 medals in 2023.

Chocolats Passion recently moved into a new larger space at 175 Spring Street in the West End.

Maine Food & Dining News

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here a recent update from Lewiston, Biddeford, New Vineyard, and Camden about about new restaurants under construction:

  • A Brazilian-style churrascaria called Food Taste is under construction in Lewiston. The Sun Journal reports it will be located at 413 Main Street and that owner Rita Ferreira hopes to open the 50-seat restaurant in early 2024. Ferreira is from Angola where she operated a restaurant in the capital city of Luanda.
  • The launch of Albatross in Camden has been pushed out. They’re tentatively scheduled to open next week.
  • As reported earlier this week Catface Cafe is under development in Biddeford and The Chametz is under development in New Vineyard.

Catface Cafe in Biddeford

| Posted in Under Construction, Maine

Sur Lie owner Krista Cole and business partner Tyler VanScoy have leased the space being vacated by Part & Parcel in Biddeford where they plan to open the Catface Cafe (website, instagram).

Catface will be serving breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch. Chef Mimi Weissenborn is planning a seasonal Maine-inspired menu with “elevated modern flare.” The cafe will have a specialty coffee program, beer, wine and “fun boozy cocktails” to go with the food. Weissenborn is the executive chef of Sur Lie and Gather.

Cole and VanScoy want Catface to be a community gathering place. The location includes a back patio which can host warm weather events or be a spot to hang out solo or with friends. They plan to hosts monthly special events at Catface for the people of Biddeford to gather and socialize.

Cole is a co-founder of Sur Lie which opened for business in 2014. In 2023 she was a James Beard Awards semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category and Sur Lie was a semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category. In 2022 Cole took over ownership of Gather in Yarmouth from the restaurant’s founder, Matt Chappell. VanScoy has worked in the hospitality industry in a variety of front and back of house roles for over 10 years.

Part & Parcel owners Danielle O’Neill and Ali Preble announced on November 25th that they plan to close their market/cafe. Their last day in business is December 23rd.

The Chametz in New Vineyard

| Posted in Under Construction, Maine

A new fine dining restaurant called The Chametz (website, facebook, instagram) is under development west of Skowhegan in the town of New Vineyard, Maine. The restaurant promises to bring “Michelin-level dining experiences” to Franklin County.

Founders Lina Mamut and chef Jared Rudnick plan to source all their ingredients from within a 100-mile distance from their restaurant and in 2023 planted a biodynamic garden to augment the produce they’ll have available from Maine farms and from foraging in the local area.

When it launches the 20-seat restaurant will offer a 10-course tasting menu served at a communal table (see architect’s rendering above). The Chametz will have both alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings to go with the meal and with a full liquor license will also have a cocktail program. The menu is expected to showcase seasonal ingredients and Rudnick’s skills in whole animal butchering and fermentation/preservation techniques.

The couple met while working at Journeyman in Somerville, Massachusetts. They have extensive front of house and back of house experience at a variety of restaurants in the Boston area. Rudnick’s resume includes Craigie on Main and No. 9 Park as well as being the chef de cuisine at Journeyman. In addition to their hospitality experience, Mamut also has MS in Data Science, and has worked in the food tech startup world.

For Mamut and Rudnick how they operate their business is perhaps as important as the food and dining experience they and their team will create.  The Chametz will be run as a collective that gives all the team members a voice in decision making and an approach to compensating staff that reflects that shared responsibility.

The build out of a commercial kitchen for The Chametz is underway with the hope the restaurant can launch in early June. To support the launch of The Chametz, Rudnick and Mamut have set-up a $150k Kickstarter campaign. The campaign has already raised $25k towards its goal.

If you are in the Sugarloaf area on this Saturday December 16th you may want to stop by at Cork & Rind for an event featuring tastes of Rudnick’s cooking.

Credit: Image courtesy of The Chametz.

Sacred Profane on Thompson’s Point

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

Sacred Profane Brewing (website, instagram) has leased the former Stroudwater Distilling space on Thompson’s Point where they plan to open a second brewery, tasting room and eatery. It’s slated to open early next year.

According to the cover letter that accompanied their license application, the demand for their beer has outpaced the capacity of their brewery in Biddeford. With the launch of this new location they plan “to double our production through this space and create the country’s second tankpub on the tourist hub of Portland, Thompson’s Point.” The new location will also bring their Czech-style lager beer closer to their Portland customers and beer enthusiasts visiting the city.

In addition to their own lagers, Sacred Profane plans to also serve cider, wine, other local beers and cocktails like the Levitation Room currently on the menu in Biddeford. They plan to serve a food menu of oysters and Czech-style open-face sandwiches at their counter service Portland location.

The brewery specializes in producing light and dark Czech-style lagers. Their existing brewery and tankpub in Biddeford launched in September 2022.

Sacred Profane will be serving a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner next week on the 21st in Biddeford.

Bar Publica in Bayside

| Posted in Under Construction

A new bar and restaurant called Bar Publica (instagram) is under construction in Bayside. It will be located in the space in between Wilson County Barbeque and the upcoming lager brewery Argenta.

Bar Publica will serve classic and house specialty cocktails as well as beer and wine as well and Latin American-inspired small plates.

The dining room will seat ~65 inside with a bar and banquette/table seating. In warmer weather there will be space for ~60 on the rooftop and about another ~30 in the courtyard on the ground floor with a total occupancy capacity of 299 (see floor plans below). The overall design aesthetic they’re aiming for is a formica-forward mid-century feel with Latin American accents.

Wilson County co-owner Spencer Brantley is heading up the development of Bar Publica with business partners David Kelley and Ciaran Sheenhan who are the founders of Ri Ra.

Brantley hopes to open Bar Publica sometime this spring. That section of West Bayside is also home to Bayside Bowl, Coals, Leavitt & Sons, Wilson County, Batson River, When Pigs Fly, and the upcoming Argenta Brewing.

 

Upcoming Events & NYE

| Posted in Events

Wednesday – Experience Maine is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner at Ballast.

Friday – Salt + Pepper Social is holding a vegan wine and cheese event.

Sunday – Helm is holding a Prime Rib dinner. Jackrabbit is serving a 3-course Scandinavian holiday supper.

December 19 – La Gallera will be popping-up at Cabana.

December 20 – it’s the opening day at Novel (website, facebook, instagram) located at 643 Congress Street.

December 21 – 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.

Christmas

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.
  • 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.
  • 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 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 – 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.

George + Leon’s Review, Freeport Restaurants

| Posted in General News, Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of George + Leon’s.

But George & Leon’s (named for Abbey’s dog and his young son, respectively) has emerged from adversity with a renewed respect for its team and better, more consistent food served at appropriate temperatures. If you visit, order a glass of natural wine to go with your traditional Super Beef sandwich, a softball-sized monster of a sandwich packed with pink beef, James River BBQ sauce, and white American cheese. Get it as a “4-way,” if you enjoy crisp onion rings. If you’re not in the mood for beef, the homemade chicken finger sub and the umami-overloaded, brown-butter-and-mushroom sub are also top-notch options.

The paper also takes an in-depth look at the Freeport restaurant scene and the factors holding it back from further growth.

While restaurateurs seem drawn like moths these days to the bright heat of the Greater Portland food scene, many in the town of Freeport feel underserved by the comparatively lackluster dining choices, especially for a sit-down meal.