Arlin Smith, Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor are leasing 34 Vannah Avenue. The new location will serve two functions for the owners of Hugo’s and Eventide: providing much needed additional kitchen capacity located just a few minutes way from Middle Street, and opening a small 600 sq ft eatery to serve the local neighborhood.
James Beard Awards 2014
This Week’s Events: Imbibe 75, Allagash Dinner, Indonesian Dinner, Bitter’s Workshop
Tuesday — the local foods networking breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.
Wednesday — Piccolo is holding an Allagash beer dinner; Bunker Brewing, Tandem, and Rising Tide and Speckled Ax are joining the Hunt & Alpine Club to celebrate their inclusion in Imbibe magazine list of the top 75 “people, places and flavors that will shape the way you drink in 2014″.
Saturday — author Ben Keene will be at Rising Tide to sign copies of his book The Great Northeast Brewery Tour, Vena’s Fizz House is teaching a bitters workshop, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.
Sunday — Chef Thomas Pisha-Duffly will be serving a Indonesian dinner (tickets) as part of the Family Feast series.
Coffee by Design — Coffee by Design has announced plans to open their new cafe in East Bayside on March 4.
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.
Thai 9 Now Open
Portlanders now have another way satisfy their craving for Thai food. Thai 9 has opened their new restaurant on upper Exchange Street at the former location of Little Seoul.
Thai 9 opened on February 10. This is their 2nd location, the original Thai 9 is at the Cabella’s plaza in Scarborough.
Maine Apple Brandy
The Wall Street Journal has recognized the apple brandies from Bartlett and Sweetgrass in an article on the spirits resurgence.
Will Bonsall, Maine Seed Saver
There’s an interesting article in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram about Maine farmer Will Bonsall, a leader in the seed saver movement.
The expectation is that Bonsall, 64, will always have at least 700 varieties of potatoes tucked away for posterity, and that every year he will faithfully grow them out, harvest them, share some with other avid growers across the country and put a sampling of each variety back in the cellar in anticipation of the next crop. But a philosophical and political rift with the Iowa-based Seed Savers Exchange, the national seed saving group that helped fund his curating career, has put Bonsall’s potatoes, some deeply obscure and ancient, in jeopardy.
4 Star Review of The Salt Exchange
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed The Salt Exchange.
This stylish downtown bistro offers very compelling fare done in the haute American style of contemporary classics. At lunch the varied menu offers such dishes as a fish taco, chicken club, and excellent char-grilled burger among the standouts. The dinner menu offers a very good dining experience with such fine preparations as pan-roasted salmon with bacon-lobster mashed potatoes; a butternut squash risotto with cranberries, braised chard and pickled shallots and plum-glazed duck breast. A must have with cocktails is the chef’s black pepper and truffle potato chips…
Coffee Series, Part 2
The Root has posted part 2 of an ongoing series on specialty coffee in Maine. This send installment is a continuation of an interview with Matt Bolinder, owner of Speckled Ax.
In the Root’s newest series on coffee, we will be looking at some of the craftsmen who make up Maine’s rapidly evolving specialty coffee industry. Their coffee is the antithesis of the water-soluble instant coffee you will find in grocery stores or the over-roasted cup from the corner Starbucks.
Tortilleria Pachanga Launched
The Bagor Daily News has a report on the launch of Tortilleria Pachanga.
Her company, Tortilleria Pachanga, is newborn, just weeks old. Using organic, Maine-grown corn, which she mills on the premises with her own grinding stones, Rowe is one of a mere handful of tortilla makers in the Northeast.
“I want to make a really great, fresh tortilla with corn that’s grown from as close as possible,” said the former Spanish teacher, who lives on Munjoy Hill.
That means working with local farmers and selling hours-old tortillas to restaurants, food trucks and specialty markets in Greater Portland.
Under Construction: Lolita
Lolita (facebook) will be the name of the new restaurant that Guy and Stella Hernandez along with business partner Neil Reiter have under construction at 90 Congress Street. Lolita will serve “American cuisine with a Mediterranean flare” in a completely renovated 28-seat space which includes a custom designed zinc bar for 10.
Check out the Lolita facebook page for more information and to stay up to date on the latest developments as they make progress towards an opening date in May.
Lolita’s website is at www.lolita-portland.