Review of Spread

| Posted in Reviews

The Portland Phoenix has published a review of Spread.

While dinner at Spread is not bad at all, the experience doesn’t quite dispel the space’s strange aura. Spread does not transform the space, but rather seems to have joined in the oddness. It’s a place made for fall and winter (at the moment, at least) on a block famous for its summer rush. It’s a new venture with an old-fashioned feel, from the long entranceway to the dark-suited maître-d’ checking in on things. The Scottish have a phrase for accepting the quirks of your fate and flourishing within them: “dree your weird,” they say. Spread is a weird name for a slightly odd place, but it could flourish nonetheless.

Reviews of Teriyaki Exchange & Dock Fore, TAO Name Challenged

| Posted in General News, Reviews

The Press Herald has published a Eat & Run review of Teriyaki Exchange in South Portland,

There was nothing left for me to do but dive in. While I’ve dabbled in chop-stickery, it’s never pretty, so I went with the conventional fork. Read: I can shove more food in my face that way. It took all my calming powers to slow down enough to truly savor the flavor, and I’m sure glad I did.

and a bar review of Dock Fore. Dock Fore opened for business in 1980 in the former Zeitman’s Grocery Store space.

Dock Fore is your run-of-the-mill place, which is unusual for the Old Port. The neighborhood bar sits amidst a bar scene littered with nightclubs, sports pubs and dance floors.

It’s a place to chill, sip a drink and chat with friends. It’s not a place to go shake your booty, drink the latest trendy cocktail or play some bar games.

Also, today’s paper reports that TAO in Brunswick has been sued by a restaurant  with locations in New York and Las Vegas for infringing on their trademark name. This actually isn’t the first time a Maine food business has been challenged in this regard. The Great Lost Bear originally opened as The Grizzly Bear but was forced to change its name when sued by a west coast pizza shop. Alsoo if memory serves, Borealis Breads was originally called Bodacious Breads but had to change their name for similar reasons.

Miyake’s Focus on Architecture & Design

| Posted in Profiles

MaineBiz has published an article about the focus Miyake placed on great architecture and design when they moved the sushi restaurant from Spring to Fore Street.

Miyake and co-owner Will Garfield met with Thompson and shared their vision for a space that would elevate the restaurant’s already strong reputation without outshining the food.

“Before, you went to a crummy little building in the West End and the food was amazing, but that was the previous story,” says Thompson. “We were a little nervous because this was going to change the story. It was not going to be a magical surprise of great food in a little hole in the wall, it was going to be a restaurant almost as beautiful as the food.”

New Food Blog: New Vegan in Maine

| Posted in General News

A new food blog called New Vegan in Maine launched on the last day of September. The author will be posting daily updates as she goes through a 30-day vegan eating experiment to help manage her insulin levels. (via Avery Yale Kamila)

As day 1 of veganism draws to a close, I’m feeing somewhat proud of how pure I was today. I started the day off with a cup of coffee, starting out with a small cup instead of my usual 16 oz. mug, better to test the soy creamer. Well, half and half it is not…

Bad Behaviors

| Posted in Uncategorized

Natalie Ladd has written up some of the bad behaviors by restaurant patrons she’s witnessed in the past week for her weekly column in the Portland Daily Sun.

2) Camping Out. Most restaurants plan for one-and-a-half to two hours for a dinner reservation (more time is allotted if attending a meal consisting of many courses), and all are encouraged to relax and enjoy. However, once you’ve paid, finished your tawny port, and sat for a good fifteen minutes, hit the road if it appears other reservations have come in and are waiting. Move to the bar and finish your conversation because you are committing the double whammy of offending other patrons as well as hindering the profitability of the restaurant and servers.

Porthole Closed

| Posted in General News

According to a report from the Press Herald, The Porthole has closed and it’s “unclear” when it will reopen.

[Owner Oliver] Keithly said Tuesday he hopes he can work out a plan to renovate and reopen, but he acknowledged it will be difficult. He said he had been planning on closing the Porthole in December and January to redesign the kitchen – which the Comedy Connection shares — but decided do the work earlier after the health inspection and subsequent press coverage.

“Business has been so slow,” he said. “Why prolong it?”

Taste, Memory by David Buchanan

| Posted in General News, Events, Farming

Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors and Why They Matter, a book by Portland resident, local farmer, and expert on heirloom fruits and vegetables David Buchanan, is being launched later this month.

In his Forward for Taste, Memory Gary Paul Nabhan writes,

Taste, Memory may well be the most beautiful book ever written about food biodiversity and how it has “landed” on earth, in our mouths and in our hearts. Once you have read and digested David’s book, you will never again regard this two-word phrase as an abstraction, but as a essential element of our common food heritage, one that continues to nourish and enrich our lives. In turn, we must nourish it, or it will surely fade away. As Poppy Tooker famously says, “You’ve got to eat it to save it.” Taste, Memory offers the rationale and the inspiration you need to embark upon your own voyage of food discovery.

SPACE Gallery is hosting a launch part for Taste, Memory on October 24.

We’ll set up cider pressing equipment and taste a variety of apple blends, as well as samples of hard ciders from David and Eli’s fermentation experiments (feel free to bring apples if you’d like to press some of your own). David will read passages from his book about collecting rare fruits and working with Eli, and the movement to preserve biodiversity and traditional foods. Acoustic live music by Jake Hoffman and Tyler Leinhardt of Sugar Shack.

A pair of excepts from the book (Seeds of an Idea and The Cider Tree) are available on the publisher’s website.

Review of The Well

| Posted in Reviews

Map & Menu has published a review of The Well.

…Meredith followed with the vegetarian dinner of pumpkin agnolotti, wilted spinach, and sage cream, and I settled on the lamb dish, with potato gratin and cider braised red cabbage (which I’m pretty sure I saw growing just outside the door). Our meals were delicious, and we were both filled with immense regret that we’d only have the opportunity to eat there just once this season. No worries though, you can guarantee that we’ll be there shortly after they reopen next June!

Photo Credit: Map & Menu

Review of Emilitsa

| Posted in Reviews

Diningsense has published a review of Emilitsa.

Emilitsa is certainly one of my favorite Maine restaurants and from a taste standpoint, I would say that only Arrows, Primo, and Five Fifty-Five on a good night can match their protein preparations. However, the restaurant still has a couple of detracting attributes, namely that the interior doesn’t contribute any excitement and that the pastry program is so mediocre. As a result, they place a burden on themselves to deliver with the main dishes, and it’s to their credit that they are so strong in that regard…It’s easy to get excited for their duck and whole fish, so even though the atmosphere isn’t very exciting, I will definitely return to Emilitsa.