Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – Friends & Family is holding a Thanksgiving wine tasting with a 10% discount off bottles that are part of the event. A pop-up featuring the former and current bar staff from Round Turn will be taking place at Pacifico. Chef Adrian Lipscomb, founder of the 40 Acres Project, will be collaborating Crispy Gai on a pop-up dinner.

Wednesday – It’s the last day of the outdoor Portland Farmers’ Market for the 2024 season. The market will operate indoors starting on December 7th, see below for details.

Thanksgiving – See our 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List for a list of dinners, community resources and take-out options as well as turkeys, baked goods and side dishes for your meal at home.

Friday – is the deadline to submit recommendations for the 2025 Beard Awards.

December 1 – Sean Turley will be delivering a presentation on cider & pomology at Lambs in South Portland.

December 7 – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market. It will be once again located at 631 Stevens Ave, and will run from Dec 7th through Apr 12, 2025.

December 13 – Hanukkah Mexicana is taking place in Bath. The event will include food inspired by the Mexican Jewish cookbook, Sabor Judio, and a talk by authors Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle.

December 14 – Natalie’s at the Camden Harbor Inn will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner  in collaboration with Browne Trading Company and Barton Seaver.

December 15 – A gingerbread house decoration event is taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is a fundraiser for Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.

December 16 – Bissell Brothers will be holding a (sold out) Feast of the Seven Fishes.

December 18 – Sacred Profane will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes at their location in Biddeford.

December 24 – Via Vecchia is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

December 31 – Elk’s Lodge 188 is holding a Vegas-themed New Year’s Eve party; $80 per person.

February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

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.

Nosh Taco Has Closed

| Posted in Closings

Nosh Taco (instagram) has closed. The restaurant was located in the oval-shaped building in Canal Plaza.

Nosh Taco opened almost a year ago at the beginning of December 2023. The business was launched by Michael Fraser, Michael Barbuto and Kevin Doyle who are also co-owners of CBG and Nosh. It served a selection of carnitas, veggie, chicken and fish tacos and tortas as well as variety of margaritas, beer, wine and other drinks.

The building had previously been occupied by a vegan fast casual cafe called Copper Branch. It’s now available to lease.

Minervino Moves

| Posted in Under Construction

Members of the Minervino family are involved in a pair of new restaurants projects: the transformation of The Rathskeller into Tomaso’s Pizza and Burger Bar, and the launch of North Deering Tavern.

Sam Minervino along with business partner Scott Olsen have taken over The Rathskeller space on Wharf Street where they plan to open Tomaso’s Pizza and Burger Bar. Dana Bernard who is the currently the bar manager at Samuel’s is moving over to become the bar manager at the new Tomaso’s. They hope to launch the new eatery in early 2025. The Rathskeller was launched in October 2021 by Mivernino’s son and daughter Tom and Meg Minervino and their business partner Mike Barton. Tomaso’s Canteen which launched in 2015 will continue to operate as it currently does. Tom, Meg and Mike Barton also operate Legends Rest and Paper City BBQ in Westbrook.

Brothers Sam and Rob Minervino along with Marcus Bailey and Anthony Peters have taken over the former Parker’s building in North Deering where they plan to launch the North Deering Tavern. Renovations are already underway with plans to open the Tavern in early 2025. The new establishment will serve a menu similar to Samuel’s featuring wings, pizza, entrees as well as some selected dishes from the Pizza Villa and Tomaso’s Canteen menus. The Tavern menu will have some gluten-free options. The North Deering Tavern will be more of a sports bar with 21 television screens. A closing date for Samuel’s is TBD. Sam Minervino founded Samuel’s Bar & Grill in 1996, and along with his brother Rob took over Pizza Villa in 2019.

Free Spirited NA Distribution

| Posted in Openings

Courtney Berkholtz has launched a new distribution company called Free Spirited (instagram). Berkholtz is specializing in non-alcoholic beverages and spirits.

Free Spirited distributes products from St. Agrestis, FruitBelt, RSRV Collective, Figlia, Spritzi, and Woodnose, and she is developing new relationships with other NA producers as well. Berkholtz hopes her company can increase the access to NA products and support the development of mocktail options at restaurants and bars in Maine.

You can find some of these products on the menus and retail shelves at Free Spirited’s customers: Another Round, Botanically Curious, Sissle & Daughters, Browne Trading, the Portland Zoo, Bissell Brothers, Terra Cotta, Bar Publica, Barber Brothers, Wilson County, Onggi, and Smalls.

Maine Food & Dining News: Bath, Brunswick, Springvale, Alna

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

  • Tony and Chelsea Bickford have taken over the Scarlet Begonia’s space at 16 Station Ave in Brunswick (right photo) where they plan to launch Pomelia (instagram). Pomelia will serve a menu of Sicilian-inspired pastas, pizzas, and street food along with cocktails and wine. The menu will also have a broad selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
    The Bickfords shared, “We’re opening a Sicilian eatery that blends tradition with a retro-modern twist, serving up the rich flavors of Sicily’s diverse cultural history. Sicily has been influenced by so many different cultures, and that’s reflected in the bold, varied flavors we can’t wait to share with you! We’re all about great food and warm hospitality.”
    The Bickfords are making some renovations to the restaurant and hope to launch Pomelia in early January. Stay tuned to their instagram account for updates and an announcement about a launch date.
    For seven years up until 2021 the Bickfords ran Little Village Bistro in Wiscasset. They both grew up in the Midcoast and now live in Bath. Doug and Colleen Lavallee announced last week that they’d be closing Scarlet Begonias after nearly 30 years in business. The restaurant was originally located at 212 B Maine St.
  • Solo Pane e Pasticceria (website, facebook, instagram) is expanding into the space adjacent to the right of their storefront on Centre Street in Bath (left photo) which was formerly occupied by the Paperback Trader bookstore. The initial phase of construction will provide the bakery some back operation space and capabilities like additional walk-in space and dry storage. Then by early spring Solo will begin installation of a second oven for expanded production flexibility and capacity. The second phase of construction will also include the buildout a larger public space which will nearly triple their indoor seating from 12 seats to 30-36 seats. With the launch of the larger dining area Solo Pane e Pasticceria plans to expand their offerings to include some early evening light fare.
  • Meeting Grounds Cafe (website, facebook, instagram)  recently opened. It is located 489 Main St in the village of Springvale. In addition to coffee and baked goods, Meeting Grounds also serves soup, salads and sandwiches. Meeting Grounds plans to hold a grand opening for the business on December 2nd.
  • The Times Record recently published an article about The Alna Store.

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.

Beard Awards Deadline

| Posted in General News

The James Beard Foundation posted an open call for recommendations from industry professionals and the general public earlier this fall. The deadline for everyone to send in their submissions is coming up on November 29th.

If there’s an exceptional food or drink business or hospitality professional you want to see win a Beard Award then visit jamesbeardawards.awardsplatform.com to create an account and send in a submission on their behalf.

For reference here’s:

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – Bar Futo will be hosting Pickerel from Providence, Rhode Island for a pop-up. Beard Award-winning chef David Standridge from The Shipwright’s Daughter in Connecticut will be collaborating on a dinner with Regards chef Neil Zabriskie.

Wednesday – GMRI is holding an event to discuss Climate Resilience Potential in Gulf of Maine Fisheries. Vagabundo will be serving pork tamales and vegan bean+mushroom tamales at a pop-up at Lambs in South Portland.

Thursday – Nina June in Rockport is serving a dinner featuring the new pressing of olive oil from chef/owner Sara Jenkin’s family farm in Italy.

Friday-Sunday – Goodfire Brewing in Freeport will be serving Wabanaki-inspired dishes in collaboration with Penobscot chef Joe Robbins. The three day event is being organized in collaboration with the Wabanaki Alliance. Robbins was a 2024 Beard Awards semifinalist in the Emerging Chef category and was the chef at the now closed Bissell Brothers location in Milo, Maine.

November 25 – Friends & Family is holding a Thanksgiving wine tasting with a 10% discount off bottles that are part of the event. A pop-up featuring the former and current bar staff from Round Turn will be taking place at Pacifico.

November 27 – It’s the last day of the outdoor Portland Farmers’ Market for the 2024 season. The market will operate indoors starting on December 7th, see below for details.

Thanksgiving – See our 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List for a fast growing list of dinners, community resources and take-out options as well as turkeys, baked goods and side dishes for your meal at home. New listings are being added every day.

November 29 – The deadline to submit recommendations for the 2025 Beard Awards.

December 1 – Sean Turley will be delivering a presentation on cider & pomology at Lambs in South Portland.

December 7 – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market. It will be once again located at 631 Stevens Ave, and will run from Dec 7th through Apr 12, 2025.

December 13 – Hanukkah Mexicana is taking place in Bath. The event will include food inspired by the Mexican Jewish cookbook, Sabor Judio, and a talk by authors Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle.

December 15 – A gingerbread house decoration event is taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is a fundraiser for Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.

December 18 – Sacred Profane will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes at their location in Biddeford.

December 24 – Via Vecchia is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

December 31 – Elk’s Lodge 188 is holding a Vegas-themed New Year’s Eve party; $80 per person.

February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

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.

2024 Maine Thanksgiving List

| Posted in Events

Thanksgiving is now less than two weeks away. Do you have your holiday meal plans squared away yet?

To help you out with that we’ve put together the 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List. It gathers in one place a list of community meals, restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, and businesses taking orders for sides, pies, turkey and even full thanksgiving dinners for you to serve at home.

There are nearly 100 entries on the list with more being added everyday, and it includes businesses from the Portland area and all over the state.  Drop us a line if you know of any restaurants, food businesses or community meals that should get added to the list.

Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue Opens Friday

| Posted in Openings

The eagerly anticipated Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue (website, instagram) will officially open on Friday at 11 am. It’s located at 476 Stevens Ave in Deering Center. Owner Ryan Carey purchased the building this past spring. With renovations complete and delayed kitchen equipment installed, Carey and his staff are ready to welcome their neighbors and the public.

The menu (see below) includes apps (dry rubbed wings shown above), pizza, salads, and sandwiches featuring Noble’s barbecue. A selection of six house pizzas are on the menu but there’s also a build-your-own option. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available as is a children’s menu. The beverage list includes draft beer and cocktails.

The dining room and bar seat 88 and there will be outdoor seating for an additional 30 people during warmer months. The overall layout of the restaurant remains the same. Murals by Maine artist Ryan Adams bring a bright and cheerful aspect to the interior. Carey worked with local design agency Toderico Collective on the overall rebranding and graphic design of the building. Starting Friday, Noble will be open 11 am – 9 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Roasty’s Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Roasty’s (website, instagram) opened for business today. The counter service sandwich shop showcase a variety of regional roast beef sandwich styles like Chicago’s Italian Beef sandwich, the French Dip which originates from Los Angeles, and the Three-Way from Boston. See below for the full menu. Sandwiches are available in a 5 ounce “Standard” size or scaled up to 8 ounces of roast beef. Shoestring fries are available plain or in five other variations including Beast Style topped with shaved beef, melted cheese and garlic sauce.

Roasty’s is located in the Arts District at 642 Congress Street. Starting off they’ll be open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – midnight. There are three 2-top tables as well as some counter seating. The entire menu is available for takeout and can be ordered online.

Roasty’s is being launched by Jen Rockwell the owner of Ada’s Kitchen in Rockland. Rockwell had launched a Portland outpost of her Rockland-based restaurant Ada’s Kitchen at 642 Congress Street in early 2020 which closed in late 2021.