Falafel Mafia to Open a Hummusiya

| Posted in Under Construction

The owners of Falafel Mafia, Dylan and Cameron Gardner, have leased 1 Monument Way, the space formerly occupied by Foley’s/Scattaloni Bakery where they plan to open Nura (instagram).

Nura will be a 30-seat hummusiya open for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch serving fresh made breads to order with their hummus and a range of Middle Eastern dishes. The menu will also include a selection of falafel pockets that carry over from the Falafel Mafia menu.

The Gardeners launched Falafel Mafia in 2017. They’re aiming to have Nura open by the end of November.

A hummusiya is casual restaurant with a hummus-centered menu. The most notable example in the US is Dizengoff in Philadelphia which was open by Zahav founder/chef Michael Solomonov.

Terlingua Relocating to Former Silly’s

| Posted in Under Construction

Terlingua (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has leased the former Silly’s restaurant location where they plan to open an expanded version of their four-year-old restaurant this spring.

The new Terlingua will seat 60—nearly double in size the current location at 52 Washington. It will also include a small market selling prepared foods as well as and house-made sauces and rubs, and feature an outdoor beer garden and dining deck.

Owners Pliny and Melanie Reynolds stated, “We love this neighborhood and the restaurant community in Portland. We’ve been humbled by the success we’ve had at the current Terlingua location and for us, the time was right to move into a space that can grow with us. We continue to be thankful for our wonderful employees, suppliers and patrons and only look for that to continue in a larger, more adaptive space, as we move a few doors up the street.”

Terlingua 1.0 will remain open during the renovations of the new space at which point the 52 Washington Ave will be leased for use by a new restaurant.

This Week’s Events: Workshops, Mayoral Food Forum, Cider Dinner, Diva Dinner, Halloween Cupcake Decorating

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – Kate McCarty and Sean Turley are teaching an apple preservation workshop at Fork Food Lab, and a whiskey blending workshop is being held at Stroudwater Distillery.

Wednesday – the Portland Food Council is holding a Mayoral Food Forum, there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – Evo is serving 5-course Slovenian/Northern Italian wine dinner, and the local barista community is holding their monthly Latte Art Competition at Coffee by Design on Diamond Street.

Friday – Little Giant and Shacksbury  and teaming up to hold a 6-course Cider Dinner, and the Other Side Diner is holding a Prime Rib Dinner night as part of their monthly dinner series.

Saturday – the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Primo is hosting a Diva Dinner with an all female chef line-up that includes: Melissa Kelly, Ilma Lopez, Nancy Silverton, Jody Adams, Kathleen Blake, Emily Luchetti, and Two Fat Cats is teaching a Halloween Cupcake Decorating Class For Kids.

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 Luke’s Lobster

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Luke’s Lobster.

It’s especially true of the terse menu, a greatest-hits collection of seafood shack classics, some of which (like the lobster roll) are decent. The best of the bunch is probably the crab roll ($16/$20), filled to overflowing with Maine-caught Jonah crab that is steamed, then air-jet “picked” in the company’s bespoke seafood processing facility in Saco. Before it is mounded into a mayo-painted Country Kitchen roll, it gets drizzled with lemon butter and dusted with the restaurant’s perky, celery-seed-forward “secret seasoning” mixture.

Boston Globe: The Purple House

| Posted in People

The Boston Globe has published an article about The Purple House and its chef/owner Krista Kern Desjarlais.

That wood-fired oven is at the heart of Desjarlais’s multifarious approach to food — an intermingling of meticulous French pastry, rustic Maine farm cooking, and gutsy ingredients that to date has made her a James Beard Award semifinalist six times and a finalist once. But it’s also at the heart of another sort of transition she currently finds herself in. “Without getting too academic about what I’ve been thinking all this past summer, I’m really at a crossroads,” she says, leaning forward at the lone table in The Purple House and pushing back a blonde curl. “I’ve always cooked the things I love, but I’m rethinking the way to be in touch globally and also reflect right where you are. We here in the Great North know how much French-Canadian cuisine is a big part of Maine, whether it’s green herb sauces, sausage creton [a rustic Quebecois pork meatloaf], or pâtés and terrines. And how do I fit all of that into my background in French and Italian cooking, as both a cook and a baker?”

Ishi Ishi to Collaborate With Local Breweries

| Posted in Under Construction

Ishi Ishi Ramen (instagram) the 9-seat BYOB ramen shop is under development on Washington Ave has applied for their liquor license. In the cover letter they share that they’ll  be setting up a collaboration with local breweries. Customers who buy beer from partnering breweries will get a discount on their meal at Ishi Ishi.

Here’s a look at their draft menu,