The Island Creek Oyster Shop on Washington Ave is launching a seasonal (April – October) takeout window. Construction is underway and this rendering shows the new look for the side of the building.
The service, which is expected to open in early July, will offer soft serve ice cream with flavors like Maine maple walnut butter crunch, frappes (e.g. lemon vanilla shortbread), hot dogs (e.g. green chili dog with crispy nori), potato chips and drinks.
Wednesday – Crispy Gai is hosting a dinner in collaboration with Little Brother Chinese, Norimoto Bakery, Indy’s Sandwich, Ghee, Pho Huong and Golden Wat on a 5-course dinner. The dinner is a benefit for United Asian Communities. Fish & Whistle will be holding a softshell crab pop-up at Lorne Wine.
Friday – Stars and Stripes Brewing will have a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new location in Portland (3 Spring St, 3 pm). Their Grand Opening is taking place on Saturday (11 am to 11 pm).
May 16 – Broken Arrow is hold a farm dinner at Winter Hill Farm in Freeport.
May 17 – 10-course cider dinner featuring Absolem Cider taking place at Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford, Maine.
May 19 – Sur Lie is hosting a gluten-free dinner in collaboration with Mrs. GeeFreeLiving. Judy Gibson is holding a 4-course Spanish wine dinner.
May 20 – Chaval is holding a Spanish wine dinner with winemaker Fredi Torres who produces wines in Priorat, Montsant, and Conca de Barbera.
May 21 – the inaugural Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.
May 25 – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast. Owners of Stars and Stripes Brewing and of Eighteen Twenty Wines will be among the honorees at the 2022 Maine Small Business Awards Ceremony.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
July 25 – 30 – the Kneading Conference is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 23 – 25 – the Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Two Maine food business leaders will be recognized at the 2022 Maine SBA Awards Ceremony.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram writes about siblings and experienced Portland bartenders Sylvi and Rob Roy.
This March, Rob won both the People’s Choice and the Judge’s Choice awards at ChopTails, a charity cocktail competition at Batson River Brewing & Distilling in Portland, against several of the city’s highest-profile bartenders. It’s one of many competitions he’s won over the years. In 2019, Sylvi won the Northeast Regional Speed-Rack competition and went on to the nationals in Chicago. “She got in the top eight in the country,” Rob said proudly. She, too, has competed, and placed, often.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Helm,
Helm is worth a visit, especially if you order stupidly rich chicken liver mousse with toasted triangles of homemade brioche and a sweet-spicy Blueberries for Sal cocktail. Sip as you admire the swanky, yet comfortable, award-winning dining room. As a harbinger of what’s in the forecast for Portland’s eternally under-construction Eastern waterfront district, Helm Oyster Bar & Bistro is exactly the Sailor’s Delight we’d hope to see.
Mainer has reviewed Gross Confection Bar,
Though our sobriety didn’t allow us to overindulge in the bourbon sabayon of the chocolate-and-caramel torte, its smoky taste perfectly balanced the syrupy Amarena cherries and the bitterness of the chocolate. Add a little rye-hazelnut crunch and it was #noregrets for our extravagance. We took the opportunity to walk it off back to our home in the West End, not feeling gross at all, just happy.
the Press Herald has reviewed Norimoto,
What separates Fujimoto from the pack is her ability to meld classic European pastries and baked goods with Asian flavorings in a seamless package greater than the sum of its parts.
the Press Herald has reviewed Jefe Juan’s, and
Lively atmosphere, specializing in tequila and local beers with several specialty cocktails. Small, reasonably priced food menu featuring Mexican specialties such as burritos. Loud music and great people watching on Wharf Street.
The Press Herald has reviewed Casita Corazon, the new SoPo location of El Corazon in Longfellow Square.
Though the song brought me to the new Casita Corazon, which opened in April, the food will bring me back there. Everything we ordered on a recent Saturday night was fresh and flavorful, and delightfully different than other Mexican food I’ve had. That said, I’m not very adventurous, so I mostly stick to tacos and burritos.
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After a soft opening on Thursday, Roll Call (website, instagram) is scheduled to open their new lunch counter today in the Public Market House.
The new Roll Call features an expanded menu which includes their wonderful roast beef sandwich as well a braised lamb quesadilla, a breakfast sandwich, a buffalo soy sandwich, and other offerings.
Roll Call will initially be open Wednesday through Friday, 10:30 – 2:30
The Portland Hunt & Alpine Club is an honoree in the Best Cocktail Bar (East Coast) category as part of the 16th Annual Spirit Awards.
The Spirit Awards are organized each year by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. The awards ceremony will take place on July 28th.
Since its founding in 2007, the Spirited Awards has become one of the industry’s most sought-after awards, recognizing beverage professionals, products, establishments, journalists, and media across every facet of the spirits and cocktail community on a global scale. The award categories spotlight a range of talent from bartenders, journalists, and brand ambassadors, to brands and media, to ensure each aspect of the industry is well represented and recognized for its contributions.
Kim and Alec Rutter, the owners of Rover Bagel, have announced plans to launch a second business in Biddeford called Swell (instagram). Swell will be located in the former Sweetcream Dairy space at 40 Main Street, and the Rutters hope to be open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm.
When it launches later this month Swell will serve a menu of sandwiches, salads, treats, and beverages that the Rutters tell me will be “heavy on vegetarian options, colorful combinations, and housemade bread”.
The Rutters will be holding a Swell pop-up at Rover this Thursday and Friday, 2- 6 pm to preview their Swell menu.
The second volume of the Maine Community Cookbook is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter.
The overwhelmingly positive reception of the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook inspired us to continue our project, and to expand it. In 2021, we began to solicit recipes for this second volume. Though our country’s divisions are increasingly on display, these community cookbooks focus on what connects us: food, family, and a love for the state of Maine. The book’s contributors are all united by one thing: they are generous enough to invite us into their kitchens and share their family’s food traditions with us. We are grateful to them, and excited to share more Maine family recipes and stories with you.
A $24 pledge on Kickstarter will get you a copy of the book shipped to you “hot off the press” when it’s released in July. Other pledge amounts include incentives like cooking with the editors, a guest appearance on the Maine Community Cookbook podcast, and even a private tour of the collections at Rabelais for you and 12 friends.
The Maine Donut Tour (website, facebook, instagram) launched last week. The tour combines stops at Portland donut shops with historical highlights in the Old Port. Eighty 8 Donuts, The Holy Donut, and Hifi Donuts are the featured donut shops.
Tours run Tuesday through Saturday at 9:15 and 11:15 each morning—book your spot online.