Under Construction: Bunker Brewing

| Posted in Under Construction

bunker_logoBunker Brewing (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is moving from East Bayside to 17 Westfield Street in the Libbytown neighborhood. Bunker’s production volume has grown more than 5-fold since they first opened in 2011. The new 8,400 square foot space will provide plenty of space for their continued expansion and is a big step up from the 1,200 square foot space they now occupy on Anderson Street.

Portland Trails’ Fore River Parkway Trail passes nearby the Westfield Street building providing a pedestrian friendly connection with Thompson’s Point and Bissell Brothers new brewery. Co-owners Chresten Sorensen and Jay Villani ideally hope to open the new Bunker this July. They plan to hold on to the namesake Bunker location in East Bayside, specific plans for reuse of the building are still tbd.

NY Times: Cara Stadler

| Posted in People

Chef Cara Stadler was interviewed for a New York Times article on Chinese-American chefs.

“No one would give me even the lowest kitchen job in Beijing,” said Cara Stadler, 28, who grew up in Massachusetts and moved to China with substantial experience in the kitchens of the chefs Guy Savoy and Gordon Ramsay. Instead, she started the city’s first underground supper club. “Going to the markets every day forced me to really learn about Chinese produce,” she said.

Restaurant Design

| Posted in General News

An article in the Bangor Daily News explores the role design plays in the success of a restaurant,

In a booming dining city such as Portland, where new restaurants open monthly, restaurateurs need more than a hot chef to keep their rooms full. Intrigue created through lighting, tone, decor — all the elements of design create a subtle theater that seduces diners as they indulge and quaff.

“These days, if everyone is Instagramming their meals and the restaurant space, you know you’re doing something right,” Jim Brady, developer and co-owner of UNION at The Press Hotel, said.

Roustabout, Union, Evo, Grace are all cited in the article.

Peddleman’s at Union Bagel

| Posted in Under Construction, Events

peddlemans_coatPeddleman’s (facebook, instagram), a new falafel vendor, will be partnering with Union Bagel to sell “falafel sandwiches and mezze to-go” from the Cumberland Ave shop, evenings 5-9 pm. Peddleman’s owners Tara Rancourt and Scott William Ryan hope to launch sometime in March.

You can get a taste of Peddleman’s cooking at an upcoming pop-up they’re holding at Bao Bao on February 23rd. This is the first of an ongoing pop-up series that Bao Bao will be hosting throughout the year.

Under Construction: Lone Pine Brewing

| Posted in Under Construction

Lone Pine Brewing (website, facebook, twitter, instagram) has posted a set of photos from the ongoing build out of their brewery on Anderson Street in East Bayside.
mashtun_sm

With all of our shiny new gear unpacked, unwrapped, and resting peacefully in its place, the race is on to get everything in order and start filling tanks. We have one remaining inspection before we can get brewing, so we are taking our time to get the system right.

Lone Pine Brewery is the project of Tom Madden from Madden Beverage in Saco.

Reviews: Slab, Top of the East

| Posted in Reviews

Run for Breakfast has reviewed Slab,

I love Slab as a lunch/dinner place, and it seems like restaurants like that often do breakfast/brunch as an afterthought, but definitely not so with Slab. It’s unusual for me, but I think I actually prefer their brunch menu. (But definitely don’t skip it if you’re not here on a Sunday. Go! And, if nothing else, get the classic namesake Sicilian Slab.)

They serve brunch until 8:00 tonight. Would it be weird to go twice in one day?

and The Golden Dish has reviewed brunch at Top of the East.

The brunch flatbread, which I chose, was a fairly large piece of housemade flatbread topped with apple-wood smoked bacon, Gruyere, baby arugula and a pair of organic fried eggs. The bread was buttery and crisp like a thin-crust pizza and the simple layers of ingredients were delicious.

This Week’s Events: St. Klippenstein, Dan Graziano, Plankton

| Posted in Events

grazianoMonday — bottle release at Allagash for St. Klippenstein, a “Belgian-style stout hopped with Chinook & Northern Brewer hops…aged 3 months in Bourbon barrels”.

Thursday — GMRI is hosting a talk on Plankton & the Future of the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Baxter Brewing.

Friday — Stop by Roux & Cyr Gallery during First Friday Art Walk to see an exhibit by painter Dan Graziano of Maine restaurant professionals at work.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday — Rosemont is holding their monthly Bean Supper.

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 Custom Deluxe

| Posted in Reviews

imageThe Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Custom Deluxe in Biddeford.

Malz’s tribute to his New England roots – a bean supper ($14) – may be his best entrée. At first glance, it looks ordinary, with a few alarmingly crimson chunks of Maine Reds piled into a bowl with a spoonful of baked beans. But looks are deceiving. The beans are earthy, sugary, complex. And no wonder. Malz cooks them with turnips and carrots and – get this – bottles of Moxie and root beer, then finishes them with miso, the traditional Japanese seasoning made of fermented soybeans. As for the Maine Reds, they’re boiled in dashi, a Japanese broth flavored with fish flakes and seaweed. Underneath the beans, dogs and a few fatty chunks of ham, is a mound of sticky rice showered with sesame seeds. Though a crazy cross-cultural mashup, the dish is as comforting as a warm blanket. I loved it.

This is restaurant critic Jame Scwartz’s last review before stepping down from the job. The paper has begun the search for a candidate to fill the position. If you’re interested in the job contact the paper’s food editor, Peggy Grodinsky.