New Old Port Pizzeria

| Posted in Under Construction

The Press Herald reports that Joshua Miranda will be renovating the former Lupita’s space and launching a pizzeria. He’ll be partnering in the project with two of his Via Vecchia team—Mark Hibbard and Mitchell Ryan—on the new restaurant.

The yet-to-be-named pizzeria will be located at 15 Exchange St., in the former Lupita’s Taqueria, and will sell New York-style pizza by the slice and foccacia-based sandwiches along with pre-bottled cocktails, beer and wine, though it won’t have a bar.

The pizzeria will be located at 15 Exchange Street in the space that longtime Portland residents will remember as the original location of Walter’s.

La Benedicion & Asia Eats

| Posted in Openings

Two new businesses have moved into the second floor of the Public Market House in Monument Square.

La Benedicion (facebook) opened just last week. They’re located in the space formerly occupied by the Frying Dutchman. The menu includes dishes like pollo con tajada, monjarra frito, burritos and tamales.  La Benedicion is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 8 pm.

Rathanin Chhloeum is just about to open Asia Eats (facebook) in the space formerly occupied by Pho Co. The menu includes buns, dumplings, soups, rice plates (katsudon, teriyaki, orange chicken, etc) and boba tea. Chhloeum hopes to open Asia Eats within the next week.

Community Plate – Sharing Meals and Stories

| Posted in Events

A new non-profit organization called Community Plate (website, facebook, instagram) seeks to  create community in Maine through shared meals and the sharing of stories. Community Plate was launched earlier this year by Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway.

The fall/winter series of Story Sharing Potluck Suppers are getting started with a supper on October 18th in Waterville.

These free public events bring people together in a traditional potluck supper with a twist: each attendee brings a dish, a recipe, and a story to share about what they brought. Over the course of the meal, led by an MC, and structured around story prompts, participants are encouraged to share stories and make connections. During coffee and dessert, practiced storytellers entertain guests with tales they’ve prepared in advance. In the weeks following the meal, each attendee receives a mini cookbook filled with recipes and stories for the dishes that were brought to the event.

Additional suppers are scheduled to take place in Freeport on November 16th and in Bowdoinham on February 3rd with additional events still in planning to take place in Cumberland, Orono, Brunswick, and Camden this winter. For more information on the suppers, storytelling workshops and other initiatives of Community Plate visit communityplate.me.

Hathaway and Schatz were editors of the Maine Community Cookbooks, authored several books including The Year of the Goat, and operate Ten Apple Farm in Gray.

A Change at Ramona’s

| Posted in People

Ramona’s has announced that Chad Conley has sold his stake in the company to his co-founder Josh Sobel. Both Sobel and Conley have shared that it’s a friendly and mutually beneficial change for them both. Conley is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

No major changes are anticipated to the menu or overall program at Ramona’s.

Ramona’s initially opened as a takeout service in April 2020 and began seating customers indoors in March 2022.

Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Thursday – Gross Confection Bar is holding a 3-course dessert and port tasting event in collaboration with Vieira de Sousa. The Black Goat Test Kitchen in Warren is serving a 3-course cider dinner featuring Absolem Cider.

Saturday – There will be a community cider pressing at the Mount Joy Orchard, and SMCC culinary student Madison Cavanaugh will be serving a 3-course dessert tasting with pairings—call (207) 773-4340 for reservations. Liu Bian Tan will be holding a Taiwanese pop-up at Forage Market on Washington Ave.

Sunday – Pacifico is holding Noche Nikkei a  6-course Peruvian-Japanese dinner, Twelve is holding a Harvest Party, and it’s the Great Maine Apple Day.

October 18 – La Gallera is holding a Puerto Rican pop-up featuring shrimp soup with mofongo.

October 20 – Evo is serving a dinner at the Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

October 21-22 – the Maine Fermentation Fair is taking place at Dandelion Spring Farm.

October 25 – Soth Portland restaurants Judy Gibson and Lambs will be collaborating on a Burger Night.

October 25-28 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.

October 26 – Bar Futo is hosting Roundtable, an event and dinner that “brings together chefs, organizers and neighbors for actionable discussion about social justice, mutual aid and sustainability.”

October 28 – Chefs Tracy Chang from Pagu, Ilma Lopez from the Ugly Duckling and Matt Ginn from Evo are collaboration on a dinner at the Ugly Ducking–sign-up for a Farmers’ Market Tour with the chefs and return in the evening for the dinner. The 18th Annual Veg Fest is taking place.

October 30 – Ore Nell’s North in Biddeford is holding a 5-course beer dinner.

November 5 – Chaval is holding a late harvest dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

November 9 – Judy Gibson is serving a 4-course wine dinner featuring wines from Lauren Bonnois.

December 7 – Secret Supper is holding a (sold out) holiday dinner in the Portland area.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

Review of Clam Bar

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Clam Bar.

But the star here is the Clam Bar itself, a mostly traditional seafood shack with a menu that showcases Maine seafood and chef Sam Keene’s Latin-inflected recipes. Crisp-fried whole belly clams are exceptional here, and most other dishes are at minimum, very good. Try the romesco-and-shaved-fennel-topped Maine crab cakes, the brown-butter-tossed French fries and the unexpectedly tasty tuna tostadas, a ceviche-style appetizer served on tortilla triangles

Tao Yuan Has Re-Opened

| Posted in Openings, Maine

Tao Yuan (website, facebook, instagram) in Brunswick quietly re-opened Thursday night. It’s been closed since 2020. Tao Yuan will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 5 – 9 pm. Reservations can be made on the Tao Yuan website.

The menu (see below) features a variety of small plates and dim sum—the restaurant recommends 3-4 dishes from the main menu per person. Shown below are the Celery Cloud Ear Salad (top left), Coho Salmon Tataki (top right), Soy Marinated Lamb Loin (middle right), and from the dessert menu a banana and chocolate dessert (middle left) prepared with miso, sesame and dulce de leche.

The Tao Yuan website speaks to the overall approach guiding their menu,

The cuisine of Tao Yuan is guided by fresh ingredients that are available locally, infused with Asian flavors and a mixture of modern cooking techniques, to produce food that is unique and delicious.  Flavors vary from upscale versions of Asian street food, to some of the chef’s more sophisticated signature dishes. All dishes are served on small plates to allow each diner to sample several courses in a single meal.

Tao Yuan was founded by Cara Stadler and her mother Cecile in 2012. Chef Leon Vuong has joined the Stadlers in the re-launch of Tao Yuan.

Cara Stadler is a James Beard Awards nominee and was a 2014 Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef honoree. After opening Tao Yuan the Stadlers launched Bao Bao in 2014, and the now closed Lio in 2018 (both in Portland) and Zao Ze Cafe in Brunswick in 2020. Their aquaponics greenhouse (bottom left photo) is located in Brunswick immediately behind Tao Yuan.

 

Cantina Calafia Takeout Window

| Posted in Openings

Cantina Calafia (instagram) opened their takeout window today. Owners Dominique Gonzalez and Justin Grey are serving: rolled tacos (chicken or beef), potato tacos, and a Caesar salad with an optional chicken add-on. The menu will continue to develop in the coming days.

The takeout window will be open this week Thursday through Saturday, 11 – 3. Next week they’ll be open Monday through Friday.

Grey and Gonzalez continue to work on the renovations to the former Bonobo Pizza location. They don’t have a firm date yet for the full launch of the restaurant. For more information on Cantina Calafia see this article from March.

Wandering in Portland

| Posted in Reviews

A website called Wandering Wheatleys has published their list of the 16 Best Restaurants in Portland.

Portland is a city for foodies, with incredible restaurants around every corner that showcase not only traditional Maine cuisine but foods from all over the world. Yes, there’s lobster and oysters and clams, but there are also unique takes on comfort food classics, special spins on a traditional slice of pizza, and some of the best donuts you’ll ever have. Whether you’re craving something Latin-inspired, Japanese, Italian, or simply something that’s mainly from Maine, you’ll find it in Portland!