A new brewery called Fore River Brewing is under development in Portland. The owners made their plans public after a tasting yesterday. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
This Week’s Events: Restaurant Impossible, Portland Brew Festival, Labor of Love Dinner, Maine Seaweed Festival
Wednesday — the Food TV Network is airing the episode of Restaurant Impossible filmed at Andy’s Diner in South Portland, The Salt Exchange is holding a wine dinner, and the Monument Square Farmers Market are taking place.
Thursday — there will be a wine and cheese tasting at the Public Market House.
Friday — it’s the first day of the 4th Annual Portland Brew Festival.
Saturday — it’s the last day of the 4th Annual Portland Brew Festival, Vinland is serving the Labor of Love Tasting Dinner, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.
Sunday — the inaugural Maine Seaweed Festival is taking place at SMCC.
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 Duckfat
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Duckfat.
I find the fried onions, pork belly and ham (which Ben recently delivered here), delectable eaten straight up with my fingers, while Ben cuts the Sorella’s Bakehouse brioche rolls in half to fill with various combos of ham and fried onions or duck terrine and pickles. His works of art look like the perfect highbrow sandwich, though still providing lowbrow delight.
Under Construction: Tandem Bakery
Tandem Coffee held a friends and family preview party last night at their new location on Congress Street in the West End. The new Tandem Bakery will open to the public this week.
Otto Pizza Hacked
Otto Pizza put out a statement on Friday that shared details on a point-of-sale data breach that may have compromised credit/debit card numbers at up to 900 customers at 2 Portland locations.
For additional reporting see these articles in the Bangor Daily News and Press Herald.
Review of J’s Oyster Bar
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed J’s Oyster Bar.
J’s has the distinction of being one of the finest dives in Portland – a place where moderately low class and culinary arts class intersect to make a burping, bubbling cauldron of absolute awesome that is as entertaining as it is delicious. Everything about the restaurant says “party like is 1983 and feel free to drink like it’s the prohibition.”
Blue Spoon
Eat Maine has posted a profile of Blue Spoon.
When Iovino opened the doors in 2004, he envisioned a neighborhood meeting place, which is exactly what Blue Spoon has become, especially during its wildly popular version of happy hour, simply called “wine time.” The bistro burger, made with lean ground steak in a Burgundy reduction and topped with caramelized onions, garners an almost cult-like following throughout the city.
Immigrant Kitchens: Russian Beef Tongue
In the latest entry from Immigrant Kitchens, Lindsay Sterling learns how to make Russian Beef Tongue from Yulia Converse and Alla Zagoruyko (read the story, get the recipe and see the photos).
Most animal parts come so deconstructed from the whole that I don’t think of animals at all when I’m cooking. Steak tips are steak tips. Hamburgers are hamburgers. This is perhaps how I’ve lived as a meat eater, in a kind of denial: I’m not eating animals, I’m eating meat. But recently I came face to face with an animal part that threatened my usual delusion. At a recent family reunion, my brother-in-law, Tom, gave me a gift from Vermont: the tongue of his young grass-fed, organic heifer.
Zagat: 10 Hottest Restaurants in Portland
Zagat has published their list (and the above video) of the 10 Hottest Restaurants in Portland.
On the list: Blue Rooster, Central Provisions, Duckfat, Eventide, Fore Street, Hunt & Alpine, Lolita, Piccolo, Slab, Timber, Vinland
Under Construction: Dutch’s
A new restaurant called Dutch’s (facebook, instagram, twitter) is now under construction at 28 Preble Street in the space formerly occupied by Down Home Cookin’. Owner Ian Dutch plans to “using the best ingredients to Create Food You Crave“.
The menu will include sandwich items like the Dutch Crunch (red wine braised beef, mashed potatos, crispy onions) and the Crispy Chicken (chicken, red pepper jelly, bacon, cheddar, romaine). Dutch’s will be open for breakfast and lunch.
See the PFM Under Construction page for a complete list of Portland food businesses in development.