Under Construction: Dean’s Sweets

Dean’s Sweets (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is planning to open a second location at 54 Cove Street in East Bayside. The new location will provide additional production space and a retail shop. They hope to open the new location in late Spring.

54 Cove Street is adjacent to the building that will house Extrava and just around the corner from little Tandem.

Dean’s was founded 15 years ago by co-owners Dean and Kristin Bingham. Dean’s will continue to produce and sell their nut-free chocolates at 475 Fore Street as well.

This Week’s Events: MRW, Chopped, N To Tail, Hi Bar Brunch, TLK Reservations

MondayMaine Restaurant Week continues.

TuesdayElise Miller, a butcher at Rosemont, will be competing on Chopped at 9 pm.

Wednesday – the 1st floor of N To Tail will open. The downstairs space opened as a Korean BBQ and sake/soju bar in December. The final renovations are now complete and the first floor will serve a “unique Korean Fusion menu with popular dishes such as Bibimbap and Poke”.

Thursday – there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire.

FridayVignola is holding a wine dinner featuring wines from Corte alla Flora, and there will be a wine tasting at the Brighton Ave Rosemont.

SaturdayHi Bar Bakery  is holding a brunch pop-up at Fork Food Lab, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

SundayThe Lost Kitchen will be announcing their method for accepting reservation requests for the 2019 season; check back here on Sunday and I’ll publish the details. Maine Restaurant Week is holding their (sold out) Spirit Quest event.

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.

Ten Ten Pié Closing

I’m sad to report that Ten Ten Pié has gone out of business. The news was announced on instagram with this message:

I regret to inform you that Ten Ten Pié is closing. 
You, customers and community, have made this such a wonderful and rewarding experience. I am grateful for your support these last 4 ½ years. 
I prepare for new projects and look forward to seeing you down the road.
Keep doing what you’re doing to help local food, local business, and local community flourish. 
Thank you for letting me be part of your journey.

Markos

Ten Ten opened on August 16, 2014 as a much loved bakery, cafe and neighborhood market. They’ve received some national press, especially during the last year.

Reviews: Mr. Tuna, Simply Vegan by Silly’s, Anthony’s Italian Kitchen

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed the Simply Vegan by Silly’s,

Simply Vegan is still evolving. Many menu items (especially sandwiches) are hopelessly sloppy and difficult to eat, but there are some real gems among them. You can’t go wrong with the chunky white-bean hummus and greens in the You’ve Got Kale sandwich, and the sweet, nuanced flavors of the BBQ beans are out of this world. But best of all are baker Jeremy Newbert’s baked goods, from homemade multigrain sandwich bread to extraordinary mint-chocolate grasshopper triple-layer cake. They’re so good, you won’t know, nor will you care, that they’re vegan.

The Portland Phoenix has reviewed the Mr. Tuna, and

Those hand rolls are still the stars of the show. Every combination I’ve tasted has been up there with the best vehicles for raw and slightly seared fish I’ve ever tasted, save for a few small, barely mentionable gripes (a heavy hand with powerfully fragrant shiso in the salmon belly temaki, a bit too much acid for my tastes in the tuna tataki). None of this matters once you sink your teeth into a fresh dayboat Maine scallop cone, with just enough smoky char from broiled sudachi mayo to balance what has got to be the sweetest, most texturally pleasing mollusk on the planet. Equally worth ordering is the Maine crab, where a simple dash of yuzu mayo brings out multiverses of salinity and soft, delicate funk.

The Press Herald has reviewed the Anthony’s Italian Kitchen.

The glorious creation was made with Genoa salami, prosciutto, capicola, imported provolone, tomato, onion, roasted red peppers, olive oil and oregano, all served on an 8-inch Piantedosi Italian roll ($8.50).

Under Construction: Lorne Wine

A new wine shop and bar called Lorne Wine (instagram) is under construction in Biddeford.

Lorne co-owners Carson James and Erin Sheehan plan to focus on “low intervention wines” – organic/biodynamic sustainablely-produced wines made with minimal intervention in the wine making process. The shop will also stock beer and the bar will have a 6-tap draft system. The couple plan to highlight domestic wines especially ones from California and are excited by wines being produced in New England by La Garagista in Vermont and Oyster River in Maine.

James and Sheehan are leasing a 1,100 sq ft space at 55 Main Street (near the soon to open Dizzy Bird), where they plan to open the bar this Summer.

2019 Portland Wine Week

The 2019 edition of Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is scheduled to take place June 17 – 23.

Fifteen events are already on the schedule with new ones being added as details are locked in. They include a pasta making and wine pairing class at Solo Italiano, a rosé and tapas dinner at Sur Lie, a Wine Wise sails in Casco Bay featuring brunch by chef Ilma Lopez from Chaval and Piccolo, a curated Women Winemakers wine list at Central Provisions; and Bivalves & Bubbles at The Shop.

In addition to the wine dinners, classes, tasting events, seminars and other sessions that made last year’s PWW  a success the 2019 festival will  include a Women in Wine track which will have “special event programming that highlights dozens of female wine makers, sommeliers, and wine industry leaders.”

Last year 46 local restaurants participated Wine Week which in over 50 events in the seven-day schedule.

2019 Beard Award Semifinalists

The list of semifinal nominees for the 2019 James Beard Foundation awards were released today. There are 9/10 semifinalist nominees from Maine:

  • Best Chef: Northeast – Vien Dobui, Cong Tu Bot; Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell, Palace Diner; Krista Kern Desjarlais, The Purple House; Erin French, The Lost Kitchen; Keiko Suzuki Steinberger, Suzuki’s Sushi Bar.
  • Outstanding Restaurant – Fore Street
  • Outstanding Baker – Alison Pray, Standard Baking
  • Outstanding Wine Beer or Spirits Professional – Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Co.
  • Outstanding Service – Back Bay Grill

The final list of nominees will be released on March 27th, and the awards ceremony will take place on May 6th in Chicago.

Related information: