The new Cellardoor Winery (website, instagram) tasting room on Thompson’s Point opened on Saturday. The 5,000 sq. ft. space includes a long tasting bar, a retail shop, and a separate dining room.
The tasting room is scheduled to be open today 11 am – 6 pm.
Update: For more information see this article from The Blueberry Files.
Hunt & Alpine bar manager Trey Hughes has been selected to participate in a competitive apprenticeship program at this year’s Tales of the Cocktail conference. Hughes was successful in competing against 600 bartenders from over 13 countries to fill one of the 40 open positions.
Forty accomplished bartenders from around the world were selected to learn alongside some of the world’s most respected bartenders and cocktail experts as they work the seminars and large-scale events at Tales of the Cocktail® 2016. These first-time apprentices will be joined by an experienced group of managers, assistant managers and leaders who will use their apprentice experience in leading this year’s program.
Photo Credit: Meredith Perdue
Yankee magazine has released the results of their Best of New England editor’s choice awards.
Included in the list are Hot Suppa (breakfast), Back Bay Grill (fine dining), Portland Patisserie (patisserie), MDI Ice Cream (ice cream), The Well (farm to table), Petite Jacqueline (evening in Paris), and Caiola’s (neighborhood restaurant).
Bon Appétit has published a city guide to Portland in the June issue which highlights many of the newer eating establishments in town.
Did someone say summer Fridays? It’s three-day-weekend season, but a short trip is no time to tackle a giant like SF or NYC, where you won’t get your bearings before heading home. Instead you want a smaller city where you can hit every great restaurant without getting near a rental car or subway…In 2016, that spot is Portland, Maine, which has all the crunchy fried clams and tugboats of a classic New England getaway, along with the dining chops of a larger place.
Featured in the article are: Central Provisions, Drifter’s Wife, Duckfat, Dutch’s, East Ender, Eventide, Maine & Loire, Oxbow Brewing, Rhum, Scales, Tandem Coffee + Bakery, Tempo Dulu, Terlingua, The Honey Paw.
Chef David Mallari, owner of The Sinful Kitchen and The Pig Kahuna, has announced plans to take over 953 Congress Street where he will open Salty Sally’s Bar and Grille (facebook) in June.
What will the menu be like?
This will be a bar and grille type place. Very casual with some new dishes and old stand-bys. Most importantly there will be a FULL bar with 4 taps! There is a sample menu on our Facebook page.
What will the hours be like?
To start we will most likely be open 7 days a week. 4-Close weekdays and 12-Close weekends. We will be adding lunch hours as we get settled.
Mallari has posted a draft menu on facebook.
For additional reporting on Salty Sally’s read this article from the Press Herald.
Bon Appétit has given a ringing endorsement of The Holy Donut.
The potato doughnut alone is worth the trip to Portland, just make sure you hit the shop early, as doughnuts can sell out well before lunchtime. What once started as a small kitchen operation for Kellis—selling a dozen potato doughnuts a day to the local coffee shop—has turned into a veritable pastry business, selling a million doughnuts a year between its two locations in the city.
The Bagor Daily News has published an article about Scales and the waterfront seafood restaurant’s chef Mike Smith.
The 32-year-old Old Orchard Beach native is no stranger to seafood, restaurant life or hard work. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, worked in Boston and Napa Valley, yet his path to the helm of this kitchen began earlier, and closer to home.
The Press Herald reports that Brea Lu will be relocating from Forest Ave.
If the location he wants works out, the new Brea Lu will no longer be in Portland but will be “very close,” DeLuca said, hinting that it would be just outside the city limits. The possible new site used to be a restaurant, but it needs a lot of cosmetic work, DeLuca said. It has the potential for outdoor seating and parking “which was a big problem for us (on Forest Avenue) and a big complaint from our customers.”
Monday — El Corazon is serving a pop-up dinner at Bao Bao.
Tuesday — the monthly local foods networking breakfast is taking place at Local Sprouts.
Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — the new Italian restaurant at 100 Commercial street called Solo Italiano is scheduled to open. You can make reservations on OpenTable to be one of the first to try chef Pablo Laboa’s menu of “simple, flavorful & authentic Northern Italian cuisine”.
Friday — Rosemont is hosting a wine dinner with Bruce and Barbara Neyers.
Saturday — Novare Res is celebrating their 8th Anniversary, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market.
Sunday — products from a number of food vendors and local vendors will be on sale at the weekly Crofters & Artisan Market.
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.
Draft magazine has included The Honey Paw in their list of 10 New Global-Inspired Beer Restaurants.
To select beers that jive with this varied, built-for-sharing menu, the team went decidedly nonlocal with the tap selection, bringing in drafts from Belgium’s De La Senne and St. Bernardus alongside bottled beer made anywhere from Japan to Colorado. The exotic beers, vibrant flavors and even the seating are designed to feel unlike anything in Portland…