Little Lad’s Cafe on Congress has closed. It was located at 482 Congress, both that retail space and the one immediate adjacent to it are now vacant.
The Little Lad’s brand popcorn was not produced onsite and so presumably will not be impacted.
Under Construction: Sisters Gourmet Deli
Sisters Gourmet Deli is under construction in Monument Square in the former Wannawaf, according to a report by the Press Herald.
[Co-owner Michaela] McVetty said the deli will focus on soups, salads and sandwiches, with a big emphasis on deliveries and corporate catering. They’ll be buying their soups from Kamasouptra, but will bake their own breads fresh every morning. Meats, cheeses and produce will all be sourced locally, she said.
The sisters hope to open in May.
What Not to Do
Dispatch magazine has published on What Not to Do When Opening a Restaurant,
The restaurant business is one of the riskiest ventures around, especially in a city like Portland that has reached the saturation point. I’ve worked in them my whole life, and have seen a lot of failures as well as success stories. But don’t rely on my advice alone — I’ve rounded up local food scene veterans to add their two cents.
Drinking Classes: Bissell Bros.
The Drinking Classes has posted an article on the Portland beer industry and specifically on Bissell Brothers and their Swish double IPA.
Served in a stemless wine glass printed on both sides with Bissell Brothers’s instantly recognizable triple-B logo, Swish poured out a dense, cloudy orange. Its appearance is right in line with the so-called New England IPA style, a label for the fast-growing collection of unfiltered IPAs coming out of Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. A thick, bright white foam slowly faded before my eyes. Swish looks a lot like The Substance, only darker, and more brooding.
Keep Calm and Falafel On (Updated)
Peddleman’s (facebook, instagram) launched on Saturday night. Owners Tara Rancourt and Scott William Ryan are serving a menu of falafel sandwiches weekly Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights from 147 Cumberland Ave—the home of Union Bagel Co.
Update: Eatcentric Me has posted a report from opening night at Peddleman’s.
Changes at Ebb & Flow
Melissa and William D’Auvray at Ebb & Flow have announced plans to move back to North Carolina. The couple are the front of house manager and chef at Ebb & Flow. They’re making the change to be closer to family while raising their son William and continuing to work in their careers.
Melissa and William want to express their appreciation to their staff “for providing consistently wonderful food and personable, professional service on a daily basis. They are the reason we have enjoyed such great reviews since opening”, and to the “thousands of guests we’ve been fortunate enough to serve since opening, especially the countless regulars we see on a weekly basis who have taken the time to get to know us – and little William”.
March 19th will be the D’Auvray’s last day at Ebb & Flow. Owner Angelo Ciocca plans to temporarily close the restaurant for some renovations March 20 – April 19, and will reopen with chef Paolo Laboa at the helm. Here’s a short video about Laboa when he joined the staff of a restaurant in Massachusetts. He is moving to Portland from Napa Valley.
Launch of Scales
The Press Herald has published an article on the launch of Scales.
When he interviewed for the chef’s job, [Mike] Smith reminded [Sam] Hayward of himself when he was 32 years old and hungry. Hayward and Street had already sketched out a rough menu, but Hayward decided to step back and let Smith fill in the blanks – to give him the same opportunities he had asked for at the same age. One of Smith’s contributions is a light-as-air whipped beef butter appetizer, made with roasted, seasoned bone marrow and served with warm toast and radishes.
This Week’s Events: Black Dinah Tour, Truffle Social, Biodynamic Wines, Astrid, Rwandan Bean Co.
Tuesday — Black Dinah is offering tours of their Westbrook production shop.
Wednesday — Maine Farmland Trust and Portland Food Co-op are hosting a panel discussion on making “more informed climate-friendly food choices“.
Thursday — Piccolo is holding their 3rd Annual Truffle Social, Sur Lie and American Sommelier are collaborating on an event about Organic, Biodynamic & Sustainable Wines, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing Allagash Brewing.
Friday — the Bier Cellar is holding an Allagash beer tasting, and there will be a beer and cheese tasting at the Public Market House.
Saturday — the Rwandan Bean Company is holding a launch event, Allagash is releasing Astrid, Allagash Saison Day is taking place at Oxbow Blending & Bottling, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday — H.O.M.E. is hosting a restaurant band competition, and the Maine Restaurant Week coffee and dessert pairing event 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.
Reviews: Tomaso’s, Lolita, Terlingua, Zapoteca, Roustabout
The Bollard has reviewed Tomaso’s,
My husband, our friend and I ordered a bar-food smorgasbord. The cheese fries ($5) were salty and soft, buried under a pile of chopped bacon ($2 extra) and topped with a house-made cheese sauce. That same cheese sauce (a secret recipe, heavy on the Velveeta) is used to great effect in the decadent Southern BBQ–style mac and cheese ($5). We had a half order of chicken wings ($6) prepared “dirt” style: fried, dunked in some doctored-up Frank’s RedHot, and then fried again. This gave the wings a crispy, spicy skin that begs the question, Why would you order your wings any other way?
Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed the happy hour at Zapoteca,
Zapoteca is known for its tequila and mezcal selection. They have over 30 tequilas available so their margaritas are definitely a step above your average bar. The special applies to ALL of their margaritas, not just a house mix with well liquor (not that there’s anything wrong with that), so it’s a great opportunity to sample what they serve. With the prices normally running between $9 and $13 it’s not the cheapest happy hour in town, the drinks are amply sized and delicious.
The Golden Dish has reviewed Lolita,
Sometimes the perfect dinner comes along unexpectedly. That was the case at Lolita. After trying to get into the latest sweep of new restaurants, finding each full to capacity, I headed out of the culinary congestion up to Munjoy Hill.
The Bollard has reviewed brunch at Terlingua,
Still, the best meal of the morning was our friend’s Pulled Pork Benedict ($13). The shredded pork was moist and smoky, and the green-chile biscuit was fluffy and flavorful. If you’ve never had Tabasco hollandaise, hurry over there now and ask for a shot-glass full.
and the Portland Phoenix has reviewed Roustabout.
Roustabout was at its best with the arctic char picatta – a nice idea and well executed. The fish was moist and mild, served skin side up, showing off a lovely sear. It was animated by the sharpness of capers and a creamy, buttery, lemony sauce with a hint of spice. The broccoli raab was aggressively bitter, soaked in butter and spotted with parmesan.
Scales Now Open
Sam Hayward and Dana Street’s new waterfront restaurant Scales (website, instagram) opened for business on Saturday night.
Chef Mike Smith and team are serving a large menu of primarily seafood-based dishes with appetizers such as Bang’s Island Mussels, fried whole belly clams, salt cod croquette with spicy tomato chutney, and torched arctic char with cultured cream, and larger dishes like grilled swordfish with yellow eyed beans and fish stew. When you go be sure to get an order of the excellent griddled brown bread.
Scales is located on Maine Wharf at 68 Commercial Street. It is open for dinner 7 days a week 5:30 – 10 (Sun – Thurs) and 5:30 – 10:30 (Fri – Sat). Watch for lunch hours to begin sometime this summer.