Silly’s Food Truck

| Posted in Under Construction

Silly’s closed on Sunday and owner Colleen Kelley plans to re-launch her business as a food truck this summer. A brief message on the Silly’s website shared that, “Hello Folks….The lease is ending at 68 Washington and I will be moving Silly’s to a food truck which I think is a better fit for me at this stage in my life.”

When Silly’s originally launched in 1988 it was located at 147 Cumberland Ave in the building that is now home to Union Bagel Co. The restaurant moved to 40 Washington Ave in 1997 where it operated for more than two decades. Kelley relaunched Silly’s at 68 Washington Ave in 2020 in the building that for a time had been Simply Vegan by Silly’s.

Upcoming Events: Paper Tiger, Piedmontese Wine at Solo Italiano

| Posted in Events

Monday – Paper Tiger (website, facebook, instagram) is scheduled to open today.

Wednesday – winemaker Giorgio Bava will be at Solo Italiano, and the restaurant will be featuring his wines by the glass and serving some dishes inspired by Bava’s region of Piedmont.

March 29 – the Choptails Cocktail Competition is taking place at Batson River. Maine’s newest cidery the Absolem Cider and Oxbow Brewing will collaborating on a beer/cider dinner at the Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford. Chef Cody Finch will be holding the next dinner in his Codex series at Petite Jacqueline (5 courses @ $85/person).

March 31 – Eat It & Beet It (instagram) will be launching their food truck at Goodfire Brewing in East Bayside.

April 1 – it’s the start of the Rose Foods guest chef series.

April 9 – the Beer With(out) Beards festival will be taking place.

April 20 – Oxbow Brewing is hosting a Fermentation Fair organized by The Resilience Hub & Portland Maine Permaculture.

April 22 – May 1 – 4th Maine Seaweed Week.

June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.

June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place.

July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.

July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.

Solo Bakery in Bath

| Posted in Under Construction

Solo Italiano is planning to launch a new bakery in Bath, Maine called Solo Pane e Pasticceria. It will be located at 29 Centre Street in the space formerly occupied by the Centre Street Bakery.

The new business will be both a retail bakery and the location of Solo’s wholesale baking operation. The bakery is expected to be operational in April and Solo hopes to launch the retail shop by the end of May. They expect to have breads and baked goods that run the full spectrum of what a “true Italian Pasticceria” can deliver.

Solo is looking forward to being part of the Mid-Coast food community, and bringing a new local bakery to the town of Bath.

The Solo Italiano restaurant opened on Commercial Street in Portland in 2016, and the Solo Cucina Market launched in South Portland in March 2020.

Rose Foods Sandwich Series

| Posted in Events

Rose Foods has announced the schedule for their annual guest chef sandwich series. Each Friday through Sunday, a specialty bagel sandwich designed by that week’s guest chef will be featured on the menu. Here’s the schedule:

Interview with Krista Kern Desjarlais

| Posted in People

Slice, Spade, Soiree has published an interview with Krista Kern Desjarlais.

I was hired to be the opening chef for Guy Savoy at his new restaurant opening in Caesars Palace, so I went to Paris for additional training for this new opportunity. When I returned to Las Vegas from Paris, I learned that the restaurant was delayed. I was reminded of a conversation I had in Paris with the Chef de Cuisine for Guy Savoy. Like me, he was older than everyone in the kitchen there, and commented that, at my age, I should be running my own restaurant! It was another turning point. I returned to Maine and opened Bresca in early 2007.

Della Terra Pizza in Saco

| Posted in Openings

A new New York-style pizzeria called Della Terra Pizza (instagram) opened on Wednesday in Saco.

Owner Micah Robinson has put together a menu that includes 16-inch round pizzas (margheritas, white pizzas, etc), 16-inch square pizzas (Sicilians, L&B, etc), a caesar salad and pizza by the slice. There are gluten-free options. The menu will expand to include specialty pies, more salad options, a calzone, and a stromboli roll in the coming days. The menu is available for pre-order.

Della Terra is located at 213 North Street in Saco. They will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – 9 pm.

Chase Rochon, Certified Pommelier

| Posted in People

Congratulation to Chase Rochon who has successfully passed his examinations and sensory testing to become a Certified Pommelier.

The CP professional certification has been established by the American Cider Association to provide hospitality professionals a way to develop and demonstrate their knowledge of cider. The first level in the ACA certification program is becoming a Certified Cider Professional.

Rochon is one of only 26 Certified Pommeliers in the country and the first person in Maine to earn that distinction.

Rochon is a co-owner of Craft Curbside in Gray which stocks a wide range of ciders.

2022 Beard Awards Nominees

| Posted in Reviews

The James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for this year’s Beard Awards. 10 semifinalists were from Maine this year, of those 5 are nominees and contenders for an award when the winners are announced in June:

  • Best New Restaurant – Leeward
  • Outstanding Baker – Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery
  • Best Chef: Northeast – Vien Dobui, Công Tử Bột; Courtney Loreg, Woodford Food & Beverage; Damian Sansonetti, Chaval

The award winners will be announced on Monday June 13th at an event taking place in Chicago.

Related information:

Spring Awakening

| Posted in General News

This Week’s Portland Phoenix includes an article entitled Spring awakening: Portland restaurants, bars counting on a return to normal.

Throughout the pandemic, Portland’s bars and restaurants were challenged at every front. From closures that lasted several months to jockeying for federal assistance and learning how to be nimble and change plans on the fly, owners found ways to pivot and get by. Now, with spring around the corner and the number of new COVID-19 cases continuing to drop, there is a sense of optimism in the industry.