Review of Thistle & Grouse

| Posted in Reviews, People

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Thistle & Grouse.

The duo’s menu is not Scottish pub food, as the name might imply, but New American, with a farm-to-table bent. Highlights include chicken-fried mushrooms on a golden brown Maine Grains cornmeal waffle, nutty ube cheesecake with lime curd, and a terrific lobster carbonara featuring homemade gnocchetti sardi pasta.

Today’s paper also includes an article about Maine native Justin Terry who runs a Japanese restaurant in Paris, and an article about teenager Pi Crosby and the community potluck event he launched on Peaks Island.

The Garden at Bissell Brothers

| Posted in Under Construction

Bissell Brothers is launching a second restaurant on Thompson’s Point. Called The Garden, the new 58-seat restaurant will operate out of the adjacent space that had been the home of the Rosemont wine bar. The restaurant will be a complementary experience/concept to the existing Bissell Brothers Kitchen pub menu and brewery tasting room.

Chef David Rinaldi and his team will be serving a pan-Adriatic menu which will include dishes like charred caraflex cabbage and taleggio, cavatelli with braise lamb neck and cherry pastissada, a porchetta sandwich, bavette steak with grilled cauliflower in saor and a crema rosada with rum raisins and almonds for dessert.

Bissell is finishing up some renovations to the space and hiring additional staff for the restaurant. An opening date is still TBD.

Onggi in Bon Appetit

| Posted in Reviews

Onggi has been highlighted in a new Bon Appetit article entitled “American Baking Is More Creative Than Ever. These 9 Bakeries Are Proof”.

…Co-owners Marcus Im, Amy Ng, and Erin Zobitz, who opened the shop in April 2021, offer a tight rotating roster of baked goods that highlight fermentation, including chocolate chip cookies bearing an unmistakable sourdough twang and savory kimchi-cheddar-corn soufflés reminiscent of Korean American corn cheese. A heavy dose of miso in a scallion-flecked scone offers a punch of pungent soy and an almost caramellike nuttiness. Each umami-packed bite is a triumphant reminder that fermentation in baking is the domain of so much more than bread.

Maine Food & Dining News: Union and Camden

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

  • Bagel Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) has taken over the former Boynton-McKay space on Main Street in Camden. Owners Mark Senders and his family expect to move Bagel Cafe to 30 Main Street this spring. On a parallel track, Bagel Cafe will be moving the cafe’s production bakery to 5 Colcord Street near the intersection of Limerock Street and Virginia Avenue. Bagel Cafe hopes to also operate a second cafe out of the bakery during peak season with 12 seats inside and picnic table seating outdoors.
  • After The Pour Farm (website, facebook, instagram) closed last year its future was uncertain. However, word is out now that the brewery in Union will be reopening on March 29th. Brad Frost and Anna Frost who formerly worked at Waterman’s Beach Brewery are joining the team at The Pour Farm as the head brewer and general manager. The tap list is will include a mix of established TPF beers and ones developed by Brad Frost.

Edible Maine: Spring 2024

| Posted in General News, People, Profiles

The Spring 2024 edition of Edible Maine is now available.

This issue includes articles about:

Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Through Sunday – Biddeford & Saco Restaurant Week is taking place.

Wednesday – Tap & Taste, a gluten-free tasting event, will be taking place at Orange Bike Brewing in collaboration with Mrs. Gee Free Living and 2Gether.

March 20 – La Gallera is holding a pop-up at Root Wild.

March 23/24 – Maine Maple Weekend is taking place. See the Maine Maple Producers Association website to find a sugar house near you to visit.

March 25 – The 3rd Annual ChopTails Competition will be taking place at Batson River.

March 26 – there will be a 5-course sake dinner at Miyake, The Honey Paw will be featuring  Brooklyn Kura Sake with specials on the menu to pair with with 3 Brooklyn Kura sakes, and Chaval is holding a 5-course sake dinner.

March 27 – Chaval will be holding a Spanish vegan wine dinner.

March 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner. Author Lidey Heuck will be at Viand Mercantile for a signing of her new book Cooking in Real Life.

April 3 – The Beard Foundation will release the 2024 list of restaurant and chef awards nominees. There are 10 semifinalists from Maine this year.

April 28 – The Casco Bay Chef’s Association is holding their 2024 annual dinner.

April 29 – The Good Food Awards winners will be announced. Eight Maine food producers are finalists in the 2024 Good Food awards program.

May 11 – CiderFeast, an “all-inclusive tasting event celebrates craft ciders from some of the top cider makers in New England and beyond” is taking place.

May 18 – The Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.

June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.

June 22 – The Great Falls Brewfest is taking place in Lewiston.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.

July 25/26 – The Kneading Conference is taking place in Skowhegan.

August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.

Review of South Freeport Village Store, Vegan Veto, Food Styling

| Posted in General News, Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Maine-based food stylists, an article about the ‘vegan veto’ and a 4 star review of the South Freeport Village Store.

Big Tree Hospitality, one of Maine’s best-known culinary success stories, envisioned South Freeport Village Market as a breakfast-and-lunch café with a small, thoughtfully stocked retail market attached. And it is that, but in this newly built structure with gleaming stainless hood, flat top grill, deli counter and oven, the business is well-equipped to become a great spot for an early evening meal.

Cantina Calafia to Open Wednesday

| Posted in Openings

The West End’s newest restaurant, Cantina Calafia (instagram), is scheduled to open on Wednesday. Calafia located at the corner of Pine and Brackett Streets.

Owners Dominique Gonzalez and Justin Grey along with chefs Quinn Williams and Melody Medina are serving Alta and Baja California Mexican cuisine along with a beverage program house designed cocktails (like the Mango #5, bottom left), wines by the glass/bottle, packaged and draft beer, and mocktails. The menu (see below) include dishes like Aguachile Amarillo prepared with mackerel (middle right) and Ensalada Nopal. When you go don’t leave without having the wonderful flan made with Sunset Acres Farm goat cheese (top left).

The former Bonobo Pizza space has been completely renovated into a 49-seat restaurant with semicircular booths along the right side, a 12-seat bar and 2-seat tables all under a vaulted ceiling. Just inside the front door is elevated lounge area suitable for larger groups. The bathrooms have been decorated with vintage 1970s wallpaper (middle left).

Gonzalez grew up in San Diego with family on both sides of the border—her father was from Guadalajara and her mother lived in Santa Barbara and was the daughter of Mexican immigrants. The restaurant’s menu is a reflection of her personal culinary and cultural roots. Chefs Medina and Williams recently moved to Portland from Brooklyn. The met when both were working at Frenchette. Medina, who is Dominique Gonzalez’s cousin, previously cooked at Oxomoco. Williams most recently worked at Lords.

Cantina Calafia will initially be open Wednesday/Thursday, 4 – 9 pm, and Friday/Saturday, 4 – 10 pm.

Grey and Gonzalez had owned Bonobo since 2018, and closed the restaurant to realize their vision of launching their new restaurant.

Sacred Profane Opens in Portland

| Posted in Openings

Sacred Profane Brewing (website, instagram) has opened their new tasting room on Thompson’s Point. They’re located in the former Stroudwater Distilling space next to Bissell Brothers.

The menu (see below) includes the full range of pour styles for their light and dark lagers as well as draft pours from other brewers, wines by the bottle and spirits. The food menu offers a small selection of sandwiches and snacks: soft pretzels with lager mustard, warm and cold lobster roll options, kraut dogs, a meat and cheese board and a hummus plate with warm naan, zatar and olive oil.

The space has a long high top tables in the center of the room with booths along the right wall and group seating (see above) on the left side of the room. The Thompson’s Point location will initially be open Friday through Sunday, 11 am – 11 pm.

The Sacred Profane brewery and tankpub in Biddeford opened in September 2022.

Flash’s Barbecue

| Posted in Under Construction

Chris Wilcox, the chef/owner of the former Judy Gibson, has announced plans to launch Flash’s Barbecue (instagram) this summer. Wilcox will be serving Saint Louis-style barbecue.

Meats are cooked high above slow burning embers very slow giving everything a more grilled and less smokey flavor. Growing up in St.Louis, barbecue has always been a love of mine and I’m excited to cook A LOT of it. I’ll be popping up around Portland cooking my take on St.louis style barbecue while still giving everything the same JG touch we strived for in South Portland. Stay tuned for more details!