Portland Food Map

Bon Appetit: Lobster Rolls

June 1, 2024 | Posted in Reviews

The June/July issue of Bon Appetit includes an article about lobster rolls in the Portland area.

It doesn’t get more Maine than a lobster roll. And Portland, a maritime hub and center of the state’s dining scene, is where you’ll find the highest concentration of excellence. Whether you grab-and-go from a no-frills food truck or sit down at a fancy restaurant on the waterfront, enjoying a lobster roll (or two while you’re here is a must-have experience.

The article features the lobster rolls or roll-adjacent dishes at High Roller, Two Lights, Twelve, J’s Oyster, Eventide, Bite Into Maine, Regards and SoPo Seafood.

The article isn’t available on their website yet.

Broken Arrow Has Closed

May 31, 2024June 4, 2024 | Posted in Closings

Broken Arrow (website, facebook, instagram) has gone out of business. The brief post on instagram and facebook reads,

It’s been fun and very hard. Grateful for the memories made and the friends. This journey is at the end.

With gratitude, goodnight Portland one last time.

Lyle and Holly Aker opened Broken Arrow on October 29, 2020. The restaurant received a 4 star review from the Maine Sunday Telegram in 2022. A sale of the restaurant is pending.

Update: See the article from the Press Herald for additional reporting on the closure of Broken Arrow.

Looking Back at May 2009, 2014, and 2019

May 31, 2024 | Posted in History

The Portland Food Map archive provides a chronicle of the past 16+ years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at what the hot topics were from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s are highlights from May 2009, 2014 and 2019:

Rob Evans won the 2009 James Beard Award in the Best Chef: Northeast category
El Rayo opened for business on May 22, 2009 and Type A Diversions was first out with a review of the York Street restaurant.
The Great Lost Bear was growing a vegetable garden on the roof of their building.
El Rayo Cantina closed in May 2014, as did Gingko Blue.
Antonio Alviar and Krista Cole leased space on Free Street where they began work to launch Sur Lie.
Coastal Root Bitters first went on sale at Vena’s on May 7, 2014.
Blue Rooster launched a hot dog guest chef series—in all, 13 Portland chefs took part.
Work began to convert the former DiPietro’s on Cumberland Ave to what would become Ten Ten Pie.
Down Home Cookin’ on Preble Street closed in 2014.
Portland Food Map collaborated with the Maine Brew Bus to lead a coffee house tour. The tour group made stops at CBD in East Bayside, Bard, Speckled Ax and Tandem Coffee.
The Blue Spoon Cafe opened in the former Aurora Provisions space on May 2, 2019.
Scott Tyree passed his final examination in 2019 to become the 257th Master Sommelier.
The former Little Bigs co-owner, Pamela Fitzpatrick Plunkett, joined the staff at Monte’s Fine Foods to manage their bakery operations.
Rob Tod won a 2019 James Beard award in the Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer category.
Grippy Tannins opened on May 8, 2019, and Quiero Cafe opened on the following Monday.
Walter’s Cafe closed on May 31, 2019., and on the same day Greg Mitchell opened his new restaurant Flood’s.
Construction got underway for Candy’s at 34 Portland Street in the building now slated to become the new location of Elda.

2024 Portland Wine Week

May 30, 2024 | Posted in Events

The 2024 Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram) is taking place June 10 – 16 at various locations across the city. There are 50+ events and weeklong offerings on the calendar—be sure to check out the events in the Women in Wine track which are marked with an icon in the schedule at the bottom of this article.

Listed here are some of the highlights, see below or visit the Portland Wine Week site to see the full list of events.

A Women Winemakers Luncheon – a 4-course meal with each course paired with wines produced by women winemakers.
14 wine dinners, lunches and brunches at Portland restaurants
A 5-course, 10-sommelier wine dinner that challenges pairs of sommeliers to some friendly competition on who comes up with the best pairing for each dish on the menu.
12 Wine Wise wine sails in Casco Bay including ones featuring chef Paola Laboa from Solo Italiano and chef Mimi Weissenborn from Sur Lie.
14 weeklong offerings that feature special glass pours or wine and dish pairings, including a rare namazake sake at Izakaya Minato
Sommelier Susannah Gleason and florist Morgan Wagner-Holz flower arranging class and wine tasting at Via Vecchia
A release party for the 2021 vintage of Brut Nature Rose from Cellardoor
A wine and oyster social with Glidden Point at Twelve
A 4-course lunch at Central Provisions featuring the wines from Occhipinti
Numerous other events and weeklong wine pour and food specials at restaurants around Portland.

Angoor to Open Today

May 29, 2024 | Posted in Openings

Angoor Wine Bar (website, instagram) is set to open today at 3 pm. They’re located 100 Fore Street in a newly designed space in the same building as WEX and the Roux Institute. Angoor is being launched by Sangeeta Nasiff and Rafael Dones.

Angoor is a self pour wine bar. The wine list (see below) includes a wide range of options for customers to choose from. Once you’ve made a selection you can just walk up to one of the machines, and have it dispense a 2, 4 or 6 ounce pour. A personal ID card is issued to customers when they arrive which is used to digitally keep track and to assemble the final bill.

Angoor also has some food options. Shown above is a cheese and meat board which can customized by selecting from 7 cheeses, 4 meats and a few other items like gluten-free crackers, mixed nuts and marinated olives. The menu also offers empanadas, samosas, and desserts from Sugarcane and Two Fat Cats.

The stylish modern space offers bar, table and counter seating as well as a lounge area with upholstered chairs and sofas for a larger group to sit together.

Angoor’s hours are Wednesday/Thursday 3 – 9 pm, Friday 3 – 10 pm, Saturday noon – 10 pm, and Sunday noon – 7 pm.

Vina Ann’s on Commercial St

May 29, 2024 | Posted in Under Construction

Vina Ann’s (website, instagram) has leased the gazebo on Commercial Street where they plan to open a takeout cafe business serving sandwiches, salads and sweets with a focus on Maine products and classic Maine desserts like blueberry pie.

Owners Liz Tavares and Hannah Maltby hope to launch Vina Ann’s in the next few weeks and to operate into the fall.

Anjon’s Returning to Scarborough

May 28, 2024July 2, 2024 | Posted in Under Construction, Maine

Owner John DiSanto has announced plans to reopen Anjon’s Ristorante, the longtime Italian restaurant located on Route 1 adjacent to the Scarborough marsh.

Well it’s official the cat is out of the bag I am reopening Anjon’s Ristorante, I have missed it so much as much of you already know, and I wanna die there figuritively speaking and pass the legacy on to my family, I am shooting for a June 15th opening date it’s gonna be tough but I think I can pull it off, working with a shoestring budget so I am looking for help with money to paint the building, inside and out, new point of sale system, pave parking lot, pots, pans, dishes and glassware etc. etc.anyone willing to help me will get VIP treatment for reservations and seating plus your money back at the end of the summer, private message me if you can help, buon appetito manjard and just FUHGEDDABOUDIT

Anjon’s had been in business for more than 60 years when it closed in 2019.

Update: The opening has been delayed to mid-August.

Infatuation 2024

May 28, 2024 | Posted in Reviews

The Infatuation has updated their Portland eating guide originally posted to the site last year. The current edition includes entries for Ocotillo, Cantina Calafia, and Oun Lido’s all of which have opened since last year’s version of the list was published.

2024 Pocket Guide Now Available

May 28, 2024May 31, 2024 | Posted in PFM

The 2024 Pocket Guide is now available. As in past years the guide highlights a cross section of the restaurants, bakeries, breweries, coffee shops, cocktail bars, and cafes that make eating and drinking in Portland so compelling.

Use the guide as a starting point for your ongoing exploration of the Portland and Maine food scenes. See the Portland Food Map directory for the full list of independent eateries in the city and the Maine Food Map list, and put together your own selection. We’d enjoy seeing your list and hearing about your eating adventures. If you have a moment, send us a copy of your set of favorites and new finds for us to consider for the next edition of the pocket guide.

Many thanks to the Pocket Guide sponsors! Their support is essential to making this resource available: Evergreen Credit Union, The Boulos Company, the Canopy by Hilton Waterfront, Wine Wise, Allagash Brewing Company, The Longfellow Hotel, and Vertical Harvest.

While supplies last you can pick-up a free copy of the guide at these local businesses: Tandem Coffee Roasters, Portland Trading Company, Allagash Brewing, Rose Foods, Oxbow Brewing, Onggi, Ugly Duckling, Bresca and the Honey Bee in New Gloucester, and at the Portland Yoga Collective.

Do you need a larger number of pocket guides for an event you’re holding or for your business? Starting this year, they’re for sale in packages of 25 on our online store. Please contact us if you’re from a nonprofit organizations or if you’re interested in volume discount pricing or have any questions about buying copies of the pocket guide.

One final note: The pocket guide wouldn’t be as good as it, in fact it wouldn’t exist at all, without the skills and contributions of graphic designer Sofija Razgaitis and of Dawn Hagin from Rare Bird Strategic. Congratulate them on their work the next time you see them.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

May 27, 2024May 29, 2024 | Posted in Events

Thursday – The Cheese Shop will be teaching a beer and cheese pairing class at Allagash.

Sunday – Po’ Boys & Pickles is holding a Crawfish Boil at Baxter Brewing in Lewiston.

June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.

June 17 – The 3rd Annual ChopTails Competition will be taking place at Batson River.

June 22 – The Great Falls Brewfest is taking place in Lewiston.

June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.

July 25/26 – The Kneading Conference is taking place in Skowhegan.

August 3/4 – The Maine Wild Blueberry Weekend is taking place.

August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

September 8 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.

September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.

October 13 – The 16th Annual Open Creamery Day is taking place.

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