New England Regional 38

| Posted in Reviews

Eater’s roving food editor, Bill Addison, has issued his list of the 38 essential restaurants in New England.

Included on the list are 10 restaurants from Maine: Drifters Wife, Eventide, Long Grain, Maine Diner, Mcloons Lobster, Palace Diner, Primo, Tandem Bakery, The Lost Kitchen, Tao Yuan.

Even five years ago, this list would have looked very different — or certainly less geographically broad. (As it is, Boston nabs a whopping 10 spots, but hey, it’s a metro area of nearly 5 million people.) Thanks to game-changers like Eventide in Portland, Maine, and Oberlin in Providence, Rhode Island, there’s now a breadth to the selections that shows off an upsurge in creativity. With its mosaic of risk-taking chefs and guardians of traditional foods, New England has never been a more varied or exciting culinary destination.

I had the pleasure of working with Bill on the list and wrote a few of the entries for Southern Maine in the article.

This Week’s Events: Falafel Mafia, Portland Food Festival, Strawberry Festival, Miyake Farm Dinner

| Posted in Events

Wednesday – the Falafel Mafia (facebook, instagram) food truck is set to launch, they plan to be on Commercial Street for lunch time and then head up to the Eastern Prom for dinner. The Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – it’s the first day of the Holy Trinity Church Greek Festival, there will be a latte art competition at Bard Coffee at 8pm, the Portland Food Festival Will be at Thompson’s Point, Slab is holding the the 3rd Annual Barreled Souls tape takeover, the next meeting of the Portland Spirits Society is taking place and Woodford F&B, and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing beer from Allagash.

Friday – the Cape Farm Alliance Lobster Bake & Pig Roast is taking place, and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Rosemont.

Saturday –the Allagash Street Fair, the 9th Annual Strawberry Festival and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market are taking place.

Sunday – Sur Lie, Lolita, Union, Piccolo and David’s are collaborating on a 5-course fund raising dinner to benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, and Miyake is holding a farm dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Farm.

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.

Opium Cocktail Bar

| Posted in Uncategorized

Urban Eye Has posted a report on Opium, the new cocktail bar at the Danforth which is slated to open tonight.

Suddenly, Cirque du Soleil unfurls under The Danforth Inn big top, bedecked with peonies and poppies. Though catching flack earlier this spring for its name, Opium is more than a marketing gimmick. Opening Friday with complete cocktail service, such as a Chinese box that arrives with drink cards and two hidden aperitifs, the West End bar adjacent to the inn’s Tempo Dulu restaurant takes lounging to new heights.

Under Construction: Juiced

| Posted in Under Construction

Hallowell-based casual dining spot, Juiced (website), plans to open a second location in Portland at 561 Forest Ave. Juiced plans to serve “healthy alternatives to fast casual dining options” of soups, salads, and sandwiches along with juice, smoothies, komucha, prosecco and rotating selection of local beer. A draft menu (pages 147-150) was supplied with their liquor license application.

Under Construction: Old Port Lobster Shack

| Posted in Under Construction

After more than two years since the project began, Old Port Lobster Shack on Fore Street has applied for a liquor license. In the application, owner Michael Michalski indicates a target opening date of July 30th. A draft menu (pages 90-91) was supplied with other supporting paperwork.

Update: The owners have changed the name of the business to Maine Lobster Shack.

Closed: Zapoteca and Outliers

| Posted in Closings

The Press Herald reports that Zapoteca has gone out of business,

Cookbook author and chef Shannon Bard announced suddenly Wednesday that the Fore Street restaurant Zapoteca she and her husband, Tom, owned in Portland is closed for good.

and confirmed that Outliers has closed.

Fans of Outliers who may have been hoping the popular York Street restaurant was just on its usual spring hiatus will have to move on to other hot eateries; the restaurant is closed for good and owner Peter Verrill Jr. has listed the building with CBRE | The Boulos Co.