Love Cupcakes (#14) and Bite into Maine (#4) made it on to the GoLocalProv list of the 25 Best Food Trucks in New England.
Launch of Maine Craft Distilling
gBritt PR has sent out a release announcing the launch of Maine Craft Distilling. Maine Craft Distilling’s current product line includes Alchemy Gin , Ration Rum , and Black Cap Vodka. As soon as they clear final approval they will also have 50 Stone Whiskey, a blueberry moonshine, QueeQueg Spiced Rum and Chesuncook Botanical Gin.
Their tasting room and production facility is located at 101 Fox Street in East Bayside.
See this PFM news item from December for more info.
Who Owns the Recipes?
Today’s Press Herald has taken a look at the legal issues regarding the recipe for the Sicilian Slab.
It’s unlikely that Stephen Lanzalotta’s recipes are protected by copyright laws, experts say, but the instructions for his luna bread and Sicilian Slab pizza may include trade secrets that will make it difficult for Micucci Grocery, which fired him last week, to keep using them.
Under Construction: SoPo’s Restaurant Expansion
The Current has written about the recent growth in the number of South Portland restaurants.
Since mid-March, eight new restaurants have opened in South Portland, and licenses have been issued for another six, all slated to open by mid-August. According to City Manager Jim Gailey, South Portland has seen boomlets like that before, but it’s always been in the area of the Maine Mall and inevitably followed by rapid turnover.
“What’s really odd, and really kind of nice, is that a lot of this is going on right here, downtown, with small, owner-operated places,” said Gailey.
The article mentions a new venture called the Elsmere BBQ and seems to indicate that the South Portland Tony’s Donuts is still under development.
Wine Wise BBQ Friendly Reds Tour
The Blueberry Files has written up her experience on the Barbecue Friendly Reds tour by Wine Wise. For this event, she and the other participants visited Bonobo, Hot Suppa, Local 188 and Outliers.
Did I mention that this Wine Wise tour was only $40? I had such a good time learning from Erica, as she is so incredibly knowledgeable and approachable. The atmosphere of the tours is casual, so you can take as much or as little as you want from it.
Hugo’s Reopening Tonight (Updated)
Hugo’s has announced that they’re reopening for dinner as of this evening. From the release,
In renovating, our aim was to strip the space down to its roots, exposing the building’s early 19th century original tin ceiling and brick and mortar walls. We’ve entirely changed the floor plan with an open kitchen, plush booth seating, and a sprawling, wooden bar that offers diners a close up view of the inner workings of the Hugo’s kitchen.
While our kitchen remains committed to the creativity and attention to detail that has garnered Hugo’s it’s national acclaim, we are making some exciting changes: an intensified focus on local meats, seafood and foraged goods, a revamped menu format, single origin coffee’s from local roasters Tandem, and look out for large format shared meal specials.
Bourbon Portland Beer Politics has posted a set of photos taken by Zach Bowen of the newly renovated space.
Update: for details on the new menu and more pictures see this report on Maine a la Carte.
Dallas and Boston Eat in Portland
Culture Map advises the residents of Dallas to “Escape the Texas Heat with a Weekend Trip to Maine“. While here they visited Fore Street, Bard Coffee, Duckfat, Two Fat Cats, Eve’s at the Garden, Street & Co and Beal’s Ice Cream.
The Boston Globe has published a travel article that calls Portland “hardworking [and] unpretenious“. While in our city they paid a visit to Local 188, Petite Jacqueline, Mount Desert Ice Cream, Two Fat Cats, Duckfat, Gritty McDuff’s and went on a Maine Foodie Tour as well as a cruise aboard Lucky Catch.
New England Summer Dinner
The Golden Dish has published a report on the New England Summer Dinner put on last week by Damian Sansonetti and Andrew Volk.
Sansonetti is co-owner of Blue Rooster and Volk will be launching the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club later this summer.
This Week’s Events: 4th of July Fireworks and Concert, Mainely Treats, Farmers Markets
Tuesday — there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont.
Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.
Thursday — nearly everyone in Portland will be on the Eastern Promenade for fireworks and a Independence Day concert by the Portland Symphony. The Mainely Treats food truck will be launching that evening at the Eastern Prom.
Friday — there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli. First Friday Art Walk is taking place and restaurants will be busy so be sure to make reservations at your favorite spot in advance.
Saturday — there will be wine tastings at LeRoux Kitchen and Browne Trading, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market 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.
June 2013 Monthly Stats
The 10 eateries looked up most often in June on Portland Food Map were:
- Outliers (1)
- Blue Rooster Food Co. (2)
- Local 188 (32)
- Little Tap House (8)
- The Well (>50)
- Artemisia Cafe (14)
- In’finiti (5)
- Eventide (6)
- JP’s Bistro (>50)
- The North Point (7)
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.