This Week’s Events: Beer, Mead, Wine and Cocktails, Pie Buffet

| Posted in Events

Monday – Foundation and Sur Lie are collaborating on a beer dinner at the brewery’s Industrial Way location.

Tuesday – Two Fat Cats is kicking off their 2-day pie buffet in honor of National Pie Day (January 23rd). The next dinner in the Leeward series is taking place at The Honey Paw.

Wednesday – Evo is holding a 3-course cocktail dinner, and there will be a tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants.

Thursday – Bao Bao is hosting Maine Mead Works for a tap takeover.

Friday – Black Tie is holding a Graze Dinner in Yarmouth.

Saturday – Novare Res is holding a launch party for Hermit Thrush, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Liquid Riot is holding the first of their Back Door Dinner series, and The Good Table is holding a Maine Honey and Wine Dinner.

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.

Dolan Flavoring Co.

| Posted in Profiles

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about the history and present day products from the Dolan Flavoring Company.

The family-owned Dolan Flavoring Co. has survived the Great Depression, World War II, the rise in popularity of cake mixes in the 1950s, and many family tragedies. After 113 years, the secret formula for its most popular product is still a secret. Jack Dawson isn’t about to drop the ball on his family’s business now, even though few Mainers living in 2019 have ever heard of it.

New Vegan Products

| Posted in General News

Avery Yale Kamila has put together a list of new (mostly) vegan products that are now available in Maine.

Maine chefs and entrepreneurs have been busy making new vegan products to serve the growing plant-based food market. I wrote about new vegan meats being made in Maine last spring and the state’s growing group of vegan ice cream makers in July. Yet those just scratch the surface of the new items on Maine’s vegan food scene.

Reviews: Mathew’s, East Ender, Brickyard Hollow

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has reviewed Mathew’s, and

Mathew’s is a cash-only establishment and doesn’t provide receipts, so you might not want to host a business meeting there (unless you’re in the Mob), but it’s a great place to hang out with old friends and make some new ones. The crowd tends to be a mix of locals and tourists, with a heavy contingent of grizzly retired guys who I have heard will happily cheer on anyone doing a Jello shot.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has published a review of East Ender.

There’s more to the East Ender than just food. It has a warm vibe that is comfortable, calm, and inviting. The dishes are relatively simple and on occasion might be missing a little something, but mostly, they’re a success. And while you could have part of a dish that isn’t quite your cup of tea, it’s highly unlikely you’ll walk out disappointed. I would encourage you to pay them a visit and try a healthy sampling of the menu to get the full experience.

And the Maine Sunday Telegram has posted a review of Brickyard Hollow in Yarmouth.

x9 Anniversaries

| Posted in History

A number of businesses are celebrating major decade anniversaries this year:

80-year Anniversaries
Legion Square Market was founded in 1939 by John Smaha.

70-year Anniversaries
Botto’s Bakery, Micucci’s Grocery and the Miss Portland Diner all opened fur business in 1949. Joseph Botto founded the bakery and sold it to Everett Mathews in 1982. Micucci’s Grocery was founded by Leo and Iris Micucci and is now run by their son Rick and his wife Anna. The Miss Portland was originally located at 175 Forest Ave.

50-Year Anniversaries
Harbor Fish Market, The Lobster Shack and Lib’s Dairy Treats all go their start half a century ago.

40-Year Anniversaries
Dave and Weslie Evans and Chip MacConnell opened a bar originally known as The Grizzly Bear.  They changed the name to The Great Lost Bear in 1981 after a legal challenge from an West Coast business called Grizzly Bear Pizza.

30-year Anniversaries
1989 was a banner year for long lived openings. Ken Ng opened Panda Garden, Dana Street opened Street & Company, Susan Eklund opened Susan’s Fish & Chips, and Hi Bombay!, Brea Lu Cafe, Marcy’s, the Armory Lounge, and Parker’s all opened.

20-year Anniversaries
No doubt there were many openings in 1999 but I don’t have the data immediately at hand to detail them out at this time. I had just moved to Portland in 1998 and do clearly remember the opening of Local 188 in 1999.

Under Construction: Giant (Updated)

| Posted in Under Construction

The owners, Andrew & Briana Volk and Ian & Kate Malin, of Little Giant have shared plans to transform their Clark Street market into a wine bar and cafe. The new business will be named Giant.

The first phase of development for Giant will launch March 1st with the addition of banquet seating in place of the current store shelves and additional table which will seat 25. Giant will serve a menu of “breakfast, baked goods, soups, salads and fresh sandwiches daily. There will also be wine, beer, and heat n’ eat meals made daily to-go that will be for sale”. The owners also plan to hold weekly pop-ups with changing themes and menus.

The second phase will take place after the Summer with the build out of a full bar and the launch of a evening wine bar focusing on natural and organic wines, and wines from small producers, and serving “tinned fish and snacks”.

Giant will be open 7 days a week from 8am to 9pm.

Update: Giant plans to serve Stumptown Coffee.

New Owners for Hilltop Superette

| Posted in General News

The Hilltop Superette, formerly Colucci’s, has changed hands. The new owners hail from Augusta where they opened and run the Twins Country Store. Here’s an excerpt from their announcement on Facebook,

We have nearly 10 years experience owning and running a very similar store in Augusta called Twins Country Store. Our motto at Twins which is our goal for Hilltop is to be a friend to the community and to provide our customers with high quality foods and fantastic customer service. We want you to come into Hilltop and leave smiling.

Under Construction: Kuno

| Posted in Under Construction

A new food truck called Kuno (instagram) is under development. Kuno will be serving Peranakan cuisine which Wikipedia explains is “the result of blending Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and cooking techniques used by the Malay/Indonesian community,” and with some Thai influences. Nick Yee is the owner of Kuno, and Peranakan is his family’s food culture.

Yee has acquired the former Thainy Boda food truck and hopes to launch Kuno sometime in February.

Tandem Construction

| Posted in Under Construction

Tandem Bakery is undergoing remodel and  kitchen expansion which will add a new walk-in to the side of the building and an additional five feet of depth to the kitchen.

The good news is that the construction will result in even more baking capacity and more baked goods for all of us to consume. The not so good news, is that the bakery will be out of commission for three weeks starting February 18th.

Little Tandem (on Anderson Street) will still be open, and will be stocked with baked goods from a rotating selection of local bakeries.