Bakers and pastry chefs from more than 15 restaurants and bakeries are collaborating on bake sale. The list of participating establishments includes Ten Ten Pié, Aurora Provisions, Fore Street, The Purple House, Central Provisions, Caiola’s/Piccolo, Bao Bao and many more.
The $40 boxes of baked goods will be on sale on Friday at Aurora Provisions, Little Giant and East End Cupcakes. The initiative is a fundraiser for Maine Planned Parenthood.
The Bangor Daily News has published a report on the growing number of mobile food operators that have expanded to include a brick and mortar establishment or traded in their truck as they grew into a traditional restaurant.
As more and more of Maine’s food trucks morph into bricks-and-mortar eateries, their owners offer a variety of reasons that shifting from four wheels to four walls suddenly makes sense: The “right space” became available, tight quarters came to feel too stifling, the initial venture was successful enough to bankroll a bigger, more traditional restaurant.
The most recent development was Bite Into Maine’s decision to open a location on in Scarborough. Bite Into Maine will join fellow mobile food vendors Mami, Small Axe/East Ender, Love Kupcakes/Baristas+Bites, Hella Good Tacos, Mainely Burgers, Urban Sugar and CN Shawarma/Baharat in converting to or adding a brick and mortar capacity.
The Golden Dish has published a first look at The Purple House.
From early morning until 11:00 AM you’ll literally join a crowd who are already jamming this charming café for the Montreal style bagels that owner/chef Krista Kerns Desjarlais has hand-rolled and baked in the brick wood oven, which imparts a very particular patina to America’s favorite breakfast bread.
Tuesday – a new food vendor under construction in the Public Market House called Sticky Sweet will be handing out free samples starting at 11am, and Vena’s will be teaching a cocktail making class.
Thursday – Bao Bao is hosting an Oxbow tap takeover.
Friday – 3 Maine companies will be waiting to hear how they fair in the 2017 Good Food Awards taking place in San Francisco, Woodford F&B is celebrating their 1-year anniversary by raising money to fight hunger in Maine through The Locker Project, and Rising Tide will be leading 30 minute tours of their new West Wing barrel-aging space.
Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – Two Fat Cats is starting their celebration of National Pie Day a day early with the launch of their pie buffet.
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.
TimeOut has included Emilitsa in their list of the Best Greek Restaurants in the USA.
Chef Demos recently handed the back-of-house reigns over to son Niko, a Jean-Georges alum making his mark with reinvented Greek cooking. The menu has gotten a refresh—there are now lamb ribs glazed in coriander and citrus and grilled Nova Scotia swordfish topped with sweet peppers—but Emilitsa’s original spirit and inspiration remain untouched. Grandma would be proud.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Toroso,
To a great extent, her approach works well, especially in standout dishes like umami-rich lamb albondigas, and tender, plancha-seared asparagus spears with grated cured egg yolk to add a luxurious, savory character. Seasoning issues (both too much and too little, depending on the dish) pop up from time to time and drag down otherwise promising dishes, like ras el hanout-spiced cauliflower.
the Press Herald has published reviews of Pho Co.,
It was startling. The typical pho broth is thin and lightly flavored; really it’s just the medium for the lovely rice noodles and chicken and herbs and peppers to soak in. This broth was rich and sweet with ginger. This broth could stand on its own. I haven’t stopped thinking about this broth for the last 24 hours.
and of Sonny’s,
Latin American flavors dominate the menu in this Art Nouveau-inspired Old Port restaurant. The cocktail list is the star of the show, but there’s a good selection of wine and beer, too. Good for happy hour, brunch, dinner and late-night snacks.
and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed The Treehouse.
The Treehouse delivered magnificent food once again and I got to truly enjoy every morsel. The waitress was superb and the atmosphere is one of the better scenes in Portland. Check them out this winter as their warm, cozy room will keep you comfy despite the cold Maine weather.
The Blueberry Files has posted a first look at Tipo,
Tipo, the neighborhood restaurant from Central Provisions owners Chris and Paige Gould, opened last night, serving wood-fired pizzas, handmade pastas, and small plates. We went for an early dinner anticipating a crush of people, but found a pleasant, steady flow of customers in the open, well-lit space…Tipo is sure to be a hit with the neighbors. Even those used to dining on-peninsula should venture out to this relaxed neighborhood spot.
Urban Eye has posted an update on Coffee Me Up, a new coffee shop and cafe under construction at 221 Cumberland Ave.
It’s not an art show, but the images streaming from Coffee ME Up pack a graphic punch. When Portland’s newest coffee shop opens Jan. 29 on Cumberland Avenue, unicorns, bears and kittens will magically appear in your lattes.
Chef/owner Krista Kern Desjarlais has authored a third installment in the Press Herald series about opening The Purple House.
“I can’t believe you’re out of bagels before 10:30 a.m.!!” These are words I never expected to hear on day two, ringing out like a gong and sending waves of anxiety through my body. I smiled – at that customer and everyone else who showed up over the next two hours – as I explained again and again that the 200 bagels we’d made had sold out in just two hours.
Beer Advocate has highlighted Foulmouthed Brewing in a list of “34 of the most promising newcomers” as selected by readers from among the 861 breweries that opened last year.
One standout is their take on a wheat Saison named Iron Goddess, brewed with honey and tea. For 2017, “we just started our barrel-aging and bottling program and are planning to set up a solera array for blending Brett Saisons,” Craig Dilger says. “But for now we are draft-only, serving the vast majority of our beer right over the bar in the brewpub.”