Under Construction: Woodford F&B (updated)

| Posted in Under Construction

A new restaurant called Woodford F&B(facebook, twitter, instagram) is now under construction at 660 Forest Ave. Owner Birch Shambaugh is planning an 85-seat restaurant with a full bar,

Woodford F&B will be a neighborhood restaurant and bar serving dependably delicious Food & Beverage. We’re inspired by classic neighborhood eateries where you can count on having a reasonable, simple meal or, when you feel like it, something a bit more special. Our goal is to make Woodford F&B the kind of welcoming, local spot you’ll want to visit regularly.

The draft menu submitted with the Woodford liquor license application includes items like Radicchio Salad, Fisherman’s Stew and Fried Chicken. Shambaugh hopes to open Woodford F&B this Fall.

woodford_map

660 Forest Ave has a claim to local restaurant fame as the location of the original Valle’s Steakhouse.

Under Construction: Fore River Brewing

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

The Forecaster has published an article about Fore River Brewing(twitter, facebook, instagram) and the new brewery they’re building in South Portland.

Anastasoff, the former landscape contractor, owns the property and used to store up to 1,600 tons of salt during the winter. After selling his business and repurposing the space, the garage will eventually serve as the brewing area, which will be fronted by a large sliding barn door, in keeping with the “rustic, industrial look,” he said. 

According to the article, Fore River hopes to open in October.

Italian Ramen & Restaurant Vegan Options

| Posted in General News

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Papa’s Juicy Noodles, a packaged noodle dish prepared by the family that opened the first Italian restaurant in Portland,

Enter Papa’s Juicy Noodles, which may never be able to compete with those high-end restaurant selections but will satisfy a nostalgic craving for instant ramen without all the sodium and other bad stuff. Papa’s, produced right here in Maine, can’t be called ramen, actually. Think of it as an Italian version of ramen noodles.

and advice on dining out and eating a plant-based diet.

Yet savvy diners like Woodman know this doesn’t mean a vegan meal is out of the question. As Woodman said, you should always call, “because in my experience they want to bring you in and please you, especially if you are coming with several other people. Chefs can really showcase their skills when preparing a superb vegan dish. It’s one thing to make an excellent meat or seafood dish, but quite another to prepare an excellent vegan entrée.”

This Week’s Events: Distilled in Maine, Flanagan’s, Bastille Day, Food Forest, Clam Festival, Peloton Speaks

| Posted in Events

foodforestMonday — Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Piccolo are the featured chefs at this month’s  Flanagan’s Table dinner.

Tuesday — Petite Jacqueline is serving a Bastille Day dinner.

Wednesday — Fred Farber from Maine Craft Distilling and Joanna Corman from Vena’s will be the guest speakers at this week’s Peloton Speaks, Black Tie is teaching a cooking class, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

>Thursday — a Community Idea Night meeting is taking place to “help design an edible park or ‘food forest’ in East Bayside”, there will be a mead and cheese tasting at the Public Market House  and a rose tasting at C Salt, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Banded Horn.

kate2Friday — author Kate McCarty is launching her new book Distilled in Maine at Sherman’s Bookstore, Rosemont is hosting an Italian wine event at Diamond Cove, and it’s the first day of the Yarmouth Clam Festival.

Saturday — Novare Res is holding an event to celebrate the new wave of British brewers, Darren Case of Round Turn Distilling will be at Terlingua for an event featuring their gin and Kate McCarty’s new book, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

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.

Cafe at the Castle

| Posted in Openings

cafeatthecastle2This summer the Friends of Deering Oaks is running a bake sale in the park during the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Baked goods are sourced from Standard Baking, Bam Bam, Ten Ten Pié and C-Salt and the coffee is from CBD.

The bake sale has been getting a steady stream of customers the first couple weeks they’ve been in business from farmers and market customers. Bake sale manager Norine Kotts tells me the hope to soon have some patio furniture set-up at the Castle as well.

The City and Friends of Deering Oaks also hope that having the building open and in use may inspire some local food entrepreneur to lease the space and open a year-round cafe in the park.

Interview with Austin Street

| Posted in Beer

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Austin Street Brewery owners Will Fisher and Jake Austin.

KB: Stylistically you’re all over the place, but your favorites seem to be hop-forward ales and brett-fermented funky stuff, will you focus in more on specific styles once you have the big system?

J: I definitely have plenty more ideas and I know we’ll end up doing new beers at some point, maybe sooner rather than later. But stylistically, yeah, we’ll probably hone in on more light, dry, hoppy stuff, clean fermented, and then just do even more brett stuff. Typically any new beer you see from us now is going be a brett beer, I would say. Maybe push into some more true sour stuff, kind of flirting with the edge with some tart sorts of beers.

Fine Cooking: Sam Hayward

| Posted in Reviews

haywardFine Cooking magazine talked with chef Sam Hayward to get his Portland tips on where to eat and go in Portland. His suggestions include: Browne Trading, Central Provisions, East Ender, Eventide, Harbor Fish Market, Hugo’s, Scratch Baking, Standard Baking and The Lobster Shack.

The article also includes Hayward’s recipe for beer-steamed mussels.

The August/September issue of Fine Cooking isn’t online yet.