Liquor.com has included the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club in their list of the 263 best cocktail bars around the world.
Portland’s first craft-cocktail bar continues to shine with a deep drinks list that spans from approachable to geeky. There’s the Norseman, a Scandinavian twist on the Old Fashioned that gets a kick from brown-butter-washed aquavit, and the simple Green Eyes, a gin sour sharpened to a keen edge with a healthy splash of Green Chartreuse.
The Press Herald reports Maine brewers testified at the Maine State House yesterday in support of legal changes to help Maine breweries continue to expand.
Among other law changes, brewers want to be able to transfer their own ales and lagers between multiple breweries and tasting rooms without fear of violating state law. Other bills before the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee would allow more specialty food stores to hold occasional taste-testings and sample offerings and double the amount of beer, wine or hard alcohol a producer or distributor can provide to a retailer for samples.
Baharat (facebook, instagram), the new restaurant from the owners of CN Shawarma, plans to open Thursday at 5pm.
Bharat is located in East Bayside in the first floor of the new apartment building at the intersection of Anderson and Fox Streets. The restaurant serves a menu of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Here’s a look at the menu:
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Monday – BRGR Bar (facebook) is scheduled to open at 5 pm at their new location, 11 Brown Street.
Wednesday – the 16th Annual Portland Symphony Orchestra wine dinner is taking place with featured chefs Krista Kern Desjarlais from The Purple House, Brian Hill from Francine Bistro, Sam Hayward from Fore Street, Cara Stadler from Tao Yuan/Bao Bao/Lio and Troy Mains from the Harraseeket Inn. Grace is holding a Titanic-themed dinner, and Terlingua is hosting a Bissell Brothers beer dinner.
Thursday – Baharat (facebook) is scheduled to open at 5 pm at their new restaurant in East Bayside on the corner of Anderson and Fox Streets, and Fore River Brewing will be at Bao Bao for a tap takeover.
Friday – it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. Consult the website of your favorite Irish bar for plenty of green beer festivities.
Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place, as is the spring market at Fork Food Lab.
Sunday – the 2nd Annual Cream of the Crop dinner 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.
Amato’s is proposing to expand their shop on India Street. A 1,400 square foot “dining room and bar” which will include a “display about the origin’s and history of Amato’s” is planned to replace the outdoor seating area on the corner of Newbury Street.
Portland Meatball Co. has closed.
The windows are papered over and a business for sale sign is in the window.
The Bollard has reviewed Isa,
My croque madame ($11), an open-faced sandwich of prosciutto, Swiss cheese and a sunny-side-up egg, was positively otherworldly, with a balance of flavor and texture that was damn near perfect. Even the lightly dressed salad greens on the side were outstanding.
the Press Herald has reviewed DiPietro’s,
The chicken Parmesan sandwich at DiPietro’s is one of my favorites, and I’ve tried many. The chicken is tender with a crisp breading. It comes with a lot of sauce and cheese, melted well, but it’s wrapped in foil so you don’t have to mess up your hands too much.
and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Liquid Riot.
Liquid Riot was really good. The only concern I had was that the burger was 16 bucks and I think for that price, it has to be a little more spectacular. It was a solid offering, but even with the fries and awesome mustard, I didn’t quite have the feeling I got what I paid for. Either way, I’ll be back to try some of their other food. It was excellent overall and I found it a fun place to hang for a while.
The Press Herald reports that D.L. Geary Brewing is slated to be sold to Alan Lapoint.
D.L. Geary Brewing Co. is being sold to a Freeport businessman who has taken over the management of Portland’s first craft brewery and intends to complete the acquisition before the end of the year.
Kelly Lucas, whose parents, David and Karen Geary, co-founded the brewery in 1983, identified the buyer late Thursday evening as Alan Lapoint of Freeport.
Boda has a food truck under development. The truck is expected to launch in late spring serving up Boda’s signature approach to Thai cuisine on the streets of Portland—bringing their “street vendor inspired tapas + skewer bar” back full circuit out onto the road. The Boda truck will also be available for catering and special events.