K. Horton Specialty Foods has announced plans to close down after 18 years in business. Owner Kris Horton was one of the first vendors in the original Public Market on Preble Street, and played an instrumental role in the creation of the Public Market House on Monument Square.
K. Horton will be holding a cash-only clearance sale beginning January 2nd.
Update: The Press Herald and Bangor Daily News have both published reports on the closure.
The Maine Sunday Telegram reports that due to an “obscure law” restaurants that have chosen to eliminate tipping are having to do so by raising the prices directly rather than adding a service fee.
At the heart of the matter is a state law that allows service charges in lieu of tips, but only at private clubs or banquet facilities. For all other establishments, service charges cannot be collected, pooled and divided up among staff as is allowed in other states.
I’ve scanned through the records for the past year and here’s a summary of events and trends for 2016:
The most popular articles published on Portland Food Map in the past year.
The numbers in parentheses indicate their rank last year. The order of the list is determined by the number of times these restaurants were looked up on PFM during the year.
For some other perspectives on the past year see Portland Press Herald, The Golden Dish, Bangor Daily News, Portland Phoenix, Peter Peter Portland Eater, Portland Magazine and The Beer Babe.
Here are links to the Portland Food Map year in review reports for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.
I’ve scanned through the records for the past year and here’s a summary of events and trends for 2016:
The most popular articles published on Portland Food Map in the past year.
The numbers in parentheses indicate their rank last year. The order of the list is determined by the number of times these restaurants were looked up on PFM during the year.
For some other perspectives on the past year see Portland Press Herald, The Golden Dish, Bangor Daily News, Portland Phoenix, Peter Peter Portland Eater, Portland Magazine and The Beer Babe.
Here are links to the Portland Food Map year in review reports for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.
Portland Magazine has reviewed Caiola’s,
Next up is the yellowfin tuna ($26), a plateful of perfection. The slightly seared medallions melt in our mouths, along with an enticing concoction of cauliflower, baby artichoke, watermelon radishes, and brown butter with smoked paprika oil. “This is the best fish I think I’ve ever had,” declares my companion. The friendly Wren even chats about how we might prepare this ourselves at home.
and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Espo’s.
In addition to Espo’s reasonable prices and monster portions, the food is really good. It’s not extraordinarily inventive, but it doesn’t need to be. They serve up traditional Italian with high quality ingredients.
Thursday’s Press Herald includes a report on Sleek Machine Distro, a new beer distributor set up to distribute Bissell Brothers beer.
It might not look like much, but Schlesinger’s tiny company represents change in Maine’s craft beer industry. While there has been explosive growth in breweries – the state counts at least 84 – there wasn’t any change in how locally crafted beer was distributed until Schlesinger and the Sleek Machine hit the streets.
LB Kitchen (instagram) has applied for a liquor license. The restaurant is located at 249 Congress Street in the space formerly occupied by Figa.
Owners Lee Farrington and Bryna Gootkind plan to be open Monday through Saturday, 9am – 4pm serving breakfast and lunch. They hope to open in early November.
Here’s a look at part of the draft menu (pages 47-49) supplied with the license application (click to enlarge):
Dutch’s has applied for a liquor license. Owners Ian and Lucy Dutch opened the breakfast and lunch cafe close to 2 years ago. In May they were featured in a Bon Appétit article about Portland,
At Dutch’s, they bake their own pastries, biscuits, and breads, then use them to create indulgent, hangover-killing sandwiches. Go for the fried chicken one, which melds crunchy thigh meat with a flaky biscuit and peppery Southern sausage gravy. And don’t skip the hash browns—cubed and fried to crispy perfection—best enjoyed at a retro table with kitschy Maine murals behind you. Now you’re in Vacationland.
The Dutchs plan to serve beer, wine and “a few popular brunch drinks”.
The Commerce department has renewed the Portland areas designation as a Manufacturing Communities for Food Production. Greater Portland is just one of 24 manufacturing communities of any type in the nation.
Here’s a link to the full press release.
Today’s Press Herald includes an interview with Maine native and Bourdain cinematographer Zach Zamboni about growing up in Maine and his life on the road with Anthony Bourdain.
They may be buddies, but Zamboni is nothing like Bourdain’s no-holds-barred public persona. Soft-spoken and thoughtful, Zamboni often speaks in imagery that evokes the landscape, whether he is describing the rolling hills and deep forests of Maine or talking about how when you eat an oyster, you’re tasting the tides. He credits his rural childhood in Maine with helping to prepare him for the life he leads now.
and an interview with Bourdain.
Q: Our culture is so engaged with food now – almost to the point of fetishizing what’s on the plate. Is there any turning back? Or is this fascination with food a good thing?
A: We are more educated about what we’re eating and where it comes from and who’s making it than ever before. I think as silly as it is and as excessive and fetishistic, it signals a real cultural shift where we actually care about what we’re eating and who’s cooking, and this is good. I imagine that at some point we will shift to a more emotional response to food without taking pictures of it. We’re sort of catching up with France and Italy. On balance, however ridiculous it is at times and lampoonable, I’m happy with it.
Bourdain will be in Portland on October 9th for a show at the civic center.