There’s a “coming soon” sign in the window for a new restaurant called Shima at the former location Siam Grille on Fore Street. According to records filed with the city, the restaurant plans to serve “Japanese style cuisine”. A draft copy of the menu (page 163) was submitted along with their liquor license application.
Video Interview with Mike Mastronardi
Portland Food Heads has published an interesting video interview with Mike Mastronardi the new owner of Fit to Eat.
Mastronardi: When people say Fit to Eat I want them to immediately salivate…I want them to be sitting at their desk thinking about the sandwich they had a couple days ago and just dying and saying I need that again. I want them to crave it, I want them to be addicted to it.
Colucci’s Review
Colucci’s Hilltop Market received 3½ stars from today’s Eat & Run column in the Press Herald.
The meatball sub had plump, moist meatballs. They were a little spicy, but not too much. The marinara sauce was tangy, and the melted cheese was soft and gooey, not stringy. The rolls for both sandwiches were the kind I love. They were the big, thick, soft and slightly chewy sub rolls you seem to find at local Portland places. They aren’t the harder, crustier sub rolls you get at chains.
Phoenix Review of Grace
The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Grace.
Dinner at Grace will set you back, especially as vegetable sides, like crunchy green beans frosted with a bit of sugar, are ordered separately. But Methodist theology preaches that grace, and its heavenly rewards, is only available for those who give themselves over completely. If you give yourself over to Grace Restaurant for a splurge some evening, the rewards are worth it.
Peace Food Market
Portland in a Snap has a report on a new halal market called Peace Food Market that under construction on Cumberland Ave.
The building permit indicates it will be a convenience store and meat market. It’s clear work is going on inside…Shelving and fixtures are in place, but I couldn’t see any product. My best guess is it will be at least a couple weeks before it opens.
Foodiest, Parts 3
Bon Appétit continues their reporting on Portland with short pieces on the seafood, bakeries and breweries here as well as a look at the 2009 runners-up for America’s Foodiest Small Town.
Great bakery towns: Paris, obviously; San Francisco, too; and, of course, New York. But Portland, Maine? It may sound like hyperbole, but one flaky croissant from Standard Baking Company and I guarantee you’ll believe it, too. Portland (and everyone I asked had no explanation as to why) has a startling number of first-rate spots for baguettes, muffins, and other baked goods.
Cinque Terre Profiled in the Globe
The Boston Globe has published a profile of Cinque Terre with a focus on the restaurant’s farm-to-table approach.
If local farmers can’t supply a vegetable he needs for his Northern Italian kitchen, Skawinski will likely grow it from Italian seed at the restaurant’s Grand View Farm in Greene. “If we could only raise citrus in Maine, we’d be set,’’ he says. “All the other produce, there’s a way.’’
Foodiest, Part 2
Bon Appétit blogger Andrew Knowlton rolled out his second day of coverage for Portland. In today’s post he lists off his “Essential Portland Maine Itinerary“. 30 local business from diners to fine dining made the list.
Great Wall Super Buffet
The Great Wall Super Buffet in South Portland was sued yesterday by nine former employees. MPBN was at the restaurant today and broadcast this story.
One day after a lawsuit filed by nine former workers against the Great Wall Super Buffet in South Portland was made public, the restaurant was closed without explanation today, and Chinese workers staged an angry protest and a press conference to discuss their treatment. They claim they were not paid overtime, forced to work for tips only and required to pay the restaurant owners bi-weekly “kickbacks.” The former workers and their supporters are demanding an investigation and asking customers to join a boycott.
Review of Duckfat
Duckfat received a score of 7.5 out of 10 in a review from Portland Food Heads.
Sometimes disappointing, sometimes overwhelmingly hearty and fulfilling, I still turn to Duckfat again and again for a quick bite in Portland. Rob Evans has expressed interest in turning the restaurant into a small franchise, with plans to open up numerous Duckfats throughout New England. No matter your feeling on franchising, I can’t imagine a concept like this failing – even if they set one up in the middle of the cold Vermont woods. In fact, I’d imagine it’d be pretty cozy.