According to the Forecaster, the new restaurant taking over O’Naturals space on Exchange Street will be called Sonny’s. Jay Villani, Chef/Owner of Local 188, is heading up the new venture.
Kon Bistro Review
Type A Diversions has published a review of Kon Asian Bistro.
Bottom line: With excellent choices for Japanese and Thai in Portland, I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat at Kon for either. But if I’m in the mood for Chinese this is my new go to spot.
Otto Pizza Review
Portland Food Heads has reviewed Otto.
I’m not going to go into too much detail, as this is pizza we’re talking about here, but I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The crust had a nice, crispy exterior with fluffy insides (mmm…fluffy insides), and the sauce was nicely balanced without being any bit astringent at all. Perfectly baked pie, too, which is usually a problem around here for some reason.
Huong Closes Up Shop
According to Portland Psst, Huong, the Vietnamese restaurant on Cumberland, has gone out of business.
Just last week a new Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon Restaurant, was added to the Under Construction list.
Rooted in Community
Justin Ellis from the Press Herald has a report on the annual meeting of the youth group Rooted in Community.
It’s the annual conference for Rooted in Community, an organization that works with young people in areas like urban agriculture, sustainable farming and environmental awareness.
But these folks didn’t just happen to pick Maine at random. Local youth farming groups, such as Cultivating Community and the Local Sprouts Cooperative in Portland, as well as Lewiston’s Lots to Gardens, are hosts for the whole shindig.
This Week’s Events
This is a good week for beer lovers. On Tuesday Novare Res will host Dogfish Head‘s President Sam Calagione and will have 23 of their beers on tap. Then on Friday and Saturday, Novare Res will hold their 2nd Annual Roguepalooza which will feature 30 Rogue beers on the menu. As usual the weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is at Bull Feeney’s tonight, and on Tuesday the next Wine Flight 5k Training run is taking place. Both The Salt Exchange and Jones Landing are holding wine events on Wednesday. Cultivating Community’s next Twilight Dinner is Thursday at their farm in Cape Elizabeth. There’s a wine tastings this week at the West End Grocery on Friday night. There’s a Backyard Locavore Tour during the day on Saturday and that evening Local Sprouts is holding an event at SPACE Gallery to celebrate their second year in business and launch their effort to establish a community supported cafe. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
Local Sprouts
The Portland Phoenix is reports that Local Sprouts, the community supported kitchen that operates in the Public Market House, is starting to plan a new venture, a community supported cafe.
In addition to carrying over the Local Sprouts community-supported kitchen model, the café will be financed (Fertig hopes) through community-based loans and investments. Members will be able to pick up meals, but the café will also be open for the public to order off a menu; Washington and Fertig describe a space that’s available for educational programs and possibly even winter farmers’ markets and co-op retail. Could this be the community space that Portland’s social-activists have been clamoring for? Stay tuned.
Clam Flats Reopening
According to an article in today’s Press Herald, clam flats in Maine are reopening as the red tide dissipates.
Though there are still areas that are off-limits to digging, enough flats reopened Friday to put hundreds of diggers back to work and ensure a healthy supply of locally harvested steamers and fried clams for the first time all summer, dealers said.
“We’re very excited,” said Dave Wilcox, owner of Ken’s Place in Scarborough, a busy destination for fried clams and steamers. “People have been calling and asking, ‘Are the flats open yet?'”
July's Stats
The 10 eateries looked up most often during the month of July were:
- Grace (-)
- The Corner Room (-)
- Paciarino (3)
- Kon Asian Bistro (>50)
- Evangeline (11)
- The Salt Exchange (2)
- El Rayo (1)
- The Farmer’s Table (4)
- Bresca (7)
- Five Fifty-Five (12)
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.
Binga’s Stadium Smokehouse and Sports Bar
The Portland Daily Sun has published an article on the new joint venture between the owners of Binga’s Wingas and The Stadium.
In the new sports bar, theater steps will lead downstairs into a foyer and service bar, with a game room on one side and the banquet room on the other, Altman explained.
“Upstairs, we’re going to have an a la carte restaurant with 175 seats, and downstairs we’re going to have a banquet room available for all kinds of stuff,” he said.
With just under 300-person capacity, the banquet room will serve as a multi-use room intended for diverse uses, including charity functions, Altman said.