79 Portland Street is currently under construction the first floor and basement are being converted into a restaurant from its former role as the home of New World Kitchens.
The new restaurant is being launched by Suzie Saint Pierre. The exact name and concept are still under development but Saint Pierre shared that she’s planning to open a small casual bistro-style restaurant.
Saint Pierre has 15 years experience working in restaurants outside Maine.
The new Bramhall (facebook) is holding a Grand Opening on Thursday evening starting at 5 pm. Bramhall is located in the old Bramhall Pub space at 769 Congress Street in the West End.
Bramhall is owned by Michael Fraser, the chef is Chris Beaulieu and the bar manager is Guy Streitburger.
Tuesday — author Lauren Clark will be at the Hunt and Alpine Club to sign copies of her book Crafty Bastards. The Hunt and Alpine will be serving 3 beer-based cocktails made with brews from Bunker, Oxbow and Rising Tide.
Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.
Thursday — GMRI Chief Science Officer will be giving a lecture entitled “Why Are They Here? Whales, Fish, and Other Seasonal Visitors to the Gulf”, and there will be a cider and cheese tasting at the Public Market House.
Friday — the Palace Diner will be holding a fried chicken dinner event.
Saturday — the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Sunday — well known apple expert John Bunker will be at the Urban Farm Fermentory for a “tasting of many heirloom varieties, delicious savory and sweet apple snacks from Rosemont and a full run of UFF’s many locally produced hard ciders.” Sunday is also Maine Open Creamery Day.
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.
Allagash won a Silver Medal in the Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale category for their Coolship Resurgam over the weekend at the Great American Beer Festival.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article on the Maine craft distilling industry.
Close on the heels of Maine’s micro-brewing boom, and reflecting the interest in all things artisanal, craft distilling is on the rise. Just five years ago, there were three small-batch distilleries in the state; now there are eight, with a ninth under way in a former mill in Biddeford. Including Maine Craft Distilling, five of those now in operation are making whiskey. The others are New England Distilling and In’finiti Fermentation & Distillation in Portland, Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery in Union and Wiggly Bridge Distilling in York Beach.
The Boston Globe has published a report on the restaurant boom in Portland.
I had heard about a few great places to nosh in Portland, but for the love of Jenny Craig, the number of good restaurants in a city this size is absolutely criminal. Several more bars and eateries are expected to open in the coming months.
“There are so many things that are happening here in Portland,” said Shannon Bard, executive chef and proprietor of Zapoteca. “There’s a huge influx of chefs coming here from out of state; they’re leaving bigger cities to see what’s going on and opening here.”
Venues mentioned in the article: Blue Rooster, Central Provisions, Duckfat, Eventide, Hunt and Alpine Club, Lolita, Piccolo, Sea Glass, Slab, Standard Baking, Sweetgrass, The Holy Donut, Vena’s Fizz House, Zapoteca.
The Portland Phoenix has reviewed Maps Cafe.
So you might expect the worst from a new Old Port grilled-cheese and wine/beer spot run by two music industry folks—one of Lady Gaga’s handlers and a Mumford and Sons merchandise guy, no less. But instead, their Maps Café, tucked away in a downstairs space on Market St., is the rarest of things in today’s Portland food scene: a genuine pleasant surprise. There was no Kickstarter, no big PR push, no pop-up tie-ins, no menu or remodel plans leaked to Portland Food Map. Owners Vikki and Kyle went low-key…
The Golden Dish has reviewed Golden Lotus.
With bold strokes, The Golden Lotus opens on the heel’s of Empire Chinese, offering a menu of Cantonese specialties that are carbon copies of Empire’s menu but not nearly as fine–yet.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article on MECA’s culinary arts program.
“We felt as though there was a real connection to be explored between Maine’s preeminent destination for arts education and a city that has such a passion for culinary arts,” Raffi Der Simonian, director of marketing and communications at MECA, said. “Our new foodie programming directly aligns with MECA’s institutional mission of educating artists for life.”
See the MECA website for details on the current set of classes.
Maine Today has posted a very nice multimedia interview with Alison Pray, co-founder of Standard Baking.
This connection to tradition is a huge part of it and that informs our work every day.