A new food truck called Classic Sliders (website, facebook, twitter) recently got licensed and is now operating in Portland. They serve a menu of full sized sandwiches and sliders.
Under Construction: Rossobianco
As part of thee lead-up to the opening of his new Bramhall Square restaurant/natural wine bar, David Levi is holding a Rossobianco (website, facebook, instagram) pop-up at Vinland on July 19th. Diners will get the chance to preview the menu with a 4-course and 3 wine pairing meal for $50.
Maine native Scott London has been hired as the chef de cuisine. You can bio for him and a menu for the restaurant on the Rossobianco website.
Tickets for the pop-up are available online.
Observations on Caiola’s
The Golden Dish has posted some thoughts and observations on the transition in ownership at Caiola’s and the small impact he’s starting to see on the menu.
When the old is reborn, this or that tweaked, or a favorite menu item disappears, it’s absolute heresy to old regulars. But all things change eventually, and it’s exciting to think what such a talented chef as Sansonetti will do in his new kitchen.
Flying Fox Juice Bar Opened Today
Fly Fox Juice Bar (instagram, facebook) opened their doors today at 98 Washington Ave. Owner Birch Hincks is serving fresh juices and smoothies as well as iced teas and nitro 44 North Coffee.
Hincks’ vision is to run “a fresh juice and smoothie bar, using a range of local and non-local ingredients. Our focus is to provide products that are delicious, healthy and accessible. Most of our juices and smoothies [will be] more heavily vegetable based, aiming to reduce the amount of sugar content. Our set menu [will be] small, allowing for more space to create rotating seasonally influenced items.”
Flying Fox is open 7:30 – 2.
Summer Visiting Guides: Zagat, Bloomberg, Washingtonian, Saveur
Summer is here and along with the influx of visitors to Portland is a flurry of articles about where to eat, stay, shop and visit:
- Zagat has posted their list of the Hottest Restaurants in Portland along with video interviews with Rob Evans, Sam Hayward and Andrew Volk. On the list are: Blue Rooster, Central Provisions, Duckfat, Eventide, Fore Street, Lolita, Outliers, Piccolo, Slab, The Holy Donut, Timber, Vinland
- Bloomberg has posted an article highlighting Maine’s Best New Hotels.
- Washingtonian magazine has assembled a guide to visiting Maine that highlights a number of shops and restaurants in Portland.
- Saveur has published a travel piece about visiting Funky Bows in Lyman which it calls “the must-visit brewery tour that’s really a backyard party in disguise”
This Week’s Events: Pulse Benefit, UFF Dinner, Bastille Day, Twilight Dinner
Tuesday — David’s Opus Ten is serving a 7-couse dinner to benefit the victims of the mass shooting at the Pulse night club.
Wednesday — Black Tie is holding a farm dinner in New Gloucester, Novare Res will be showcasing beer from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday — Vinland is serving a 5-course UFF dinner, Petite Jacqueline is holding a Bastille Day dinner, and there will be a wine tasting at Anania’s.
Friday — there will be a beer and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and a wine tasting at the West End Rosemont.
Saturday —the Saturday Farmers’ Market will take place in Deering Oaks.
Sunday — Austin Miller and Hana Tamaki from Mami are the featured chefs for Cultivating Community’s Twilight Dinner, and the weekly Crofters & Artisan 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.
Review of Zapoteca
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Zapoteca.
…Try the El Pepino margarita if you’re a fan of cucumber, orange and slow-burning peppery heat – it’s a perfect match for a plate of Bard’s precisely plated guacamole, served with hot, freshly fried tortilla chips. Order the jalapeños rellenos stuffed with local cheese, and if you’re not a lover of spice, you can get away with sticking to the tip-end of the peppers. We found both the flat-pressed carnitas and the mole half-chicken to be overcooked and dried out, but fell head over heels for the halibut cooked Veracruz-style in a luscious, almost Mediterranean pan sauce of green olive, tomato, capers and raisins…
Reviews: Lolita, Saltbox, Sur Lie, Drifter’s, LFK, Petite Jacqueline
The Bollard has reviewed Saltbox Cafe,
We spread out on a nearby picnic table to eat. I’d chose the Crab Cake Croissant ($8.95), a rich and well-seasoned homemade crab cake served, on this particular day, with extra-sharp cheddar and ginger-hollandaise sauce on a split-and-grilled croissant. I added a farm egg and fresh, peppery greens ($1.20) for what turned out to be a near-perfect breakfast sandwich.
and Lolita.
I had the torchio pasta with ‘nduja sausage ($16), a soft Italian sausage with a sharp spiciness that would have been overly aggressive had it not been toned down by the creamy sauce. This is one of Lolita’s most popular dishes, for good reason. My husband had the Marmitako ($16), a Basque fishermen’s stew. Other than more hunks of bread to soak up the rich fish stock, this dish lacked nothing. The thick chunks of red tuna, roughly chopped potatoes and pile of briny mussels made for a satisfying meal.
The Press Herald has reviewed LFK,
LFK is a casual neighborhood bar in Longfellow Square that offers craft beers and cocktails, appetizers and mains, and an eclectic mix of writerly relics, such as typewriters, vintage books and poems etched in glass. Paying ode to the space’s former tenant, Cunningham Books, LFK lures a creative crowd that likes reading at the bar, talking about their love of pork belly or both. Drinks are strong, beer is cold.
Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed happy hour at Sur Lie,
Overall happy hour at Sur Lie was great! Good drinks served up by friendly and attentive bartenders paired with tasty food will always win us over. The prices might keep it out of the regular rotation but when we want a bit of a treat we will definitely be back. The sweet pea hummus alone would pull us back in! Seriously, get it.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed the new Petite Jacqueline,
At $100 bucks before tip, I was certainly pleased with Petite Jacqueline. I always am. They really make food the right way – fresh, with hearty portions, intense flavors, and no overcomplication. The service is excellent and the new atmosphere is a little more modern. While not quite as cozy as the last iteration, it’s less cramped and there’s definitely something to be said for that. The menu hasn’t changed much, if at all, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the foods always been top notch and interesting.
and a review in the Portland Phoenix of the Drifter’s Wife elicited a response from BDN food writer Kathleen Pierce.
Draft 100: Novare Res
Draft magazine has recognized Novare Res in their annual list of the 100 Best Beer Bars in the nation.
The 33 draft lines give diverse attention to hoppy American gems from Night Shift and Sierra Nevada, German classics like Einbecker Pils and Kultbücher Monchshof Schwarzbier, plus Belgian darlings and “best of” Maine breweries. You could also go for the 500-deep bottle list, or the seasonal proprietary beer brewed by Liquid Riot…
Maine’s Best Lobster Rolls
The Portland area captured 3 of the 20 top slots on The Daily Meal list of Maine’s Best Lobster Roll: Fishermen’s Grill, J’s Oyster Bar and Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster.
In order to assemble our list of the best lobster rolls in Maine, we consulted with several native authorities on the subject, as well as major publications and other trusted lists. While everyone who lives in Maine has their favorite lobster roll place, we believe that the spots on our list really stand apart from the pack.