Under Construction: LB Kitchen West

| Posted in Under Construction

LB Kitchen (website, facebook, instagram) is opening a second location, in the West End. The new LB Kitchen will be housed in the former Outliers on York Street as part of an overall wellness center that focuses on alternative medicine and therapies.

LB Kitchen co-owners Lee Farrington and Bryna Gootkind are planning a very similar concept and menu to their first cafe. Folks who live in the neighborhood will be happy to hear that plan includes coffee service, something the neighborhood has felt the lack of since the departure of Omi’s.

Renovations of the building are slated to kick-off in the next couple weeks and the new LB Kitchen will open sometime in October or November.

Fahrenheit 225 in Portland

| Posted in Openings

The Fahrenheit 225 (website, facebook, instagram) food truck is now operating in Portland Wednesday through Friday, noon to 6pm at 1321 Washington Ave. They plan to be at that location through the remainder of the year.

Owners Al and Linda Clark serve a menu of Carolina and Memphis style barbecue. According to their press release,

Fahrenheit serves the usual favorites: pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches, ribs, Maine-made sausage, and chili. Sides include mac and cheese, cole slaw, corn bread, BBQ beans, and more. The menu rotates except for the pulled pork: that’s a staple. It’s the featured ingredient in their unique “Pigs Gone Solo,” a big red plastic cup with a layer of cornbread, a layer of beans, a layer of pulled pork, and a layer of cole slaw, topped with a juicy rib. It’s great “walking around” food and really popular at festivals.

Under Construction: Rosanna’s Ice Cream

| Posted in Under Construction

Rosanna’s Ice Cream (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has leased the former Salty Sally’s space at the intersection of Congress and Saint John Streets. Rosanna’s will be using 953 Congress as a production space, as well as a pick-up spot for the ice cream.

Owner Salli Wason shared on facebook that she’s continuing to search for a retail space to be a permanent home for Rosanna’s but that for the next year this will be a transitional space as the business continues to grow.

Eye Appeal: Chefs and Instagram

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald has published a report on how chefs use instagram as a research and marketing tool for the dishes they create.

Chefs have always considered the eye appeal of the food they serve – nearly every chef interviewed for this story repeated the old saying “you eat with your eyes first” – but social media has turned up the heat on the visual aspect of their dishes. From bistros and burger joints to higher-end Portland restaurants, chefs say they are thinking more visually in the kitchen. They are doing so to satisfy both their online followers and the customers who insist on photographing their meals to, as chef-turned-food photographer Derek Bissonnette puts it, “convey certain bragging rights: ‘I was here. Look at what I’m doing.’ ”

This Week’s Events: GMRI Seafood Celebration, Jacqueline Event, Tippling at the Tate House

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – American Sommelier is holding a wine tasting at Cloudport.

Wednesday – there will be a wine tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants.

Thursday – the 5th Annual GMRI Gulf of Maine Seafood Celebration is taking place.

Friday –there will be a ine tasting at Rosemont on Brighton, Petite Jacqueline is celebrating the life of the restaurant’s namesake (who passed away in 2017) with a “toast and happy hour” in her honor serving “Champagne toast, foie gras, shrimp cocktail, oysters, cheese and charcuterie, sweet treats”.

Saturday – Joe Appel will be leading a tasting and giving a lecture on wine in the 18th century at the Tate House, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Vignola is holding their annual beer and cheese tasting, and Foley’s is teaching a baking class.

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.

LD 1889

| Posted in Beer

Carla Jean Lauter has written an article about LD 1889, the law that enabled breweries to charge for samples, for the Press Herald.

Here in Maine, there’s another milestone that probably deserves to be recognized: the passage of LD 1889 in the Maine House and Senate. Signed and enacted in mid-April of 2012, LD 1889 laid the groundwork to fundamentally change the entire beer industry in Maine by allowing Maine brewers to charge for samples at their own breweries. While this seems trivial, its passage had cascading effects that have allowed the beer industry to become what it is today.

Reviews: Taverna Khione, JP’s Bistro

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Taverne Khione in Brunswick, and

Nothing says “yiayia” quite like lamb chops ($28), which Provencher rubs with oregano, salt and pepper before char-grilling. He serves them medium-rare with extraordinarily citrusy, lemon-infused roasted potatoes, a lovely counterbalance to the low-pitched gaminess of the meat. Or whole grilled dorade, its cavity stuffed with fennel tops and slices of lemon, plated up next to a ruddy tumble of paprika-coated roasted potatoes ($28).

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed JP’s Bistro.

As I delved further into my plate, I was pleased with the combination of flavors. The mushrooms and tomatoes were dispersed in the perfect proportions, not overpowering the scallops and the crab was so good as a second seafood flavor. It was an item that had all the right ingredients to combine into an well put together dish. The potatoes and vegetables were sound sides.

Isuken Somali Bantu Food Truck

| Posted in Under Construction

A group of Somali Bantu immigrants in Maine are launching a new food truck in Lewiston.

The Isuken (website, facebook) food truck is raising start-up funds through a Kickstarter campaign for a down payment on the truck and for other expenses.

Here’s some information on the menu:

The main products that Isuken food truck will offer are Sambusas, fried pastries filled with local meats and veggies. We will offer beef, chicken, fish, and veggie (vegan) options. We will also offer a gluten-free and vegan rice, corn, bean, and veggie dishes and grilled meats. For beverages, we will offer our Somali chai tea, a sweet, spicy, milky tea.