This Week’s Events: Piccolo/Roustabout, Coopering Demo, 953, Whiskey Tasting, Oktoberfest

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Piccolo is collaborating with Roustabout on a preview pop-up dinner, Ed Lutjens will be giving a coopering demonstration at Maine Craft Distilling.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday — 953 Congress Street is holding a Grand Opening, and a women’s Whiskey and Chocolate Truffle tasting is taking place at Grace.

Friday — there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli, and it’s also First Friday Art Walk so restaurants will be busy – be sure to make your reservations soon.

Saturday — The Thirsty Pig is holding their 3rd annual Oktoberfest, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

The Sinful Kitchen – is kicking off a Filipino dinner series on October 16th.

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.

Great American Beer Festival Winners

| Posted in Reviews

Two Maine brewers are taking home medals from this year’s Great American Beer Festival competition:

  • Allagash won a gold medal in the Belgian Style-Witbier category for Allagash While
  • Allagash also won a silver in the Belgian Tripel category for their Tripel
  • Baxter Brewing won a silver in the Field Beer category their Window Seat Coconut Almond Porter

You can see the full list of award winners on the GABF website.

Ed Lutjens, Cooper

| Posted in People

Today’s Sunday Telegram includes an interesting article about Ed Lutjens and his path to become a modern day cooper.

Ed Lutjens is a cooper. Yeah, we didn’t know what that was either, although at one time, Maine was full of them. This is the technical name for the people who make wooden barrels wrapped in metal bands, the kind fine whiskey is aged in. The kind that fall off the back of stagecoaches in old Westerns. Read on to learn how Lutjens teamed up with Maine Craft Distilling, took a trip to The Bourbon Trail and carved – sorry, irresistible – himself a niche market in one of the sustainable world’s more indulgent products.

For more information visit www.edlutjens.com.

Interview with Olive Cafe

| Posted in People

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Olive Cafe owner Rayan Elkhatib.

How did you first get into the restaurant business?
I’ve been in the industry since I was 15 years old. My parents kind of planted the seed. They both had little cafes like this (in Florida) and I always worked with them. My mom taught me the cooking part of the industry and my dad pretty much showed me the business side. It caught on, and I’ve been doing it ever since. Before I came here, I was the assistant manager for a really nice restaurant in Del Ray Beach called City Oyster. I was well-rounded, I had all the experience and it was time for me to open my own shop and see what I could do with it.

Mirabelle Delayed

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald reports Mirabelle House is delayed pending a zoning appeal.

The ruling by code enforcement office Justin Browns means that the house’s owner, Marc Christensen and his business partners, must delay the beginning of cooking class slated to begin Oct. 10, until the town’s zoning board of appeals meets later that month to consider his application for permits to operate. Brown also ruled out other potential uses for the elegant home, barring the use of the property for weddings, as a production studio, or as a general event venue for corporate retreats or parties, uses that the business’s website had mentioned as possible options.

Reviews: Evo, Isa, Ocho

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Isa.

The benefits of Isa’s simplicity were most clearly on display in the fantastic burrata crostini. It was made transcendent by the ample slices of perfectly ripe yellow tomatoes, which lay between a rustic bread smeared with pesto and the creamy cheese. A grilled peach appetizer benefited from the fruit’s not-quite-ripeness. A sweeter peach might have overwhelmed the bitter of arugula and the tang of goat cheese. In another likeable salad, the tartness and acid of grapefruit, along with thin slices of apple and a splash of cider, mellowed the aroma and bite shaved fennel.

The Press Herald has published a bar review of Evo,

Evo Kitchen & Bar should be on the top of anyone’s list for the next place to go for wine, cocktails, and small plates. Michael Gatlin has created a beautiful drink list that complements Chef Matt Ginn’s beautiful, seasonal Mediterranean fare. The all-glass space and design is breathtaking, and nowhere else on Fore Street will you feel like you’re at a swanky bar somewhere in Manhattan.

and has reviewed Ocho.

I ordered The Classic. This meant my burrito was a symphony of Spanish rice, cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, crema, plus the two added bonuses of chicken and guacamole. It was ready in about three blinks of an eye, and I was out the door walking back to the newsroom. Once the noshing began, it was a formidable task to eat this hefty burrito…Anyway, my OCHO burrito wasted no time in announcing its deliciousness as my taste buds were awakened by a nine-piece band of flavors. Everything seemed incredibly fresh and, yes, I finished the whole thing.

Vivian’s Drive-In

| Posted in People

The Press Herald reports that Vivian’s Drive-In on Forest Ave is changing hands.

After 21 years of running one of Portland’s most beloved, and cheapest, burger joints, Donna Morgan is selling Vivian’s Drive-In. But despite rumors that the Forest Avenue business might be closing, Morgan said it isn’t going anywhere.

Vivian’s was founded in 1952 by Vivian L. Vintinner. Vintinner sold it in 1964 to Joyce Perry who then sold it to Donna Morgan in 1995.

Empty Pockets

| Posted in General News

Both the Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News report claims by staff from the short-lived Pockets eatery in the Old Port that they were unpaid by their former employer.

Employees of a sandwich shop that opened and closed in the Portland’s Old Port this summer say they were never paid for their work.

Pockets, which sold sandwiches 24 hours a day, opened on the corner of Fore and Market streets around the beginning of July and closed last week.