This Week’s Events: Local Foods Breakfast, Twilight Dinner, Tandem Tapas, Cabin Cove Oysters

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — the July Local Foods Networking Breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.

Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Mitch Gerow from East Ender will be the guest chef at this week’s Twilight Dinner at Turkey Hill Farm, and the first dinner in the Supperpie series is taking place.

Friday — Rosemont and Tandem Coffee are collaborating on an event called Tandem Tapas that will feature wines from Rioja and Navarra, tapas by Rosemont and coffee by Tandem.

Saturday — Cabin Cove Oysters will be featured food truck at at Rising Tide, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Local Sprouts is hosting the Real Food Challenge Welcome Party.

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: CBD in East Bayside

| Posted in Under Construction

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes feature article about 20,000 square foot new facility Coffee by Design has under construction in East Bayside. An earlier report indicated that this new location was solely to serve as a roastery, offices, training facility and equipment store but the new plans incorporate a coffee shop where “connoisseurs will be able to order limited-edition roasts at the coffee bar and choose the brewing technique, including pour-over, French press and espresso.”

While Diamond Street will be a place where people can “geek out” on coffee, Lindemann said it will also cater to artists, blue collar workers, students and others looking for a cup of coffee and place to kick back in a “warm, earthy” environment.

“There is a trend in our industry that is elitist,” Lindemann said. “We want amazing coffee to be available to everybody. …

“Our humble beginnings are still there.”

CBD will be joining, Urban Farm Farmentory, Tandem Coffee, Bunker Brewing, Maine Craft Distilling, and Rising Tide Brewing as well as Pure Pops, Bomb Diggity Bakery, and Eat Local Fish in the East Bayside neighborhood.

Review of Hugo’s

| Posted in Reviews

The Golden Dish has published a review of Hugo’s.

The range of entrees is fairly extensive but they’re small portions in multiple succession.  Roast venison and turnips, asparagus with borage, oyster and pickled shimeji or smoked swordfish belly with beach rose, sea vegetables and kohlrabi are some of the highlights. The dessert list is short but swoon-worthy.  My favorite was S’More—smoked chocolate ice cream with spruce shoot and toasted marshmallow.

First Look at the Portland & Rochester

| Posted in Reviews, Openings

pnr_firstlook

The Blueberry Files and I stopped by the check out the newly opened Portland & Rochester Public House and she’s posted an article on her blog about the experience.

The draught list is solid, the cocktail list intriguing, and the wine full of things I’d never even heard of. Entrees range are typical proteins – chicken and steak, but with intriguing sides like spatzle. The restaurant is staffed with industry pros, and the space transformed into a hipper, younger joint.

I encourage my fellow bowlers to stop in and check the place out before or after a game. And the rest of you will just have to make the trek down into Bayside to see this place’s potential for yourself.

25 Best Beers: Allagash & Peak Organic

| Posted in Beer

Men’s Journal assembled a list of what they consider the 25 Best Beers in the World. Westvleteren 12 didn’t make the list but Allagash Curieux and Peak Organic Pale Ale did.

So for our beer survey, we asked craft-brew luminaries a simple question: What’s the best beer in the world? Then we tried them all. The result? A been-there, drank-that guide to the greatest brews on the planet, in no particular order. Enjoy.

Portland & Rochester Now Open

| Posted in Openings

The Portland & Rochester Public House is now open for business. The new restaurant is located in Bayside at 118 Preble Street in the space formerly occupied by G&R DiMillo’s. The P & R’s facebook page describes the public house as having, “[t]he soul of a Bistro and spirit of a Pub” and promises, “The flavors speak to what is grown, made or caught in the beautiful Northeast.”

Garrett Fitzgerald is the owner of the Portland & Rochester and the name of the chef is Chris Clark. Clark moved here from Boston and Fitzgerald moved to Portland from Bar Harbor where he still runs the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound.

Reviews of In’finiti, El Corazon, Outliers and The Salt Exchange

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of In’finiti,

It shouldn’t worry us too much: In’finiti is not a complete success, but given the scope of its aspirations there’s good promise early in the run. Novare Res improved over time, adding an appealing and affordable menu to its long list of mostly expensive beers. In’finiti, by contrast, has plenty of $5 pints of interesting local beer, but the food menu is a bit spottier, pricier, and struggles to find a balance between something pub-like and fine dining.

the Press Herald has published a bar review of The Salt Exchange,

Now into its fourth year, I see the Salt Exchange standing its ground on the boisterous brawl of Commercial Street’s bar and restaurant scene. Not an easy feat, I should think. For those looking for a more subdued (and dare I say, savvy) place to kick back in the Old Port, the Salt Exchange is the ticket. If nothing else, they’ll win you over with hard-to-beat service.

the Portland Phoenix has published a review of Outliers,

So Outliers offers much to like. But perhaps it is better not to think of Outliers as an outlier, especially in a city with so many very good restaurants…Let’s hope that Outliers holds it off for a long time to come, but in the meantime perhaps we should think of it as simply well above average.

and the Press Herald has published a review of El Corazon.

I welcome El Corazon to the Portland food truck scene with happy and hungry open arms.

 

Colucci’s & The Lobster Holy Donut

| Posted in General News

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about The Holy Donut and their latest invention: the lobster donut,

“I’m taking the best of every bit of Maine, which is potatoes, deliciousness, fresh lobster, some herbs,” said the owner of The Holy Donut, frying the lot into golden pockets of love.

Meet the lobster doughnut. No bib required.

and has published a report about the prospective new owner of Colucci’s and his plans for the building.

Simpson said that if his purchase is successful, “it would be my plan to continue (Colucci’s) as a store.”

In a display of optimisim, a window sign on the building that had simply read “closed” has now been replaced with one that says “opening this fall.”

The Holy Donut article also mentions the plans for a 2nd location in Portland slated to open in August and THD’s upcoming appearance on the Cooking Chanel’s show Donut Showdown.