Under Construction: Tempo Dulu, Scales, Portland Patisserie, Ramen Suzukiya

| Posted in Under Construction

Here are some updates on four restaurants under construction in Portland:

  • Tempo Dulu(facebook, website) will be opening on June 19th and is now taking reservations.
  • Sam Hayward and Dana Street are planning to open their new restaurant, Scales, at the end of the summer. The “full-scale seafood emporium in the New England style” will have a 25-seat bar and the dining room will seat another 100-120 according to an article from Maine Travel Maven.
  • In the same article the Maine Travel Maven also reports that Portland Patisserie(facebook), the new pastry shop from Steve and Michelle Corry, is planning to open in “mid-June”. Take a look at this instagram photo by Chris Kast captured this glimpse of the interior on Instagram.
  • Ramen Suzukiya(facebook) needs to make some final renovations in order to get their Certificate of Occupancy from the city. If all goes according to plan they hope to open June 13, according the Eater Maine.

MECA Culinary Arts Program

| Posted in Events

Here’s a list of this summer’s continuing education classes at MECA in Culinary Arts:

Review of The Honey Paw

| Posted in Reviews

Eat Maine has reviewed The Honey Paw.

The Honey Paw is like no other restaurant I know. The new Portland restaurant’s unique personality completely defies any attempts to group it into traditional restaurant categories or even vague ones like “contemporary American” or “fusion.” Its menu and ambience unapologetically combine a staggering number of elements into a streamlined dining experience while circumventing any kind of identity crisis by keeping the offerings as concise as possible.

Portland’s UNESCO Creative Cities Application

| Posted in Uncategorized

The City of Portland is submitting an application to UNESCO to be recognized for its culinary creativity as part of the UN’s Creative Cities program. If successful, Portland would become the 9th city in the world to be included in the Gastronomy category.

The Creative Cities Network aims to strengthen the creation, production, distribution, and enjoyment of cultural goods and services at the local level. It promotes creative expression and enhances participation in cultural life as well as integrates cultural and creative industries into local development plans.

The application deadline is in July and we should know by mid-December if it was successful.

The Telling Room’s Review Camp

| Posted in Events

The Telling Room is offering a summer program for children ages 11-15 that are interested to learn more about critique and review, including restaurant reviews.

Geared to aspiring journalists and critics alike, this camp will take full advantage of Portland being a city bustling with art, music, food, and entertainment. Together we’ll explore art galleries, food establishments, and check out some local music. Campers will delve into the art of critical observation and evaluation in the form of art, food, and music reviews. We’ll also meet local editors and journalists and take a tour of The Portland Press Herald.

The program is already at capacity but you can add your kid’s name to the wait list and learn more on The Telling Room website.

 

Pickle Forks

| Posted in Uncategorized

exhibitThe Press Herald has published an article on the pickle fork exhibit at The Bearded Lady.

And we can thank Portland resident and metalsmith Maria Wolff for “Piercing the Pickle,” a small, surprising group show of quite beautiful pickle forks on display through June 21 at The Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box, on Congress Street. She curated the show, which includes her own work and that of 10 other local metalsmiths, many of them graduates of the Maine College of Art.

Tiki Workshop

| Posted in Events

The Blueberry Files has published a report on last weekend’s Rum Riots Tiki Workshop.

We started with the Tree Frog – a blended drink with Plantation rum, allspice-galangal syrup, fresh lime juice, and banana. I don’t know about you, but if I’d seen this on a menu, I might have shied away from it, because of the allspice and the banana. But it was lightly fruity and not too spicy, perhaps balanced by the fresh squeeze lime juice and the slushy blended ice (recipes to follow). This drink represents the “new wave” of tiki – not overly sweet, elevated, and still made with traditional tiki ingredients (namely, rum!). 

Selecting a Beer Festival

| Posted in Beer

The new issue of The Bollard provides some great advice on how to decide which beer festivals to attend and which should get a pass.

I used to hate beer festivals, but over time I’ve learned that they’re not all created equal, and some can be fantastic. A well-run festival is a social event where you learn things, a chance to try new beers and meet new people. It can be just as much fun as going to a concert. A poorly planned event can turn out to be a bro-fest promoting beers you already know too well. The tricky part is figuring out how to separate the hops from the chaff, so to speak.