I recently learned of a pair of new Portland food blogs:
Port Bean will be temporarily closing at the end of March, and reopening at a new location before the start of Summer. There’s a strong possibility of it relocating nearby on Commercial but details are still be worked out with a property owner.
Map & Menu has reviewed 158 Pickett Street Cafe.
There are more than enough options at 158 to satisfy any pizza enthusiast’s taste – like the standard cheese and sausage, or more creative flavors like the hot pink sauce, charred jalapenos, and cheese ‘Stinger’ – but regardless of your decision, everything we’ve heard and tasted has been fantastic.
Photo Credit: Map & Menu
The semifinal list of nominees for this year’s James Beard Awards were released today. 7 Maine chefs and restaurants made the list:
The final list of nominees will be released March 18th, and the winners will be announced on May 2, 2014 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed C-Squared.
Our meal came to about $110 with tip. It was a little pricey, but it was quite good and I was happy with the overall experience. I do think that this is a place that can survive in Portland and will have some success. Their menu offerings are excellent and their execution is solid. I would definitely go back and I suggest you check it out for yourself. C Squared served their food with love and made it a most delicious Valentine’s Day.
Becky’s has been recognized by Food & Wine as one of America’s Best Diners.
Bon Appetit columnist Andrew Knowlton has included Eventide in his list of his 10 Favorite Oyster Bars.
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about the cronut tribute pastries (known as crauxnuts) being sold at Little Bigs.
Denise Rowden drove all the way from Brunswick on a recent Sunday to buy some at Little Bigs, a small bakery on Main Street in South Portland. Pamela Fitzpatrick Plunkett, who owns the bakery with her husband, James, has been making her own version of the New York Cronut since the beginning of January. She sells them only on Sundays, starting at 11 a.m, and they sell out so quickly that, unless customers pre-order, they are all gone in a half hour or so.
The owners of the Schwartz Building, 600 Congress at the intersection of High and Congress, gave an interview to the Portland Daily Sun and indicated they’re planning for a “sit-down-with-linen style restaurant”. No other details were provided in the article.
I had the pleasure of joining in on the Maine Brew Bus new breweries tour this past weekend. We visited Banded Horn in Biddeford, followed by Austin Street, Bissell Brothers and Foundation Brewing on Industrial Way in Portland. It was quite interesting to see how incredibly different the personalities of the breweries were.
Bissell Brothers will soon be canning The Substance, Foundation is about a week or two away from launching their first beer and Austin Street still seems a few months out from selling their beer.
Authors Joshua Bernstein and Kate Cone were special guests on the tour. Berstein has just published The Complete Beer Course and Cone is working to update her 1997 book What’s Brewing in New England.
Local beer writers Carla Companion (aka author of the Beer Babe) and Tom Atwell also joined in. Companion has posted a pair of reports on Austin Street and Bissell Brothers. Presumably the tour will figure into Atwell’s upcoming What Ales you column in this Thursday’s Press Herald.
For some photos check the PFM Instagram page.
Arlin Smith, Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor are leasing 34 Vannah Avenue. The new location will serve two functions for the owners of Hugo’s and Eventide: providing much needed additional kitchen capacity located just a few minutes way from Middle Street, and opening a small 600 sq ft eatery to serve the local neighborhood.