Saint Joseph’s College is holding the 2017 Food System Innovation Challenge this Sunday, 11 – 2.
Six companies and six colleges will be presenting their solutions to ” produce bold solutions to some of the challenges Maine faces in its food production systems.”
The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Mike Fraser.
His first position in Portland was at Cinque Terre on Wharf Street. There, he met Guy Streitburger, the current General Manager of The Roma Cafe, and Jason Loring, another Portland restaurateur. The three have remained close friends. Mike served and bartended at Fore Street for nine years. Four or five years into his Fore Street tenure, Mike decided it might soon be time to open his own place. His first foray into ownership was Bramhall, a successful bar and lounge on Congress Street. When Mike and Jason first looked at the Roma, they were considering the space for a private club. They spoke to the Quimbys who owned the space; at that time, they envisioned it for some other use. In the meantime, Mike helped finance the Rhum Tiki Bar and Big J’s Fried Chicken at Thompson’s Point — ventures which proved to be immensely popular.
Bill Addison has included Eventide on Eater’s 2017 list of America’s 38 Essential Restaurants.
A bookstore/coffee shop/bar called Quill Books & Beverage (facebook, instagram) is under construction in Westbrook. Owners Matthew Irving and Allison Krzanowski have leased space at One Westbrook Common.
Irving has worked for several years as a bartender at Lolita in Portland and Krzanowski is a weaver. At Quill they’ll be serving cocktails as well as bagels, baked goods, yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast, and sandwiches and salads for lunch, as well as a line-up of toasts, cheeses and charcuterie for small snacks.
Quill plans to stock a “diverse selection of carefully curated gently used books, including many recent titles” and will host “author and poetry readings, book clubs, and a weekly board game night”.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has posted a first look at the new Bite Into Maine cafe in Scarborough.
For me, lobster only in the summer isn’t quite enough. That seems to be the feeling Bite Into Maine’s Sarah Sutton is looking to tap into as she opens Bite Into Maine Commissary at 185 US Rte. 1 in Scarborough tomorrow. The new counter service eatery with a dozen seats will be serving their very popular food truck rolls year round in addition to adding some novel items to the menu.
The Press Herald reports that both Sea Glass and Union are offering plant-based options on their Thanksgiving menus.
Many hotels in Maine serve special Thanksgiving meals, but in the past vegan offerings have been limited to side dishes. While a few hotels offer vegetarian entrees on Thanksgiving, the addition of vegan ones to at least two hotel menus is a milestone in Maine’s ongoing embrace of plant-based cuisine.
See our Thanksgiving Resource Guide for a growing list of local restaurants open on Thanksgiving.
Bite Into Maine (website, facebook, twitter, instagram) will be opening their new 12-seat brick and mortar kitchen/cafe at 185 Route 1 in Scarborough on Wednesday Tuesday.
The space will serve both and as a prep area to keep their two food trucks amply supplied throughout the summer months and a destination where Bite Into Maine fans can go all year round to get their lobster roll fix to eat in to take out.
Hours are 11 – 4 on Sunday, closed Mondays and 11 – 6 the rest of the week.
Update: Bite Into Maine shifted their opening day to Tuesday.
Monday – Portland Beer Week continues through Sunday. Visit the PBW site for the full schedule and see the our Beer Week highlights list.
Wednesday – Hugo’s is holding a beer dinner with Allagash, the SMCC Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs are holding A Light on the Point, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – The Thirsty Pig is hosting the Goodfire Brewing launch party, DiMillo’s is holding benefit dinner for Full Plates Full Potential, and there will be a lectures at GMRI entitled Tuna, Debunked: Myths and Misconceptions.
Friday – there will be a wine tasting at the Rosemont in the West End.
Saturday – there will be a wine tasting at LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
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.
Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away. I’m assembling a list of Thanksgiving dinners and local resources for home cooks and related events.
Here’s what’s surfaced so far. I’ll be expanding the list over the next few weeks:
Maine Craft Distilling is kicking-off their weekly Sunday Roast series today. $30 gets you “a salad ,a drink, a full roast dinner and a simple desert”.
MCD’s chef is Evan Richardson who’s been running the Eaux food cart this summer serving food from his home town, New Orleans.