Four food businesses were among the winners at this year’s Buy Local Indie Biz Awards:
- Rosemont Market (Flavor of Portland)
- Portland Food Co-op (Best Kept Secret)
- Coffee by Design (Community Hero)
- Harbor Fish Market (Portland Icon)
Betsy Nelson, Vegan Cheesemaker
The Press Herald has published an article about Portland-based vegan cheese maker, Betsy Nelson.
“A lot of people say to me, ‘I would go vegan, but I can’t give up cheese,’” said Nelson, 31, who lives on Munjoy Hill in Portland. “That was the thing I missed, too.”
To satisfy her taste for cheese, Nelson began making small-batch, artisanal cheeses from fermented nut milks. Her soft cheeses can be served on bread or crackers and pair well with fruit and wine. They are totally dairy free.
Bar Lola Closing/Owners Launching New Restaurant
Owners Guy and Stella Hernandez will be closing down Bar Lola as of November 16, and will be redirecting all their energies to launching a new restaurant in Portland. They’re close to securing a space for the as-yet unnamed restaurant and hope to open sometime in February 2014.
In explaining their motivation to launch a new venture, chef/owner Guy Hernandez explains,
We want to loosen our ties and make the process of cooking and dining out more transparent and less precious. A lot of places don’t give their customers the option to dine in a way they feel most comfortable – they’re either too rigid, have too many menu restrictions, or are too formal. And in most cases, food just magically appears from a distant kitchen. We want to change that paradigm and give the dining public a place in which they can feel that they are part of the action as an array of wonderful ingredients are transformed into dishes on the menu.
The plan is for the restaurant to be open 11am straight through to closing 6 days a week. They describe the new dining experience this way,
…from the moment you enter you’ll immediately be surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of the visible ingredients, coupled with real, accessible cooking, all anchored by a custom-made, wood-fired grill. It will be warm and welcoming, and will inspire customers to stop in at any time of the day to get a carefully crafted snack and glass of wine from an extensive by-the-glass list, supported by a deeper, by-the-bottle cellar. Or, customers can choose to compose a full meal from what’s on hand that day from the restaurant’s purveyors.
I’m a big fan of Bar Lola will be sorry to see it go but am very excited to see what Guy and Stella have in store for us next.
High & Mighty Moving to Portland?
the Press Herald What Ales You column reports that High & Mighty Beer Company is considering moving to the Portland area.
“We are exploring opening a small Farm to Table Brewery Restaurant in the Portland area. We are looking to have this completed in the next couple years. Our hope in doing so is to help maintain farm land as we believe it was meant to be; as farm land. We’d like to have this as an extension of High & Mighty, but you never can really predict what the future holds.”
Bar Review of Hot Suppa
The Press Herald has published a bar review of Hot Suppa.
Hot Suppa has a surprisingly great happy hour scene. Who knew? Equipped with food and drink specials, it’d be easy to stay on a budget here.
Review of Piccolo
Booze, Fish & Coffee has published a review of Piccolo.
Overall, great flavors, extremely well done. The service is impeccable, and the atmosphere welcoming. Thumbs up from us, definitely. Be sure to order the melanzane appetizer.
Interview with Chris Gould
Eater Maine has posted an interview with Chris Gould about his upcoming restaurant Central Provisions.
Did the character of this building influence the restaurant concept?
Absolutely. The concept was always to do tapas-style small plates. But the feel and what we’re putting in here in terms of the bars and the stools and the tables and the decor is totally driven by the 200-year-old building. This was built in 1828. It’s one of the oldest buildings in Portland. It’s survived two fires. It was originally a warehouse right on the water. There’s these trap doors that go up through the floors on every level and at the top there’s a wheel that they used to pull up crates and barrels from the ships with goods coming from the East India Trade Company.
Review of Bresca and the Honey Bee
Map & Menu has published a review of Bresca and the Honey Bee.
We treated ourselves to a sampling of a few different things – apple and cranberry pie, peanut butter o’s, and a berry and almond boo cake (think pain perdu with seasonal toppings) – and quickly polished off the entire spread (I even ordered a pear tart for the road). We chased it all with Tandem coffee…If you’re in the area or looking for a delightfully Maine way to spend some time one weekend, make sure to swing by Bresca and the Honey Bee, you definitely won’t regret the decision.
Under Construction: 211 Danforth
The Forecaster has published an update on the restaurant under development at 211 Danforth Street.
Keith Hickman, of Portland and New York City, expects to close Nov. 1 on the $440,000 purchase of the one-story building, now the site of Vespucci’s variety store.
Hickman and business partner Josh Kaplan hope to open the restaurant by next summer, after moving the store to the rear of the building, where it would continue to operate.
Review of Urban Sugar Mobile Cafe
The Blueberry Files has published a review of Urban Sugar.
The maple frosting piped on top of the hot donuts quickly started melting and mixing with the bacon jam – which I assumed was just like candied bacon or something. But a few bites revealed that the jam also contained onions, creating a sweet and savory mix. The hot crunchy donuts, cool maple frosting, and salty bacon all mixed together was pretty fantastic.