Under Construction: Isa

| Posted in Under Construction

Eater Maine has posted an interview with Suzie St. Pierre, who along with her husband are opening Isa (facebook) on Portland Street.

What makes you eager to open it in Portland, which is packed with places to eat?
We love Maine and we love Portland and we’re encouraged by the city’s passion for good food. Every city has competition and, of course, Portland doesn’t lack it. But the residents and visitors support this industry better than almost any other city in the nation, which makes us think there’s always room for another good restaurant with a different experience to offer.

Full Belly Deli Has Closed

| Posted in Closings

The Press Herald has confirmed that the Full Belly Deli has gone out of business.

After 28 years of serving overstuffed pastrami sandwiches, lokshen kugel and hot brisket dinners, Full Belly Deli, Portland’s only Jewish delicatessen, has closed its doors.

Owner David Rosen said the Brighton Avenue deli was a victim of the economy, rising food prices, and competition from the chain restaurants that have proliferated nearby as that part of the city, on the border of Westbrook, has developed in recent years.

Under Construction: Otherside Delicatessen

| Posted in Under Construction

The Forecaster has posted an update on the Otherside Delicatessen.

Quattrucci’s Variety at 164 Veranda St. was a neighborhood staple for more than three decades. The store closed without fanfare late last year, but the building won’t be empty very long.

Peter Sueltenfuss leased the building on Jan. 1 for the Otherside Delicatessen, which will open around Jan. 26, he said – as long as telephone and Internet connections are done.

New Spirits from MCD

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails

Sprigge-Tashtego-(600x800)Maine Craft Distilling has announced the upcoming launch of two new products:

  • Sprigge is a version of Alchemy gin aged in MCD’s whiskey and rum oak barrels. “The combination of used whiskey barrel and Alchemy Gin creates a hearty, full flavored spirit combining hints of juniper with the barrel richness of vanilla.”
  • Tashtego is a pot distilled white rum named for a harpooner in the Melville’s Moby Dick.

Both will available for sale starting this Saturday at Maine Craft Distilling’s tasting room on Fox Street and in Freeport.

This Week’s Events: Growing Local, Ice Bar, Emotional Honey, Honey Dinner, Bean Suppah

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting the Local Foods Networking Breakfast.

Wednesday — Space Gallery is screening Growing Local followed by a discussion with the director, Baxter Brewing owner Luke Livingston will be speaking at Peleton Labs,  The Corner Room is holding a  wine dinner and Black Tie is teaching a cooking class.

Thursday — it’s the first night of the 2015 Ice Bar, the Thirsty Pig is hosting a rlease party for episode 4 of Local Brew TV, and GMRI is hosting a talk on How Climate Change is Affecting Fish and People by scientist Andy Pershing and Kathy Mills.

Friday — it’s the second night of the Ice Bar.

Saturday — Allagash is having a bottle release for Emotional Honey,  it’s the last night of the Ice Bar, the Portland On Tap beer festival is taking place as is the Winter Farmers’ Market.

Sunday — The Good Table is holding a 5-course dinner made with 5 local honeys paired with mead, wine, beer, and Rosemont Market cooking a Grange Bean Suppah.

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.

Tortilleria Pachanga Interview

| Posted in People

Today’s Telegram includes an interview with Tortilleria Pachanga owner Lynne Rowe.

WHAT’S IN A NAME: We figured out that a tortilleria is the place where tortillas are made, but what does “pachanga” mean? Rowe picked it up from her days in Mexico. “It can be like a drunken bash,” Rowe said. “But it doesn’t have to be like that. It can also be a rhythm or a dance. In Mexico it is sort of a fun word for a gathering.” When she worked at the Waynflete School she introduced pachanga to the school lexicon, using it to describe family gatherings.

Vinland at the James Beard House

| Posted in People, Profiles

For the final installment in her four-part series Vinland, Mary Pols has written a report on the James Beard House dinner Vinland chef David Levi served this past week in NYC.

Levi said the foundation offered him dates in January through March, but worried whether he could pull it off when nearly everything in Maine, even the bays, tend to freeze. He relished the challenge. “If we’re going to showcase what Maine cuisine is all about, it is much more compelling to do it in the winter than the summer,” he said. “In the summer, we have many of the same things that you’d find in any part of the country.” In the winter, Maine’s famed resiliency materializes in its foods, and he was eager to put any concerns to rest.

Read the Full Series
Part 1: Bold Idea for Portland
Part 2: What’s for Dinner
Part 3: Bountiful Summer

Review of Bao Bao

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Bao Bao.

Bao Bao bills itself as a dumpling house (you can order plates of six dumplings either boiled or pan fried, and the lamb dumplings are particularly good) but other items on the menu truly shine: Asian Slaw is a crisp, refreshing salad with a delicious soy and rice wine vinaigrette; “smashed cucumbers” are served icy cold but enrobed in a fiery sriracha chili sauce; and Taiwanese beef noodle soup blends chunks of super-tender brisket with ropes of noodles and chopped greens in a salty, satisfying beef broth. Don’t miss the red bean paste buns offered upon request for dessert. They’re a fried twist on a steamed Asian classic, and sweet enough to satisfy even your strongest cravings.

Oxbow Expanding

| Posted in Under Construction

Oxbow Brewing has also applied for a liquor license so they can serve wine, spirits, food (draft menu, page 39) and beers from other brewers along with their own products at their tasting room on Washington Ave.

Although we have been enjoying a steady early draw of customers to our new Portland tasting room, it has quickly become apparent that the ability to provide a more complete [experience] would generate substantially more traffic to our location, and subsequently to the many small businesses that surround us. To be able to maximize the potential of our space, we would like to have the option of preparing snacks as well as serving guest beers, wines and spirits from other local artisan producers.