Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – the Disco Jalisco food truck (instagram) is holding a pop-up at Anoche as part of a winter series at the Washington Ave cider bar.

Tuesday – Badger Bagels are debuting at Arabica Coffee.

January 19 – Urban Farm Fermentory is kicking off their monthly Fun with Ferments potluck.

January 28 – Sam Hayward is teaching a virtual cooking class to benefit the Oasis Free Clinic in Brunswick.

February 11 – Ali Waks Adams is teaching a virtual cooking class to benefit the Oasis Free Clinic in Brunswick.

February 14 – Broken Arrow will be serving a Valentine’s Day dinner.

March 18 – Chris Toy is teaching a virtual cooking class to benefit the Oasis Free Clinic in Brunswick.

Badger Gluten-Free Bagels

| Posted in Openings

A new gluten-free business is launching this week with their first product, Badger Bagels (website, instagram). Produced in North Yarmouth, the bagels are made with white and brown rice, sorghum and sweet rice flours along with honey, olive oil and other natural ingredients.

The bagels are debuting this week on the menu at Arabica Coffee starting Tuesday with cinnamon raisin, plain and everything bagels.

Owner Chris Franklin is participating in the Maine Center for Economic Development’s Top Gun program for entrepreneurial development to help grow Sligo Foods, his gluten-free commercial kitchen in North Yarmouth where the bagels are produced.

Vegan/Vegetarian Roundup

| Posted in General News

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a roundup of changes in the V/v restaurant landscape in Maine.

Last year’s most significant news was the opening of three vegetarian restaurants: Curbside Comforts in Gorham, S+P Social in Newcastle and Vickie’s Veggie Table in Biddeford. However, we lost Chase’s Daily in Belfast (which opened in 2000), Taste of Eden in Norway (which opened in 2002 at its original location in Bethel), and the state’s first international vegan franchise, Copper Branch, which opened in Portland in late 2019, just months before the pandemic lockdown. Its closure reflects a changed commercial landscape in the city.

George + Leon’s in Westbrook

| Posted in Under Construction

Logan Abbey the owner of the George’s North Shore food truck has leased space in Westbrook where he plans to open a restaurant called George + Leon’s Famous Roast Beef (instagram). The new restaurant will be located at 9 Cumberland Street in the building that’s currently home to the Brea Lu Cafe. Abbey hope to open the restaurant in mid-summer.

George + Leon’s will serve an expanded menu and will also have a full bar. In addition, Abbey plans to use the space to host pop-up events with other food trucks. George + Leon’s is named for Abbey’s dog (George) and 3-month old son (Leon).

Abbey expects to continue operating the The George’s North Shore food truck in addition to the new restaurant. Brea Lu Cafe itself is moving to a larger space on Larrabee Road that will open this spring.

Little Woodfords Closing

| Posted in Closings

Owners Andrew and TJ Zarro have announced that they’ll be closing Little Woodfords at the end of January.

To our beloved community, it is with a heavy but full heart we share that this will be the last month we are open. The time has come for us to move on to the next chapter of our lives, filled with 5 and a half years worth of memories, friendships, high highs and low lows.

Salvatore’s Hoagies

| Posted in Openings

A new delivery sandwich shop called Salvatore’s Hoagies (instagram) is launching with a pop-up service on Friday.

Salvatore’s is run by Kara Picone and chef Owen Price. The couple are tapping into their Sicilian and Philly/South Jersey (respectively) heritage to deliver their take on a classic hoagie sandwiches (see menu below). To dial in the experience Salvatore’s are baking their own bread for their menu.

Price has cooked in Sonoma, Vietnam, and in Philadelphia where he worked for chef Marc Vetri. Picone also has experience in the restaurant industry in front of house and general restaurant management.

Salvatore’s will initially be operating out of Fork Food Lab with the option to pick-up at Fork on Parris Street or with delivery in Portland and to the Greater Portland area—see details on this post for the Friday pop-up.

Ordering will be available by text, phone and social media to start with online ordering to come in the future.

Gold for Chocolate

| Posted in Reviews

Five chocolates produced by the West End chocolatier Chocolats Passion (website, facebook, instagram) have medaled at the Academy of Chocolate awards competition in London.

We are thrilled to announce that FIVE of our chocolates have won medals at the world’s most prestigious competition! We are one of only four US chocolatiers to win, and brought home half of the US medals. We are so proud of our chocolates that won silver, Miso Sesame and Pistachio Raspberry and bronze, Pineapple Black Pepper, Calamansi Almond, and the Coffee Toffee mendiant!

Ruby’s Moving

| Posted in Under Construction

Ruby’s West End (website, instagram) owners Matt and Corrinna Stum have announced plans to move their West End restaurant. They have not yet released the new location for Ruby’s.

Ruby’s is currently located in the former Aurora Provisions building at 64 Pine Street and that space was recently listed for lease. The Stum’s opened  Ruby’s in April 2021, and recently launched a new restaurant called Back River Bistro in Wiscasset.

$1M for Preble Street

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald reports that Preble Street has received $1M to fund their South Portland food security hub.

The money means Preble Street is about halfway toward its goal of raising to $12 million to renovate the facility on Darling Avenue – work it hopes to start this year.

“Sadly, food insecurity isn’t going to go away anytime soon,” said Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street, a nonprofit social services provider that addresses homelessness, hunger, and poverty. “This facility will have such flexibility with space and capacity that when the population shifts or emergencies happen or agencies close … this place will be here and be able to pivot and grow.”

Bloomberg/Where to Go

| Posted in General News

Bloomberg has included Maine in their Where to Go in 2023 list.

For Americans, visiting the Pine Tree State is a little like taking a quick trip to a foreign country. There’s the distinctive geographical blend of craggy stone beaches, storm-blue lakes and fuzzy, fir-topped mountains. The local cuisine, of fresh seafood augmented by hardy farm-to-table veggies and berries, is likewise famous beyond its borders.

Mentioned in the article are: Twelve, The Danforth, Luna, and Aragosta.