Under Construction: Veranda Thai

| Posted in Under Construction

Veranda Thai owner Hai Pham has purchased the building at 672 Main Street in Westbrook where a new Veranda Thai restaurant is under construction.

Veranda Thai joins a growing list of restaurants and other food businesses in Westbrook: Big Fin Poke, Bamboo Bistro, Black Dinah Chocolates, Mast Landing Brewing, and Brea Lu Cafe. Both Fishermen’s Grill and Yes Brewing Company are also under construction.

Frog and Turtle made the first notable leap into the Westbrook market when they left behind a spot in Longfellow Square for Main Street in Westbrook in 2007.

Maine Beer Box

| Posted in Openings, Beer

The Maine Beer Box, a shipping container beer tap system, is headed to Iceland, reports the Press Herald.

The project is a partnership between the Maine Brewers Guild and Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company that has its U.S. headquarters in Portland. The guild plans to ship the container every year to a different port on Eimskip’s shipping routes. The aim is to market Maine’s craft beer industry overseas and encourage brewers to consider foreign exports as a way to grow their companies, Sean Sullivan, executive director of the brewers guild, said during a send-off event for the beer box at the International Marine Terminal in Portland on Friday.

Reviews: Woodhull, Baharat, Tiqa

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Woodhull,

Instead, focus on the Mexican-inspired plates that husband-and-wife chef duo, Matt and Rachel Chaisson, prepare with considerable skill. Standouts are the roasted cauliflower taco on a fresh, housemade soft tortilla; the hearty, multidimensional Baja rice bowl; and the ambitiously named “fritter mountain,” a quick-fried patty of smoky roasted corn covered in red cabbage, corn salsa and cotija cheese. It’s good enough to merit a little voyage of your own to Yarmouth for a taste.

Press Herald has reviewed Baharat,

The Rad Mirage ($10) has already gained some renown in the short time Baharat has been open. It seems that, once you taste it, it becomes difficult not to recommend it to every person you see. Having had it myself now, I get it. Vodka, Lebanese yogurt, honey and mint, blended to perfection, it’s a unique cocktail that complements the food and the location perfectly. It’s nearly absolutely impossible not to have two, so I did.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Tiqa,

Tiqa was even better than I remembered. They were more than satisfactory in the past, but my meal this time might have been the best yet. The seafood, pork, and potato combo in cream was extraordinary with the app and dessert as excellent bookends. It left me feeling like I had eaten something very special. The restaurant is putting some high quality flavors out from their kitchen and a meal there is most definitely one you’ll enjoy.

Under Construction: Little Giant

| Posted in Under Construction

Little Giant (facebook, instagram) owners Andrew and Briana Volk have released information on the management team that will be running their 60-seat West End restaurant which is slated to open in mid-June.

  • Rian Wyllie (instagram) will lead the kitchen at Little Giant. Wyllie was the Executive Chef of Deep Ellum and Lone Star Taco Bar in Boston for the past ten years.
  • Darcy Brennan Poor will be leading the bakery/pastry program. A Portland resident, she studied at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan. In NYC she worked at Runner and Stone in Brooklyn, a retail bakery and restaurant that specializes in naturally leavened breads, viennoiserie pastries, and desserts.
  • Max Overstrom-Coleman (instagram) will be the bar manager at Little Giant. He has more than twenty years in the hospitality industry.

The restaurant is located at the intersection of Danforth and Clark Streets.  Back in December it was named to Imbibe Magazine’s 2017 class of ‘Imbibe 75′.

The menu for Little Giant “will focus on Continental European cuisine with a New England influence” and the bar program “will bring together the influences of European cafe culture and well-made cocktails to Portland’s West End.”

 

The Night Kitchen

| Posted in Events

Today’s Press Herald includes an article about The Night Kitchen, a musical being produced at Portland Stage to raise funds for Preble Street.

Charmingly cheesy jokes are interspersed with more serious moments where the audience gets to see – and hear – the rhythm of a restaurant kitchen, its pleasures and its very real stresses, too. (Hear it, in syncopated songs like this: “Cut thin – mince, dice/Pound well – add spice/ Just so – precise/Chop once – chop twice/Strike match – stir rice/Chill well – on ice/Oh yeah – that’s nice.”)

Under Construction: Brickyard Hollow Brewing

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

A new brewery called Brickyard Hollow Brewing Company is under development in Yarmouth, reports the Press Herald.

Yarmouth entrepreneurs Brad Moll and Frank Grondin announced Tuesday that they plan to open a small-batch craft brewery and restaurant called Brickyard Hollow Brewing Co. at 236 Main St., now the home of Anthony’s Dry Cleaners. The 2,100-square-foot brewery will seat 60 indoors and an additional 30 on its patio.

This Week’s Events: Memorial Day, Yobo Opening, Cocktail Conference, Beer Camp, Portersfield Cider Tour, Night Kitchen Musical

| Posted in Events

Monday – it’s Memorial Day.

Tuesday – Paciarino is kicking their monthly wine club.

Wednesday – the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – Portland’s new Korean restaurant, Yobo, is scheduled to open, and The Great Lost Bear is featuring some beers to provide a sneak peak of Beer Camp.

Friday – it’s the first day of the New England Cocktail Conference.

Saturday – the Portland edition of the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Tour is taking place on Thompson’s Point, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Portersfield Cider is giving an orchard and cider making tour at their facility in Pownal. The orchard includes includes “over 250 rare apple and pear varieties”…participants will “learn about the history and ongoing revival of cidermaking in Maine [and participate in a] tasting of [Portersfield] hard ciders.”

Night Kitchen – June 6 through 17 the Night Kitchen Musical is being staged at Portland Stage.

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.