Frosty’s Opening on Saturday

| Posted in Openings

According to a tweet from Meredith Goad, Frosty’s Donuts will open their South Portland location Saturday at 9 am. Frosty’s co-owner, Nels Omdal, was recently interviewed for the business page of the Press Herald about his purchase and expansion of the 47 year-old business.

Q: How did you come to own Frosty’s?
A: I was a regular customer who loved their doughnuts. When I saw the for-sale sign, I met with the Realtor to express interest in buying the business, and Bob [Frost] happened to drop by. I got to have a one-on-one with him for about an hour and we made a connection as we talked about life and doughnuts.

Interview with Chef Cheryl Lewis

| Posted in People

Sabroso, El Rayo’s in-house blog, has posted an interview with chef Cheryl Lewis.

What drew you to Mexican cuisine? Just before we opened El Rayo, my mother handed me a Mexican cookbook I had written for my 5th grade class. I had made each kid their own copy to accompany my Mexican fiesta of tacos, beans, and buñuelos for dessert. I might have even made a piñata. Mom and I laughed and said something like “we should have known then!” Later, I paid my way through college in California by working in restaurants. In California, Mexican is a powerful undercurrent and when I moved back East I constantly missed that cuisine, always full of piquant flavor and freshness.

Review of Spread

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Spread.

While dinner at Spread is not bad at all, the experience doesn’t quite dispel the space’s strange aura. Spread does not transform the space, but rather seems to have joined in the oddness. It’s a place made for fall and winter (at the moment, at least) on a block famous for its summer rush. It’s a new venture with an old-fashioned feel, from the long entranceway to the dark-suited maître-d’ checking in on things. The Scottish have a phrase for accepting the quirks of your fate and flourishing within them: “dree your weird,” they say. Spread is a weird name for a slightly odd place, but it could flourish nonetheless.

Reviews of Teriyaki Exchange & Dock Fore, TAO Name Challenged

| Posted in General News, Reviews

The Press Herald has published a Eat & Run review of Teriyaki Exchange in South Portland,

There was nothing left for me to do but dive in. While I’ve dabbled in chop-stickery, it’s never pretty, so I went with the conventional fork. Read: I can shove more food in my face that way. It took all my calming powers to slow down enough to truly savor the flavor, and I’m sure glad I did.

and a bar review of Dock Fore. Dock Fore opened for business in 1980 in the former Zeitman’s Grocery Store space.

Dock Fore is your run-of-the-mill place, which is unusual for the Old Port. The neighborhood bar sits amidst a bar scene littered with nightclubs, sports pubs and dance floors.

It’s a place to chill, sip a drink and chat with friends. It’s not a place to go shake your booty, drink the latest trendy cocktail or play some bar games.

Also, today’s paper reports that TAO in Brunswick has been sued by a restaurant  with locations in New York and Las Vegas for infringing on their trademark name. This actually isn’t the first time a Maine food business has been challenged in this regard. The Great Lost Bear originally opened as The Grizzly Bear but was forced to change its name when sued by a west coast pizza shop. Alsoo if memory serves, Borealis Breads was originally called Bodacious Breads but had to change their name for similar reasons.

Miyake’s Focus on Architecture & Design

| Posted in Profiles

MaineBiz has published an article about the focus Miyake placed on great architecture and design when they moved the sushi restaurant from Spring to Fore Street.

Miyake and co-owner Will Garfield met with Thompson and shared their vision for a space that would elevate the restaurant’s already strong reputation without outshining the food.

“Before, you went to a crummy little building in the West End and the food was amazing, but that was the previous story,” says Thompson. “We were a little nervous because this was going to change the story. It was not going to be a magical surprise of great food in a little hole in the wall, it was going to be a restaurant almost as beautiful as the food.”

New Food Blog: New Vegan in Maine

| Posted in General News

A new food blog called New Vegan in Maine launched on the last day of September. The author will be posting daily updates as she goes through a 30-day vegan eating experiment to help manage her insulin levels. (via Avery Yale Kamila)

As day 1 of veganism draws to a close, I’m feeing somewhat proud of how pure I was today. I started the day off with a cup of coffee, starting out with a small cup instead of my usual 16 oz. mug, better to test the soy creamer. Well, half and half it is not…

Bad Behaviors

| Posted in Uncategorized

Natalie Ladd has written up some of the bad behaviors by restaurant patrons she’s witnessed in the past week for her weekly column in the Portland Daily Sun.

2) Camping Out. Most restaurants plan for one-and-a-half to two hours for a dinner reservation (more time is allotted if attending a meal consisting of many courses), and all are encouraged to relax and enjoy. However, once you’ve paid, finished your tawny port, and sat for a good fifteen minutes, hit the road if it appears other reservations have come in and are waiting. Move to the bar and finish your conversation because you are committing the double whammy of offending other patrons as well as hindering the profitability of the restaurant and servers.

Porthole Closed

| Posted in General News

According to a report from the Press Herald, The Porthole has closed and it’s “unclear” when it will reopen.

[Owner Oliver] Keithly said Tuesday he hopes he can work out a plan to renovate and reopen, but he acknowledged it will be difficult. He said he had been planning on closing the Porthole in December and January to redesign the kitchen – which the Comedy Connection shares — but decided do the work earlier after the health inspection and subsequent press coverage.

“Business has been so slow,” he said. “Why prolong it?”