This Week’s Events: Omi’s, Hunt & Alpine, Vinland Farm Dinner, Eat Street, Tastemade

| Posted in Events

Monday — the crew from Cooking Chanel TV show Eat Street will be filming Bite into Maine, noon – 3pm in Fort Williams Park.

Tuesday — it’s the opening day at Omi’s Coffee Shop.

Wednesday — author John Holl will be at Gritty’s to sign a copy of his book The American Craft Beer Cookbook, the Makers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory in the afternoon and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place in the morning.

Thursday — the grand opening of the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club is taking place, online TV show Tastemade will be in town filming a show (Bite into Maine, Eventide and perhaps Portland Lobster Co) about lobster rolls in Portland, Mitch Gerow from East Ender is the featured chef for the weekly Twilight Dinner at Turkey Hill Farm, there will be an Allagash tasting at the Public Market House,  and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Notch Brewing.

Friday — Chef David Levi will be serving a Vinland Preview Dinner at Four Seasons Farm in Harborside, Maine, there will be a wine tasting at West End Deli. It’s also the September First Friday Art Walk and a group of food trucks and food carts will be assembling at the Portland Flea For All for the monthly Flea Bites mobile food street festival.

Saturday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

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.

Salvage BBQ Now Open (Updated)

| Posted in Uncategorized

salvage_logoSalvage BBQ & Smokehouse (facebook, twitter, website) is now open for business. Portland’s newest restaurant is located at 919 Congress Street near the intersection of Congress and Saint John Streets. Salvage is being launched by chef/owner Jay Villani and the Local 188/Sonny’s crew.

Villani also is working on launching Ideal Bakery further up Congress Street near Rite Aid.

Update: For more info on the menu at Salvage see this blog post from The Golden Dish.

Boston Globe: Maine Foodie Tours

| Posted in Reviews

A pair of Boston Globe reporters have written about their experience on a Maine Foodie Tours walking trip in Portland.

We were on a culinary walking tour in Portland offered by Maine Foodie Tours. The 2½-hour jaunt through the historic Old Port and along the working waterfront introduced us to some of the city’s best purveyors and took us to its liveliest markets. Along the way we learned a little about the city’s unique and colorful history.

Review of Blue Rooster

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Living, Eating and Aging in Portland Maine has published a review of Blue Rooster.

I never meant to become a regular, it just happened.  It was unexpected and quick.  It literally took one bite from my first Red Eye Breakfast sandwich and I was hooked faster than a drug addict and his first crack experience.  Pork belly, hash browns, “red eye” mayonnaise, fried egg, all on a buttermilk biscuit.  The perfect breakfast sandwich even if they don’t open until 11AM…

Living, Eating and Aging also published reviews earlier this year of Po’Boys and Outliers.

Portland Food Swap

| Posted in Events

Megan Bedford, author of Megansmark, has written a post about the Portland Food Swap for Livework Portland.

Recently, one of my favorite food community events was the Portland Food Swap, a locally organized shindig that welcomes anyone to come swap homemade, homegrown, or foraged foods. Food swaps are growing in popularity throughout the U.S., and have a strong foothold in the Pacific Northwest (particularly in the other Portland) where they are known for high standards of creativity in both content and design.

For more information on the Portland Food Swap visit their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/portlandfoodswap

Reviews of Enio’s, Local Press and Crooked Mile

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The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Enio’s,

Enio’s may be run by veterans of the Maine restaurant scene, and be rooted in traditional strengths of Italian cuisine, but thanks to its imaginative menu and bright interesting space, it feels new and fresh.

and posted a double review of Local Press and Crooked Mile on Brighton Ave.

Two new lunch spots in the Rosemont neighborhood — a second location for local fave The Crooked Mile and the first for panini specialist the Local Press — offer a brighter fate to folks who lunch and labor off-peninsula.

Salvage, Hunt & Alpine and Omi’s Plan Openings

| Posted in Uncategorized

Salvage BBQ, the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club and Omi’s Coffee Shop all plan on opening in the next week:

  • Salvage is first out of the gate. They sent out a press release yesterday to announce they’re opening day will be this Sunday.
  • Omi’s plans on opening their Harbor View Park neighborhood coffee shop on Tuesday, September 3.
  • The Hunt & Alpine Club has announced their ‘official’ grand opening will take place Thursday September 5 at 4 pm. They’ve published some photos of the furnishings and elements of the space on Facebook.

For those of you keeping score that means in one week there will have been 2 tv crews filming restaurants in Portland, 2 national press articles about Portland restaurants and the chance to try 3 new venues. Yes, restaurant life is good in Portland.