Roustabout(twitter, instagram, facebook, website) is making very good progress on building out their space on Washington Ave. Shown here is the 18-seat bar that occupies the right side of the dining area. The restaurant will also include a private dining room that will seat up to 20. Owners Kit Paschal and Anders Tallberg are on track to open the restaurant later this Fall.
Roustabout is serving a pop-up dinner on Thursday at Tandem Bakery. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
A pair of Portland establishments will be servings meals at the James Beard House in NYC later this year:
Keep a watch on the JBF Events page where more details on the menus and ticket sales will be posted later this year.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Evo,
The food was really good and came to about 180 nuggets after tip. That included six drinks and 6 plates. It wasn’t inexpensive, but EVO came through, providing us with serious, quality food. Portland now has another Mediterranean place that will pump you full of awesome vittles with a great atmosphere and excellent service. It’s getting tougher by the day to choose where eat, but I think that’s a good problem to have.
The Press Herald has posted a report on The Hop Yard, a Maine-based hop farm that’s helping making Maine beer a bit more local.
In a few weeks, all the hops surrounding us will be harvested and used by Maine and New Hampshire breweries. Allagash, Sebago, Rising Tide, Austin Street and Tributary brewing companies all plan on brewing beers with hops grown by the Hop Yard.
Though the hop industry in Maine is far from being able to supply Maine brewers with all their hops, Keating is optimistic that The Hop Yard will continue to grow in scale and other farmers will follow their model, helping Maine become a thriving producer of hops.
The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Joe Catoggio, co-owner with his wife Diane of the Bayside American Cafe.
LO: Can you tell me a little bit about the menu?
JC: We inherited a brunch menu. As I said, he’d [Roger Bintliff] been winning “Best Brunch” quite often. We largely stayed with that same theme. We just tried to refine it a little bit, change it up about 15-20 percent every year … bring in some new items, lose some items. We’ve downsized the menu a bit so we could focus more on specials. The Louisiana Bayou Benedict (grilled andouille sausage, homemade corncakes, two poached eggs and spicy Cajun hollandaise sauce) was a special that we created for a benefit for Hurricane Katrina. It became a menu item directly after that because it was just so popular. It’s one of our biggest sellers. … We’re very well known for our corned beef hash. We created a special last summer, which was a cinnamon bun pancake, and that’s taken off unbelievably.
The Press Herald has published a bar review of The Honey Paw,
John Myers, the Paw’s bar director, is deft at making unique craft cocktails that will quickly become your new favorite drink. Head to the Paw for imported, rare beers from Japan, Germany, Belgium and France. Local beers will be available, but the focus here is not on local beer. Expect a crowd every night, great service, superb food and drink.
and a review of Back Cove BBQ & Pizzeria.
The bulk of the menu, of course, is made up of sandwiches, wraps and pizzas, many of which feature meats that are barbecued on site, in a smoker in the parking lot. The sandwiches, wraps, burgers, dogs and assorted entrees start at $7.99, with add-ons like bacon or cheese costing extra. The restaurant recently started offering combo deals for $9.99 that includes fries or slaw and a free drink with the entree.
Map & Menu have reviewed Figgy’s.
Sometimes in Maine, great fried chicken and biscuits can be a little hard to find. Palace Diner has its delicious-but-infrequent Fried Chicken Fridays, while Tandem Bakery has its amazing loaded biscuits for breakfast, but as a good southern boy at heart, every now and then I just find myself hankering for a few pieces of fried chicken and a homemade buttermilk biscuit. Thankfully, Figgy’s has stepped in to fill that void in my stomach, and boy do they do it with style.
Photo Credit: Map & Menu
Paul Trusiani (article, obituary) passed away Saturday at the age of 81. Trusiani founded Paul’s Food Center on Congress Street in 1975.
In his early years, Trusiani worked for Hannaford Brothers Co. as a buyer, retail counselor and head of procurement. He went on to work as vice president and general manager of Martin’s Foods before deciding to establish his own company, Paul’s Food Center. He operated the business with his former wife, Annamarie Ross Trusiani. The partners have 12 to 15 full and part-time employees.
Their son, Jim Trusiani, said the family has no plans to sell or close the business.
“The family’s intent is to continue to run the store the way Dad did,” his son said.
Update: For additional information see this article from the Portland Phoenix.
Eater Maine spotted this Facebook post by Little Jamaica on a new food truck they have in development.
Little Jamaica is also adding a second food cart to their fleet which will be located in Old Orchard Beach. In addition to presumably serving food, the owner plans to use the truck as the “mother ship on the move keeping carts supplied”.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article on the growth in the Maine beer industry.
New crowds are trekking to hidden places across the state, such as Bigelow Hill in Skowhegan, where chocolate chili stout is paired with wood-fired pizza, and to Marsh Island Brewing Co., which is located in an Orono auto repair shop where wheels are aligned and Downrigger IPA is brewed and bottled under the same roof.
Breweries in Maine are revving up so fast and furiously that Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers’ Guild, is having a hard time keeping up with marketing material.