Interview with Stephen Lanzalotta

| Posted in People

Knack Factory has published an interview with Stephen Lanzalotta. In the interview Lanzalotta share details on his upcoming restaurant Slab (instagram) and his early history as a cook and baker.

What about baking specifically?
The way I got into baking was crazy. My ex-wife—my wife at the time—and I had moved to Maine to get back to the land. I built a house out of the trees of the land, cut the Spruce logs down and built a log house. I built all of the furniture. While I was doing this incredible endeavor I needed some carb sustenance so I would make these big piles to burn off the Spruce and when it would get down to ash, I would make very crude breads by burying it in that ash.

This Week’s Events: Phoenix Poll, Belgian Biere Fest, Slow Money Gathering, Food Paradise, Street Eats, Star Wars, Chopped Challenge

| Posted in Events

Wednesday — it’s the last day you can vote in the Phoenix Readership Poll (food blog category), the Maine Brew Bus is leading a Sebago beer dinner, GMRI is holding a lecture on “How Warming Waters are Bringing New Species to the Gulf of Maine“, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — it’s the first night of 6th Annual Belgian Biere Fest at Novare Res, and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Run of the Mill.

Friday — the 2014 Slow Money Maine Regional Gathering is taking place, and the Travel Channel show Food Paradise will be filming at Five Fifty-Five.

Saturday — El Rayo is kicking off a 2-day Cinco de Mayo celebration, the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place as is the Street Eats Food Truck Festival, LeRoux is holding a wine tasting, and chefs Sam Hayward, Nathan Nadeau and Ken Thomas are serving a dinner at Flanagan’s Table.

Sunday — Piccolo is holding a Star Wars Dinner, Elsmere is preparing a Kosher BBQ dinner to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Levey School in South Portland, and Grace is hosting the 2nd annual Chopped Challenge.

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.

Under Construction: BaoBao Dumpling House

| Posted in Under Construction

Chef Cara Stadler has submitted a liquor license application for BaoBao Dumpling House, the new restaurant she has under construction at 133 Spring Street, the former home of the West End Deli. Stadler is the chef/owner of Tao Yuan in Brunswick; she recently was named one of the Food & Wine Best New Chefs of 2014.

According to the cover letter sent with the application,

The concept of baobao is to take the more popular menu items from the Tao Yuan, in particular dumplings and vegetable sides, and offer them in a more casual setting (lower price point and faster service model) but in greater varieties and, of course, the same food quality.

See below for a draft menu and floor plan for the 36-seat restaurant.

baobao_menu
baobao_plan

Under Construction: Lazzari

| Posted in Under Construction

Restauranteur Tom Barr has submitted a liquor license application for Lazzari, a new restaurant he has under development at 618 Congress Street, the former location of Mesa Verde. According to the application,

Lazzari will showcase Maine’s exceptional local agriculture by employing culinary techniques from across the Mediterranean region.

Barr is the owner of Taco Escobarr and is a partner in Blue Rooster Food Co. You can see a draft menu on pages 54-55 of the meeting materials.

 

Food Truck Update

| Posted in General News

The Portland Phoenix has published an update on Portland’s 2014 food truck fleet.

Portland food trucks are coming out of hibernation, so we thought we’d check in with the existing fleet for an update on their upcoming season. First, the good news: most truck owners were very happy with their first year of service in Portland. Only one truck ran out of gas, so to speak, after a season in Back Cove Park — Portside Picnic. Owner Rich Earle cites costly permits as well as size and location restrictions as his reasons for closure.

Review of Back Bay Grill

| Posted in Reviews

The Golden Dish has reviewed The Back Bay Grill.

Finally a beautiful specimen of pan roasted chicken breast is served as my main course.  It’s from the local Serendipity Acres Farm and has been marinated in thyme and sea salt and accompanied by potato gnocchi–the proverbial gossamer light pillows of pasta–arranged around English pea puree and salt-roasted beets.  [Maître‘d Adrian] Stratton suggested a glass of Bandol to go with my entrée, which worked perfectly.

Evans/Miyake Heritage Pork Dinner

| Posted in Events

evansmiyake

Chefs Masa Miyake and Rob Evans are collaborating on a 6-course dinner, a “celebration of Maine-raised pure breed heritage pork” featuring American Guinea, Red Wattle, Berkshire and Mangalista hog breeds. Tickets are $90 per person with optional pairings from Oxbow, Allagash and Sebago for an additional $35. The dinner is scheduled for May 18 and tickets go on sale May 1 (call 207-871-9170).