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A new business called Luna Shawarma and Falafel is now open on the second floor of the Public Market House in Monument Square.
Owner Eve Alrashidi and her team are serving a menu (see below) that includes shawarma (beef or chicken), falafel sandwiches, cheeseburgers, hummus plates, salads and hot dogs. Luna will be open daily 11 am to 8 pm.
Bon Appétit has included Oun Lido’s (website, instagram) in their short list of the Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings of 2024.
The opening of Oun Lidos, the second restaurant from the team behind popular Portland Vietnamese mainstay Cong Tu Bot, is a good enough reason to book a trip to Maine this spring. Oun Lidos will be a multi-level restaurant in Old Port, with an all-day takeout counter offering Chinatown-style baked goods, rice plates, and boba to-go. Chef Bounahcree Kim will move over from Cong Tu Bot to helm the kitchen and serve the Khmer-Chinese food of his childhood, with dishes like iced jello salad with coconut sauce and mi ka thung—a fresh wide noodle stir fry with shredded beef, five spice gravy, and pickled mustard greens.
The list includes just nine featured restaurants. The others are located in Ashville, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
First word on Oun Lido’s (originally to be named Lido’s 2) broke in May of last year and the restaurant is under construction at 30 Market Street (former home to Pat’s Pizza). Plans are for it to launch in February for takeout and with limited seating and with the full launch of it’s dining room and expanded menu in the spring.
The Portland Food Map launched in August 2007 and the archive of posts 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 January 2009, 2014 and 2019:
Check back next month for a look back at the hot news from the Februarys of 2009, 2014 and 2019.
Chocolats Passion has announced that a key member of their staff, lead chocolatier Sarah Levine (shown above), has become a co-owner of the business with founder Catherine Wiersema.
Almost 4 years ago, Sarah walked into 189 Brackett Street, résumé in hand, and was hired as a Chocolatier. Two years ago, Catherine promoted her to Lead Chocolatier, and delegated to her all production and day-to-day management of our growing team. All along, Sarah proved herself central to our vision of quality and creativity in crafting our artisan confections.
Today, we are so excited and proud to share that Sarah is now Catherine’s co-owner in the business. We make a fantastic team, and look forward to keeping our beloved Chocolats Passion on a path of excellence, fun, and ever better chocolates with our wonderful crew!
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New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know on what’s going on:
Saturday – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Catering. Heritage Seaweed is holding an online Introduction to Seaweed class.
Sunday – Hart Farm in Holden along with Chimera Coffee and the Phenix Inn is holding a 4-course dinner in Bangor.
January 24 – Chaval is holding 5-course vegan wine dinner.
January 25 – Oak & Ember is holding a 4-course Sicilian wine dinner.
January 27 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Christian Hayes from The Garrison.
February 10 – The Portland On Tap beer festival is taking place at the Cross Insurance Arena. Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Krista Kern Desjarlais from Bresca and The Purple House.
Valentine’s Day – we’ll be sharing V-Day specials here as restaurants announce them. Please let us know if you see someplace missing. Valentine’s Day falls on a Wednesday this year.
February 18 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval and Devin Finigan from Aragosta.
March 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner.
April 29 – The Good Food Awards winners will be announced. Eight Maine food producers are finalists in the 2024 Good Food awards program.
May 11 – CiderFeast, an “all-inclusive tasting event celebrates craft ciders from some of the top cider makers in New England and beyond” is taking place.
May 18 – The Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.
June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.
June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.
June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.
August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.
September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.
The Bollard has published a review of the Ugly Duckling.
As good as the sandwiches were, visiting Ugly Duckling without buying pastries should be at least a misdemeanor. After an appetite-restoring stroll around the block, we poured some coffee and devoured a pastel de nata ($5), a traditional Portuguese custard tart that was light and crisp outside, dense and velvety smooth inside.
Wine Enthusiast has published a Wine Lover’s Guide to Maine. The article also includes recommendations on where to stay and eat.
Wine-centric mentions in the article include: Friends & Family, Maine & Loire, Lorne, Vessel & Vine, Leeward, Helm, Regards, Wayside, George + Leon’s, Table Bar, In a Silent Way, Black Sheep Wine Shop, Blue Hill Wine Shop, Oyster River Wine Growers, and Nina June.
Maine wine lovers (and those planning a visit) should also add Portland Wine Week to their calenders which this year is taking place June 10 – 16.
New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know on what’s going on:
The owners of Terlingua have taken over the former Danforth/Little Giant building in the West End where they plan to open a new restaurant called Ocotillo (website, instagram) which will serve brunch 8 am – 3 pm.
As you can see from the sample menu (see below), like Terlingua, Ocotillo is taking its culinary cues from the flavors of Mexico and Texas. An agave-focused beverage program with coffee and agua frescas will complement a menu of breakfast tacos, sandwiches, and variations on eggs benedict with churros, French toast, a burger, salads and seasonal specials to round out the offerings.
Owners Melanie and Pliny Reynolds are making some design changes to the space to lighten up the room and bring it into alignment with the Terlingua color palette. Ocotillo will have seating for 106 people including the bar, dining room and the secluded outdoor seating area. The restaurant will be available for private functions.
Terlingua’s executive sous chef, Al Zoni, will be moving over to Ocotillo to become the head chef for the new restaurant. Lea Pilsbury, who has been at Terlingua since 2021, will be serving as the front of house manager. Wilson Rothschild is the executive chef for the overall restaurant group and Justin Dewalt is its chief operating officer. The Reynolds and their team are currently hiring to fill out the team for an anticipated spring launch of Ocotillo.
Terlingua opened on June 25, 2015 at 52 Washington Ave. The restaurant moved to its present location in late 2020.
Nearby Ocotillo are Ugly Duckling, Ruski’s, Zu Baker, Smalls and Oh No Cafe which take together are establishing this part of the West End as Portland’s Brunch District.
