Helm to Close in March

| Posted in Closings

Helm has announced that they are closing. March 8th will be their last day in business.

Our journey may be complete, but the spirit and memories of the last three years are forever and ever. As you can imagine, I have a million words I could say, and maybe I will someday. But for right now, I just want to say THANK YOU!

Thank you to my staff for being here everyday ready to work hard to feed and nourish while dodging every wrench that has been thrown.

Thank you to our suppliers and farmers who provide the best quality food and drink in Maine.

And thank you to every single person that walked through our doors and took a chance on us.

Helm launched on February 2021, initially serving serving 3-course prix fixe takeout. They’ve earned a reputation for their excellent wine list, seafood-forward menu, contemporary dining room and service.

You can make reservations for their final few weeks on Resy. Helm is holding a beer dinner with Austin Street on February 29th.

Visit by Food & Wine

| Posted in People

Food & Wine restaurant editor Raphael Brion (instagram) was in town for a few days this week exploring the Portland food scene. He visited Leeward, Bar Futo, Ugly Duckling, Helm, The Honey Paw, Eventide, Fore Street, Via Vecchia, Room for Improvement, Zu Baker, Tandem, Smalls (where in addition to lunch he had a mini cake from Siblings Bakery), Twelve, and Regards.

Follow along on his travels across the country (and any future return to Portland) via stories on his instagram account.

Maine Food & Dining News: Warren, Windham, Appleton, Standish, Bristol, North Berwick

| 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 on what’s going on:

  • Congratulations to Black Goat Test Kitchen. The Midcoast restaurant is one of 47 establishments selected for the USA Today 2024 Restaurants of the Year list.
  • A bakery called Pine Tree Bakery (website, instagram) is under construction at 1557 Bridgton Road in Windham. Owner/baker Lesa Beck is hoping to launch in April when she’ll be selling desserts and pastries (e.g. scones, muffins, cakes, cookies, tarts, Danish, quiche, and cinnamon rolls) as well as hot breakfast sandwiches, espresso-based coffee, soups, salads, and sandwiches.
  • Silly’s fans will want to know that the Silly’s food truck is in operation in Standish. Follow their instagram account for details.
  • The Courrier-Gazette reports that the restaurant Foda in Appleton has closed as the result of a serious accident that befell chef/owner Brian Beggarly in early December. The restaurant and the property it’s on is for sale.
  • The Lincoln County News reports that The Contented Sole is moving to a new location after their original building in Pemaquid Harbor was severely damaged by the storms in January.
  • Green & Healthy magazine has published an article about Community Plate. CP is a non-profit organization that’s organizing potluck dinners all across Maine with the goal of bringing “together people of all ages and backgrounds who gather for unforgettable evenings of homemade food, deep conversations and heartfelt storytelling.”
  • Mainebiz has published an article about Baker Bru, a new bakery under construction in North Berwick which is set to open in March.

A Mr. Tuna Update

| Posted in Under Construction

Mr. Tuna will be taking over the former Solo Cucina market (photo on left) in South Portland. They will be using the space as a production kitchen and headquarters for their mobile food and catering/private events business.

Separately, Mr. Tuna is making good progress on the buildout of their Middle Street restaurant (photo on right). They hope to open sometime in May. The new restaurant will seat 26 overall—a 14-seat bar and banquet table seating in the front windows. Sidewalk outdoor seating will be available as well.

The Mr. Tuna location in Monument Square will be closing in March in anticipation of the move to Middle Street and South Portland.

Solo Cucina was opened by the owners of Solo Italiano on March 25, 2020, and it closed in January 2024.

Cherished Pub Opened Sunday

| Posted in Openings

Cherished Pub opened for business on Sunday. The all-day restaurant begins to address the scarcity of food service establishments in the North Deering.

Located at 64 Auburn Street adjacent to Cherished Possessions, they’re is almost two restaurants in one. During breakfast and lunch hours (7:30 am – 1 pm) they serve a Bayou Kitchen 2 menu—having licensed the Bayou Kitchen menu and recipes from the Woodfords Corner restaurant. The Bayou Kitchen 2 menu includes a wide range of breakfast dishes (omelets, pancakes, hash, French toast, huevos rancheros, etc) and ‘Cajun Classics’ lunch dishes like gumbo, jambalya and chicken piquant. In the afternoon/evening (2 – 10 pm) the Cherished Pub menu (see below) includes options like fish and chips, a muffuletta, a reuben and steak tips with mushroom and onions. A few carryovers from the Bayou lunch menu are available as well.

The 1,805 sq ft space includes table seating for 66 and a 9-seat bar. They plan on having outdoor seating as the weather warms up.

Cherished Pub/Bayou Kitchen 2 is closed on Monday. They’ll be reopening Tuesday 7:30 am – 1 pm and 2 – 10 pm. They hope to eventually be open 7 days a week.

Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – WMPG is holding their annual Cajun Cookin’ Challenge.

Valentine’s Day

February 16 – the Fare and Ice food event is taking place in Freeport. The Rose Food guest chef bagel sandwich series kicks off with a sandwich by Oga Suya.

February 18 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval and Devin Finigan from Aragosta.

February 21 – A West African Culinary Workshop and Dinner is taking place in Brunswick in collaboration with Jordan Benissan the chef/owner of Me Lon Togo in Rockland.

February 22-24 – The Inn by the Sea is holding their annual Ice Bar and Seafood Celebration.

February 23 – Deryck Todd will be leading a mixology class at Bow Street.

February 27 – Chef Sam Hayward will be participating in a Maine Voices Live event organized by the Press Herald, and La Gallera will be holding a pop-up at Cong Tu Bot.

March 1-12 – The 16th Annual Maine Restaurant Week is taking place.

March 2 – Dutchman’s will be teaching a bagel making class at the Wolfe’s Neck Center.

March 3 – Thistle & Grouse and Bissell Brothers are collaborating on a 5-course beer dinner.

March 13 – 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 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner.

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 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 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 Peng’s Pizza Pies

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 4 star review of Peng’s Pizza Pies in Biddeford.

The restaurant’s thin-crust pizzas (served with tomato sauce and without) are baked dark, with perhaps more blistering than you’d expect outside of New Haven. If you visit, sample a red pie (cheese or pepperoni – plus or minus hot honey – are great options). But save room for Daniels’ brilliant, completely off-the-wall creation: a white (no tomato), Bangkok-meets-Naples mashup pie featuring crushed pistachios, spicy pickled Fresnos, aromatic herb cream and a generous handful of pecorino. It’s a must-order, as is a slice of Basque cheesecake for dessert.

Photo: from Peng’s opening day, September 20, 2023.

Douro from Prentice Hospitality

| Posted in Under Construction

The Prentice Hospitality Group is working on a new restaurant called Douro (website, instagram) which they hope to open this summer this fall. It will be located on the front corner of the Sun Life Insurance building (110 Thames St) near Twelve.

Douro will be an all-day seafood restaurant with a Portuguese-inspired menu with a large selection of wines by the glass as well as classic cocktails and non-alcoholic drink options. Twelve executive chef Colin Wyatt and pastry chef Georgia Macon are in the early stages of developing a menu so stay tuned for further details.

The 3,300 sq ft restaurant is being designed in a collaboration between Prentice staff and Woodhull Commercial Studio.

The Prentice Hospitality Group also operates Twelve, Evo Kitchen + Bar, The Chebeague Island Inn and is working on relaunching The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth which they bought last year.

To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars, breweries, bakeries and other hospitality businesses in development visit the Under Construction List.

Maine Food & Dining News: Northport, Dover-Foxcroft, Union, Alna, Presque Isle

| 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 on what’s going on:

  • The owners of Spark Bagel (website, instagram) have leased the former The Stone Pizzeria building in Northport. Initially they’ll use it solely as a bagel production kitchen, but plan to eventually open it up as a retail shop as well.
  • The Courrier-Gazette has published an article about Alsace the new restaurant that opened last year in the town of Union.
  • The Lincoln County News has published an article about The Alna Store. The restaurant was recently named a 2024 Beard Awards semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that a new restaurant called Maple Pig Bar & Grill is under construction in Presque Isle.
  • Whittle Bird (instagram) is operating a coffee pop-up at 83 East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft. The coffee shop will be in operation through the spring while they’re working on a new coffee trailer.

Taj 2.0 in South Portland

| Posted in Under Construction

Taj (website, facebook, instagram) has leased a space in the Clarks Pond Shopping Center where they’re building out a new larger restaurant.

The new spot will seat ~70 people (see floor plan below) with an 11-seat bar, a dedicated area for takeout pick-up, a bigger kitchen as well as a larger space for their lunch buffet. Owner Sai Guntaka has long had a vision for a Indian cocktail program at Taj which will be a new element of the menu at the new restaurant. Jim Baldi will be consulting on the development of the cocktail program.

Guntaka hopes to complete the renovations and kitchen build-out in to for Taj to move to its new location in June. Watch for murals by Mike Rich Design and lighting by Neon Dave to be part of the new interior.

To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars, breweries, bakeries and other hospitality businesses in development visit the Under Construction List.