Salmon Lawsuit

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald reports that the owners of the Hunt and Alpine Club have brought a lawsuit alleging price fixing in the market for Atlantic Salmon.

The lawsuit by Portland Hunt + Alpine Club alleges that salmon prices have risen over the last four years when they should have been falling. According to the filing in federal court in Maine, the costs associated with raising Atlantic salmon have been mostly stable since 2015, production has increased and the market has shrunk because Russia banned salmon imports in retaliation for the U.S. and some European countries imposing economic sanctions following Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimea.

Jefe Juan’s on Wharf Street

| Posted in Under Construction

Portland Mash Tun owner Ricky Binet has leased 1160 sq ft of space at 47 Wharf Street where he plans to open a 24-seat Mexican restaurant called Jefe Juan’s. The restaurant is named after Portland Mash Tun chef Juan Cordero and will serve a menu of “a few of Juan’s favorite recipes”.

As part of the liquor license application Binet has provided a draft menu (page 104) that includes burritos (pork, beef or chicken), a cheese plate, chips and salsa, salads, a lobster roll, and a “Mexican Lobster Cocktail”.

Italian Restaurants in Flux

| Posted in Under Construction

This seems to be the year when the landscape of Italian restaurants seem to be in flux. For those of you trying to keep track, here’s what’s happened so far:

There are still 3 months left in the year so who knows what other news may emerge.

JP’s Bistro Moving to Falmouth

| Posted in Under Construction

The Press Herald reports that JP’s Bistro is moving to Falmouth.

Chef/owner John Paul Gagnon says he’ll be closing his namesake Portland restaurant on Oct. 12 and hopes to re-open the first week of November at 204 U.S. Route 1 in Falmouth. That’s the former location of Hugs Italian Restaurant. (The Hugs restaurant at Sugarloaf remains open.) Gagnon says the new space will have more room, more and better equipment, and — he hopes — more customers. 

Kitchen to Cannabis

| Posted in People

The Bangor Daily News reports that some Maine restaurant workers are making the transition to working in the new cannabis industry lured by better pay and hours.

As it turns out, he’s not. As restaurant owners in Portland and beyond struggle with a back-of-house labor shortage that they say threatens their business model, Bishop and a wave of other cooks responsible for elevating the Maine food scene over the last decade are finding better wages, less stressful work environments and greater opportunities for advancement in cannabis. Equipped with years of training, cooks are becoming caregivers, bartenders are now “budtenders” and pastry chefs make better livings as specialized cannabis chocolatiers and candymakers.

This Week’s Events: Cocktails by the Trail, Piccolo Farm Dinner, Apple Preservation Workshop

| Posted in Events

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

Saturday – UFF is continuing their Cocktails by the Trail series which gives local bartenders the tasting room stage to feature a cocktail that makes use of the UFF greenhouse and product line, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Piccolo will be cooking a farm dinner in the Mallet Barn at the Wolfe’s Neck Oceanfront Campground.

Apple Preservation Workshop – My good friends Kate McCarty (The Blueberry Files) and Sean Turley (The Righteous Russet) are teaming up to teach an apple preservation workshop at Fork Food Lab. The event takes place on October 22nd. Kate will teach how to preserve apples by canning, freezing, and drying, and Sean will talk about the heritage varieties of apples in Maine and what the best uses are for them. Apples for the event are being provided by MOFGA’s orchards, and participants will get to take some of what is made in the class. Tickets are on sale now.

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.

Review of Maiz

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Maiz.

On the whole, the food impresses. Kitchen manager/co-owner Niky Watler’s staff has been able to exploit the extra square footage, allowing for an expanded (completely gluten-free) menu, including appetizers like crusty, cheesy pan de bono and simple, deep-fried corn empanadas filled with sweet threads of pulled pork. Maiz’s arepas – especially the Basico with chicken and the pork-and-chicken Upgrade – are also a good bet, although if you’re not a fan of eating all your fillings in sequence, you’ll want to do a little manipulation of the griddled corn pocket before you eat.

9-Seat Ramen Bar Coming to Washington Ave

| Posted in Under Construction

A new 9-seat BYOB ramen shop is under development. Named Ishi Ishi Ramen (instagram) it will be located on Washington Ave in The Black Box space that will be vacated when The Cheese Shop moves to larger quarter—filling the gap in the East End line-up of restaurant left when Ramen Suzukiya closed in 2018.

Owners Matthew De Fio and Andrew Doolittle hope to open in November/December when they will serve three different ramens to start with, and offer both gluten-free noodle and CBD options on the menu. Ishi Ishi will also have prepared ramen ready to go. The owners are planning for the shop to be a cellphone-free zone.

De Fio spent 3 years working at Ramen Tatsu-ya in Austin Texas and has worked in Maine at Enoteca Athena and Vessel and Vine in Brunswick and running his own fresh pasta enterprise Il Dono. Doolittle is the owner of Pot and Pan Kitchen.