Portland Hunt & Alpine Club Now Open

| Posted in Openings

The Portland Hunt and Alpine Club (website, facebook, twitter) held a soft opening on Tuesday and their public grand opening starts today at 4pm. Portland newest venue diverse menu of well-crafted cocktails (be sure to try the Chartreuse Swizzle) and as a set of Scandinavian-inspired small plates all presented in a thoughtfully designed modern space on Market Street.

Hunt & Alpine is run by Andrew and Briana Volk, who ran the popular Hush Hush series of events earlier this year.

For additional photos and commentary see the latest post on Map & Menu.

Images: a Left Hand cocktail, the view from inside the Lodge Room towards the bar, table and counter seating, charcuterie and cheese plates.

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Review of Salvage BBQ

| Posted in Reviews

Meredith Goad has penned a southern-fried review of Salvage BBQ for Maine a la Carte.

The hush puppies had obviously just come out of the fryer, so while I waited for them to cool down enough to handle I stole a bite of the barbecue and lawd have mercy…..Portland finally has some decent, southern-style pulled pork! No more abominations forced upon us like pulled pork sandwiches covered with slices of tomato and onion! That’s just so, so wrong.

Under Construction: Empire

| Posted in Under Construction

According to a report on Maine a la Carte, Empire plans to open next week on September 12.

The menu, a press release sent out today says, will feature “truly authentic Chinese cuisine and Dim Sum. The menu of traditional and modern ‘Chinese soul food’ will feature local meats, seafoods, and seasonal produce. The kitchen will be headed by a Dim Sum Master Chef with 40 years’ experience creating specialty dumplings in world class kitchens around the world.”

Bar Review of Gather

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a bar review of Gather.

Happy hour is usually just Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 6 p.m. and features beer and wine for $3, but customers are encouraged to check the restaurant’s Facebook page for updates about drink specials (lemon-thyme Prosecco for $8 was recently featured) and bar snack specials.

Chef Chad Conley’s starter menu gives an idea of what the bar snacks could be: Deviled eggs, meatballs, Bangs Island mussels, kale, ricotta and walnut fritters, just to name a few.

Omi’s Coffee Shop

| Posted in People, Profiles

The Portland Daily Sun has published an article on Omi’s Coffee Shop,

Omi’s Coffee Shop takes its name from co-owner Naomi Hall, and also functions as an exclamation one might make after drinking a cup of coffee there, as in “Oh my!”

In addition to the organic, fair-trade coffee, Omi’s also serves homegrown tea, baked goods from Standard Baking, and Union bagels.

and Natalie Ladd’s weekly column.

Harbor Fish’s Past & Portland Co-op’s Future

| Posted in Under Construction, Profiles

Today’s Press Herald includes an article about the nearly 50-year old Harbor Fish Market,

Nick Alfiero, one of the three brothers who own Portland’s Harbor Fish Market, says that whenever anybody talks about their 47-year-old family business these days, they always throw out the word “iconic.”

How does that make him feel? Good, right?

“Old,” he said with a wry smile. “Old, to tell you the truth.”

and an article about the Portland Co-op’s plans to open a grocery store.

By early 2015, the Portland Food Co-op intends to open a grocery store in downtown Portland, a district dominated by Whole Foods, Hannaford and Trader Joe’s. The business plan calls for a much smaller store than the ones operated by the large chains, but with a full offering of organic and natural groceries, including beer, wine and prepared foods. The store will emphasize locally grown and produced food.

Craft Distilling in Maine

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails

Mainebiz has published an article about Maine’s small but growing spirits industry.

Luke Davidson sounds like a man whose head is spinning, a product of learning a lot about business in a little time. When Davidson opened the doors to Maine Craft Distilling in Portland this July, he didn’t expect the large crowds that flocked to his East Bayside business to taste the distillery’s craft batches of rum and vodka. The crowd surge created a number of logistical challenges, and it was all he could do to keep a supply of clean glasses and purchase bags handy.

Bollard: Harding Lee Smith Article #2

| Posted in People

The Bollard has published a 2nd article about chef Harding Lee Smith, owner of The Front Room, The Grill Room, The Corner Room and Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room.

During the two months since our July issue hit the streets, hardly a day has gone by that I have not encountered someone eager to share their own account of awful behavior by the subjects of that issue’s cover story: Chef Harding Lee Smith and his wife, Darcy.

Harbor Fish Market Cookbook

| Posted in Cooking

harborbookDown East magazine has published an excerpt from the new Harbor Fish Market cookbook. The excerpt includes details on the market’s history, advice on buying and storing fish and a set of recipes.

Nine Custom House Wharf in Portland has been the site of a fish market since sometime in the late 1800s. It became the Harbor Fish Market when the Alfiero family purchased it in 1966, a joint venture between Ben Alfiero Sr., and his older brother John Alfiero. John handed over the reins to Ben in 1975, and through the next few years, Ben’s three sons, Nick, Ben Jr., and Mike, joined in. They worked as a team of three brothers and father until Ben Sr. retired in 2000.