A new tea shop called Uncharted Tea (website, facebook, instagram) is set to open this morning at 8 am. Uncharted Tea is located at 662 Congress Street in Longfellow Square.
Owners Michael Bowser and Emma Vonderheide will be serving a menu of “inspired bubble tea” such as the Bermuda Triangle which is made with jasmine tea, lychee, simple syrup and lychee jelly.
Mainebiz reports that Bangs Island Mussels is expanding by acquiring Calendar Island Mussel Company.
Bangs Island would not detail terms of the deal, but on Monday told Mainebiz it closed in the past several weeks and included all of Calendar Island’s eight mussel rafts and other equipment. The sale also included leased mussel sites adjacent to the Bangs Island ones in Casco Bay.
The Press Herald has published a profile of Plucked Fresh Salsa, a Fork Food Lab success story.
Now the brand and its whimsical name can be spotted at dozens of Hannaford and Whole Foods stores, as well as on colleges campuses, across the Northeast. It just passed the $1 million mark in sales. Not bad for a business that started in her kitchen, moved to her basement and then nearly cost Towle and her husband their home.
Monday – Little Giant is hosting an Ada’s pop-up dinner, and Solo Italiano is holding a sold out Pig Roast in conjunction with Gradis’ Cuitta.
Tuesday – there will be an Italian wine dinner at Tipo.
Wednesday – a 5-course dinner with non-alcoholic beer pairings in collaboration with the Athletic Brewing Co is taking place at Little Giant, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – The Porthole and Evo are both holding wine dinners, there will be a Trillium Beer dinner at Hugo’s, and there will be a whiskey blending workshop at New England Distilling.
Saturday – the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – The Righteous Russet (aka Sean Turley) will be teaching a Cider 101 class at Lorne Wines in Biddeford.
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.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed The Garrison, and
With his Mediterranean-and-Asian inflected modern American menu, he creates creative plates that underpromise and overdeliver. Everything from Thai-inspired, butter-poached lobster in a sunny coconut curry broth; pulled short rib mounded onto a dark brioche bun with iceberg lettuce and American cheese; and a phenomenal, pseudo-Provencal pappardelle good enough to convert anyone to the pleasures of slow-braised rabbit.
the Press Herald has reviewed The Cider House.
Local spot with a neighborhood feel and not an ounce of snobbery. There’s something for everyone, even your friends who don’t like cider.
A new cocktail bar called Cocktail Mary (website, instagram) held a soft opening last night. They’ll be back open tonight at 5 pm. Cocktail Mary is located in the former Ramen Suzukiya space located at 229 Congress Street.
Owner Isaac MacDougal grew up in Portland where his family owned and operated Vaughan Street Variety. MacDougal has worked as a general manager or bartender in a number of restaurants in New York City including at WD-50. In Portland he was the original bartender at Izakaya Minato from 2017 until earlier this year.
A new article on Medium explores “Why is the Whitest, Oldest State in the U.S. Home to Such a Vibrant Food Scene?
When I moved to Portland, Maine, I started a list of restaurants I wanted to try. But it’s been harder than I imagined to check off a pho dinner here and a Sunday bagel there. It’s no secret that Portland is a food destination, and I quickly realized I’m competing for a table with hundreds of locavore enthusiasts and hungry tourists.
Portland Pulp has announced they’ve gone out of business.
The Free Street juice bar and cafe originally open in July 2017.
Andrew and Briana Volk opened Little Giant in a partnership with Ian and Kate Malin in July 2017. The Volks have now sold their interest in Little Giant to the Malins who will continue to operate the West End restaurant.
The adjacent Giant cafe/shop will “taking a break to reimagine the space”, according to the Little Giant instagram account.
Nosh co-owner Matt Moran will be taking over the Terra Cotta Pasta building at 501 Cottage Road as of the new year where he plans to open a new restaurant.
Moran sees an opportunity to expand the options in that part of South Portland for casual family-friendly dining with a neighborhood restaurant. He hopes to open the as yet unnamed business this spring.
Terra Cotta Pasta itself is moving to a new location just down the street next to Thai Taste.