Author and former Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Nancy English is a candidate for a District 2 seat on the Portland City Council.
English was the Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic 2005 – 2011 and is the author of a guide book to Maine restaurants entitled Chow Maine. For the last 11 years she worked as a paralegal in the Office of the Corporate Counsel for City of Portland.
Mary and Will Sissle, the owners of The Cheese Shop, have launched a crowdfunding campaign on NuMarket to help fund the launch of their new business Sissle and Daughters (instagram). Participants in the campaign will get a credit at the new business valued at 120% of their contribution.
News about Sissle and Daughters was released back in May. The new market/cafe will be located in Woodfords Corner at 634 Forest Ave. Here’s what the Sissles shared then about their plans for the new business,
Expect espresso drinks, wine & light fare in the café, and the same great retail offerings you find at The Cheese Shop with the addition of take-and-heat prepared meals made from those same quality ingredients in the market. So stop to see us on your way to work for a cappuccino & a bite, then in the afternoon for a glass of wine, and grab everything you need for a delicious dinner at home while you’re at it.
Rick and Molly Wood, the former owners of Rick’s Lobby Cafe are launching a new dining club for the Portland area. VOTEMEAL (website, instagram) will provide diners a discount at local participating restaurants and with the aim of delivering more local customers to participating businesses all year round.
In addition, $5 of every membership fee will be donated to a local charity that’s addressing food insecurity. The first recipient of those funds will be Westbrook Families Feeding Families.
The Woods are currently recruiting restaurants to participate in the program. They plan to start sales of memberships later this summer with the goal of launching in early this fall.
Tuesday – Thai supper club Gaaeng will be at Crispy Gai for a pop-up menu.
Wednesday – The Taste of Waterville at the Waterville Riverwalk.
Thursday – It’s the grand opening day of Aki Japanese Fusion in Freeport, and Sebagels is holding a pop-up bagel dinner at Apres.
Wednesday-Sunday – The Maine Lobster Festival is taking place in Rockland.
Friday – Crown Jewel is hosting a (sold out) Art of Entertaining dinner in collaboration with Cherry Bombe.
Saturday/Sunday – The Maine Wild Blueberry Weekend is taking place.
Sunday – Yardie Ting will be in Deering Oaks for the 9th Annual Jamaican Independence Day Festival.
August 6 – Acclaimed author and thought leader Dana Cowin along with Allagash brewer Jason Perkins and Maine Grain Alliance executive director Tristan Noyes will be participating in a panel discussion at Allagash Brewing to “discuss the ways that locally sourced food / food systems can bring joy, connection and positive transformation.” It’s the tentative opening day for Lucky Cheetah.
August 9/10 – The Saint Peter’s Italian Bazaar is taking place.
August 10 – Space Gallery along with Goodfire Brewing, The Jewel Box and the Ten Mothers food truck will be holding Feastland, a farm dinner, at Broadturn Farm in Scarborough.
August 11 – Dinner en Blanc—a food event and auction—is taking place in East Boothbay as a benefit for Veggies to Table.
August 11/12 – 2Gether is holding their next Secret Table dinner at an as-yet-undisclosed farm in the Portland area.
August 15 – Billy Hager and Hannah Buoye from Waxwing Bakery will be the featured chefs at the August taco night at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.
August 18 – Tender Table is holding its annual food music and art market in Congress Square Park.
August 30 – September 1 – The Maine Apple Camp is taking place.
September 8 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.
September 19 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.
September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.
October 13 – The 16th Annual Open Creamery Day is taking place.
October 23 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.
October 24-26 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.
 Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store. |
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a 4 star review of The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth.
…Among the traditional bistro suspects, roast chicken ($32) and steak ($39), you’ll also find a fantastic pork schnitzel served with profoundly smokey ham-hock jus, a garlicky kale “Caesar” served under a blanket of snowy parmesan shavings, and crunchy duckmeat fritters plated with mustardy deviled-egg puree. Prentice Group superstar Georgia Macon makes all The Good Table’s breads and pastries – treats like tender brown bread rolls and platters of assorted, homemade cookies – and frankly, that’s enough reason to visit right there.
The Good Table’s original owners sold the restaurant to the Prentice Hospitality Group last year, and Prentice relaunched the restaurant in March. Shown below are a couple photos of the renovated dining room taken this spring.
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New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.
The Garrison in Yarmouth is closing. Their last day in business will be this Saturday, July 27th. The restaurant first opened almost exactly 5 years ago on July 25, 2019.
Chef/owner Christian Hayes shared a statement, which in part reads,
To say we have been submerged in an education about life for the last five years is a drastic understatement, and to say we are the same humans we were when we started couldn’t be further from the truth. This journey has been both the absolute definition of the best and worst of times, and an education in not just business but mental health, physical health, expectations, pressure, failure, and success.
The last year has been brutal for so, so many reasons, and for the first time the actual struggles which usually hide within our spreadsheets and behind our facade has spilled over to our dedicated staff and it is not okay to continue on when we struggle to meet payroll and pay bills.
Hayes concludes with,
In the end, we are so proud of what we built, along with our incredible team beside us, and we know that our home on the river has made a nest of core memories and experiences that will carry on after the last plate is cleared. Thank you all for making this so much more than just a place to eat. It’s literally been a dream come true.
Hayes shared that he will be consolidating his efforts into his other businesses Dandy’s Handy (website, instagram) corner store and Thoroughfare (website, facebook, instagram) “and the endless potential to focus solely on creating food and restoration for our community around us through such a special spot.”
Here are a few photos from The Garrison back in 2019.
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The Portland Food Map archive provides a chronicle of the past 16+ years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be fun to take a look back each month at what the hot topics were from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.
Here’s are highlights from July 2009, 2014 and 2019:
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Chef Khristoher Hogg opened his new Swanville restaurant Circumstance (website, instagram) in early June. It’s open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, Saturday afternoon for snacks and wine, and for Sunday brunch.
For dinner Circumstance customers have a choice between a 3- or 6-course menu. Wine and cider are available by the glass or bottle along with an optional set of pairings to go with your meal. Here’s a look at the restaurant and some of the dishes from a meal last weekend:
Circumstance is open now through early October. See their website for more information on the menu and details on making dinner reservations.
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Lucky Cheetah (website, instagram) is scheduled to open in August (tentatively planned for August 6th). The 110-seat restaurant is being launched by Wills Dowd and Jared Dinsmore, the owners of Bird & Co, in the former Old Port Tavern space on Moulton Street.
Lucky Cheetah bar manager Ben Bozeman is creating a cocktail list that showcases Asian spirits. The restaurant will have a sparkling wine list with a 20+ bottle selection of champagnes including the 2013 Dom Perignon and Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee Brut. Bozeman had previously been the bar manager at The Honey Paw.
Chef Zachary Johnson will serving a menu of Cantonese-style dim sum like xiaolongbao and char siu bao. The menu will also include some dishes with modern twists like a foie gras blackberry dumplings topped with a brown butter miso crumb. Johnson has previously worked at Central Provisions and Bird & Co.
Ana Jovic will be the general manager for Lucky Cheetah. She was previously the food and beverage manager at Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport.
Dowd and Dinsmore have worked with Susie Smith Coughlin on the renovation and interior design of the 5,000 sq ft space. It now features a 10-seat Italian pink marble bar, a lounge area, a dining room with circular corner booths and a 16-seat private dining/event space. Displayed throughout the dining room are a collection of large format prints by photographer Slim Aarons.
Lucky Cheetah will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 – 10 pm. Reservations will be available via OpenTable.