BRGR Bar (instagram, website, facebook) has opened their new location at 11 Brown Street. The restaurant in located in a renovated space that was formerly home to Margarita’s.
Baharat Opening Thursday
Baharat (facebook, instagram), the new restaurant from the owners of CN Shawarma, plans to open Thursday at 5pm.
Bharat is located in East Bayside in the first floor of the new apartment building at the intersection of Anderson and Fox Streets. The restaurant serves a menu of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Here’s a look at the menu:
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This Week’s Events: BRGR Bar, PSO Wine Dinner, Baharat
Monday – BRGR Bar (facebook) is scheduled to open at 5 pm at their new location, 11 Brown Street.
Wednesday – the 16th Annual Portland Symphony Orchestra wine dinner is taking place with featured chefs Krista Kern Desjarlais from The Purple House, Brian Hill from Francine Bistro, Sam Hayward from Fore Street, Cara Stadler from Tao Yuan/Bao Bao/Lio and Troy Mains from the Harraseeket Inn. Grace is holding a Titanic-themed dinner, and Terlingua is hosting a Bissell Brothers beer dinner.
Thursday – Baharat (facebook) is scheduled to open at 5 pm at their new restaurant in East Bayside on the corner of Anderson and Fox Streets, and Fore River Brewing will be at Bao Bao for a tap takeover.
Friday – it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. Consult the website of your favorite Irish bar for plenty of green beer festivities.
Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place, as is the spring market at Fork Food Lab.
Sunday – the 2nd Annual Cream of the Crop dinner 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.
Under Construction: Amato’s Expansion
Amato’s is proposing to expand their shop on India Street. A 1,400 square foot “dining room and bar” which will include a “display about the origin’s and history of Amato’s” is planned to replace the outdoor seating area on the corner of Newbury Street.
Portland Meatball Company Closed
Portland Meatball Co. has closed.
The windows are papered over and a business for sale sign is in the window.
Reviews: Isa, Liquid Riot, DiPietro’s
The Bollard has reviewed Isa,
My croque madame ($11), an open-faced sandwich of prosciutto, Swiss cheese and a sunny-side-up egg, was positively otherworldly, with a balance of flavor and texture that was damn near perfect. Even the lightly dressed salad greens on the side were outstanding.
the Press Herald has reviewed DiPietro’s,
The chicken Parmesan sandwich at DiPietro’s is one of my favorites, and I’ve tried many. The chicken is tender with a crisp breading. It comes with a lot of sauce and cheese, melted well, but it’s wrapped in foil so you don’t have to mess up your hands too much.
and Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Liquid Riot.
Liquid Riot was really good. The only concern I had was that the burger was 16 bucks and I think for that price, it has to be a little more spectacular. It was a solid offering, but even with the fries and awesome mustard, I didn’t quite have the feeling I got what I paid for. Either way, I’ll be back to try some of their other food. It was excellent overall and I found it a fun place to hang for a while.
D.L. Geary Being Sold
The Press Herald reports that D.L. Geary Brewing is slated to be sold to Alan Lapoint.
D.L. Geary Brewing Co. is being sold to a Freeport businessman who has taken over the management of Portland’s first craft brewery and intends to complete the acquisition before the end of the year.
Kelly Lucas, whose parents, David and Karen Geary, co-founded the brewery in 1983, identified the buyer late Thursday evening as Alan Lapoint of Freeport.
Under Construction: Boda Food Truck
Boda has a food truck under development. The truck is expected to launch in late spring serving up Boda’s signature approach to Thai cuisine on the streets of Portland—bringing their “street vendor inspired tapas + skewer bar” back full circuit out onto the road. The Boda truck will also be available for catering and special events.
Under Construction: BRGR Bar
Urban Eye has published an update on BRGR Bar, the New Hampshire casual restaurant that’s scheduled to open their second location Monday in Portland.
Just when you thought Portland’s dining scene had no holes left to fill, along comes BRGR Bar. Opening Monday in the former Margaritas space on Brown Street, this sleek, art-filled burger bar is a modern Golden Arches for urbanites.
Greater Portland’s Best Bagel
The Press Herald convened a panel of judges to evaluate and rank Portland-area bagel options.
Southern Maine has more sources for good bagels than ever before. So much so that in October Saveur magazine gave one Maine bagel maker major props, calling the wood-fired sourdough bagel from Forage Market in Lewiston one of the best in the country, “good enough to melt the heart of the most hardened New York bagel snob.”
This explosion of bagel love made us wonder: Which local bakery is producing the best bagel? And what makes a bagel a good bagel, anyway?
Results: Bagels from Scratch Baking came out on top with ones from The Purple House, Maple’s, 158 Pickett Street Cafe, Rosemont and Union Bagel Co. in second through sixth place respectively.