Review of Nonesuch River Brewing

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Nonesuch River Brewing in Scarborough giving it 3 stars.

Not all the beers are as impressive as the design, but if you visit, be sure to order a glass of brewer Michael Schuler’s toasty, low ABV stout; it’s a pleasing, dark little sipper. As for food, there are few standouts, but plenty of decent options on executive chef Jeff Gambardella’s menu, including a spicy Maine crab sandwich that features grilled mango and house-pickled jalapeños, and a lovely shaved asparagus salad with edamame, pistachios and crumbly goat cheese. Locals have already embraced Nonesuch as a community hot spot, and with a trio of co-owners who are eager to listen to their customers, I’m betting that things will only get better.

Allagash Brewing

| Posted in Beer, People, History

Down East tells the story of Allagash Brewing and Rob Tod. The article is an assemblage of interviews with Tod, former and current employees, customers and leaders in the industry.

Top-secret ingredients and MacGyvered dairy equipment. Old world wisdom and cutting-edge tech. Hollywood celebrity and cult cachet. It’s all part of the long, heady history of the curious beer that put Maine suds on the map.

Restaurant Custom Coffee Blends

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald has published an article exploring how coffee roasters and restaurants work together to create custom coffee blends.

At least a dozen Portland-area restaurants have worked with local roasters to create their own coffee blends. Coming up with a custom blend is a little tricky, a mash-up of marketing and making something delicious. Restaurateurs want something complex and memorable that will make their brands linger in the minds of diners, yet the blend also must appeal to a variety of palates.

“There’s nothing more memorable than having a good cup of coffee and dessert,” O’Sullivan said. “That’s the end of your meal.”

Blue Spoon Changing Hands

| Posted in People

Industry veteran Liz Koenigsberg and her husband chef Will Lavey are in the process of buying the Blue Spoon from founder David Iovino.

Koenigsberg shared that they were “drawn to the Blue Spoon for its intimate feel and smaller size as a neighborhood restaurant” which they are very familiar with having been regular customers at the Munjoy Hill restaurant for many years.

Their goal is to “preserve the reputation and following that David has built over the past several years but, add some of our own touches and style from years in the business” including Sunday brunch and extended dinner hours with the menu remaining focused on “local farm to table American bistro”.

Iovino opened the Blue Spoon in January 2004. The official transfer of ownership is scheduled to take place in August.

3 More Vendors At the Public Market House

| Posted in Under Construction

Three new vendors are moving into the Public Market House:

  • Mr. Tuna is moving into a space on the first floor. Owner Jordan Rubin will be operating this space in addition two his two existing food carts.
  • Sichuan Kitchen is opening a 2nd location on the second floor of the Public Market House. They’ll be serving an abbreviated version of the menu from their restaurant in Congress Square.
  • A new business is called Totally Tubers is moving into a space on the second floor. The self-described potato bar will be serving “loaded potatoes and yams”. It’s being launched by the owners of Daily Greens and scheduled to open in mid-September with their grandd opening scheduled for September 17th.

Portland Wine Week Highlights

| Posted in Events

Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) kicks off today and the organizers and Portland restaurants have put together a really great schedule of events. It would be nearly impossible to go to every one of the 50+ wine dinners, signature events, tasting and seminars but you could have a lot of fun giving it a try.

I’ve looked over the full schedule and here are some of the highlights:

  • Opening Night Events – the Grand Wine Tasting at the Custom House, and Grand Cru Lounge at the Cumberland Club
  • Blind Tasting Seminar – taught by Master Sommelier Chris Tanghe
  • Tasting Contest at MJs – test your skill at blind tasting and identifying
  • Wine Passport – 25+ restaurant around town will have wine specials on the menu, get your passport stamped at least 10 to enter a drawing for a special dinner at the 2019 PWW
  • Tasting Seminar with Michael Madrigale – Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year, Michael Madrigale, will be leading a tasting on Expensive Wines and Their Designer Imposters
  • Women in Wine Panel – explores the growing leadership of women in the wine industry
  • Natural Wine Panel Discussion – moderated by Joe Appel, and including panelists Ned Swain, Alice Feiring and others
  • Wine Dinners – there are 12 different wine dinners taking place during PWW
  • Wild Beer/Wild Wine – “Set to a sound track of David Bowie, Tim from Oxbow and Ned Swain from Devenish will serve a flight of beers and wines, all fermented with wild yeasts, and discuss how much overlap there actually is between these fizzy, ambient, yeast-wild beverages.”
  • A Billecart-Salmon champagne brunch at Lolita
  • A grower champagne and caviar event at Central Provisions
  • Wine List Talk/Tasting/Exhibit –Maine-based rare book dealer and culinary historian by Don Lingren from Rabelais Books has put together an exhibit of wine lists from the past two centuries. He will be giving a talk on ‘what historical wine lists tell us about how wine marketing and wine drinking has changed over the decades”. Drifters will be pairing the talk with some wines “updated versions of historical wine list favorites”.
  • Closing Gala – a 5-course dinner with pairings prepared by some of Maine’s top chefs: Bowman Brown from Elda, Ilma Lopez from Chaval/Piccolo, Emil Rivera from Sur Lie, Courtney Loreg from Woodford F&B, Fred Eliot from Scales. Accompanied by “High-flying ‘cirque’ aerial performances”.

You can check out the full schedule online and also download this handy printable pocket guide to Portland Wine Week.