Under Construction: Bar Lola Next

| Posted in Under Construction

The Forecaster interviewed Stella Hernandez, co-owner of Bar Lola, about the plans she and husband Guy have to close Bar Lola and open a new restaurant.

The new eatery will offer “a bit more diversity” in its menu, although the precise nature of the cuisine is still being determined, according to Hernandez.

“We’d like to step outside the structure (of Bar Lola) and create more freedom for our diners and for ourselves,” she said. “But the way we approach food and the way we approach service won’t change.”

Locally Sourcing Thanksgiving Ingredients

| Posted in Cooking

November is here and the Thanksgiving articles are starting to hit the presses. First out of the gate is a piece by C.Z. Cramer entitled Amore Locavore in this month’s Portland Magazine.

We live in the best of times here for the renaissance of a traditional, locally raised and grown, genuine Thanksgiving. We can recreate the gourmet version of the Pilgrim experience, as if those wilderness decades of green bean casseroles with canned cream of mushroom soup, marshmallow-capped yams, and frozen Midwestern birds never happened.

Bresca and the Honey Bee & Scratch Baking

| Posted in Reviews

The Blueberry Files has written about her visit to Bresca and the Honey Bee,

We were most looking forward to desserts at the Snack Shack since Krista’s desserts at Bresca were always amazing. She told me she was looking forward to the slower pace of the fall to focus on desserts, in particular pastry. I had a hard time narrowing down my choices, since there were several tiers of pies, cookies, and tarts. (I wanted all of the fruit tarts.)

and The Golden Dish has written about a recent visit to Scratch.

The drill on a Sunday morning is unmistakable. Parking along Willard Square during the bagel hour is difficult.  Then once you’re inside and have been lucky enough to get your stash of bagels (they sell out in minutes), your next hurdle is to wait on line, often 20 people deep–to check out.  Worse yet is arriving to find empty bagel bins, only to wait for the next batch out of the oven.

This Week’s Events: Portland Beer Week, Blind IPA Tasting, Krista at Flanagan’s, Cocktail Making Class

| Posted in Events

Monday — Portland Beer Week continues. Be sure to check portlandbeerweek.org for the full calendar of PBW events. I’ve included a few of the highlights below. The Thirsty Pig is hosting a New England Beer dinner.

Tuesday — the Maine Brew Bus and Portland Taste Tours are coordinating a traveling beer dinner that starts at Bunker Brewing and continues on to stops at Local 188, Sonny’s and Salvage BBQ.

Wednesday — a blind tasting of 10 IPA’s with a $500 prize to whoever can correctly identify them all, a 4-course beer dinner at Bull Feeney’s, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place in the morning.

Thursday — a 5-course Marshall Wharf dinner at East Ender, a 4-course Allagash dinner at the Inn by the Sea.

Friday — a screening of Strange Brew at the Urban Farm Fermentory.

Saturday — Novare Res is holding the Where the Wild Beers Are sour beer fest, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — the Hunt & Alpine Club is teaching a holiday cocktail making class, Krista Kern Desjarlais is the featured chef at a sold out Flanagan’s Table farm dinner, and the American Sommelier foundation series will be featuring wines from Italy.

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.

New SoPo Bakery: Mainly Grains Bakers

| Posted in Openings

A new bakery, Mainly Grains Bakers (facebook), opened this past week in South Portland. Mainly Grains is run by Deb and baker Carlos Garcia. Carlos Garcia comes from a family of bakers and its been Carlos Garcia’s ambition to open a shop of his own.

Mainly Grains Bakers sell a range of breads (I recommend the seeded Prairie Bread), danish and turnovers (apple, blueberry, raspberry) and cookies.

The bakery is located at 904 Broadway and they’re open Tuesday through Sunday. They’re open today until 1 pm.

mainlygrains

Golden Hired as Restaurant Critic for Sunday Telegram

| Posted in General News

The Maine Sunday Telegram has drafted John Golden to serves as the newspaper’s weekly restaurant critic spot.

Many years later my perusal of Maine dining – which I will now bring to you in this space, every Sunday – is altogether a different kettle of fish. It’s more about the food – the quality of what you’re eating and where it came from, important factors that make such an otherwise pompous social pecking order seem all the more superficial.

The thrill of it all still excites me today. Of course I have my favorite dining spots, and others that I avoid. As a critic I won’t sugar-coat the experience just to play nice. I will tell it like it is – to report on the good, bad or indifferent experience.