La Fritanga (instagram), the new food truck from the team at Maiz quietly launched on Thursday.
Their menu when we caught up with them on Friday included carimañola, buñuelo, empanada, chicharon con yuca, arepas, and a beet salad. The overall concept for the truck is modeled after the street food carts in Cartagena.
The Press Herald reports that Taco Trio will be moving from their current location on Ocean Street to the building formerly occupied by Big Babe’s.
The new South Portland location, which she does not expect to open for at least another four weeks, will eventually serve breakfast, Rasmussen said. The old Taco Trio space will be used as a prep kitchen.
News Center Maine has published the first three parts of their Resiliency and Community series examining how restaurants are being impacted by the pandemic by talking to chef and owners at some of Portland’s leading restaurants:
Part 1 – Matt Ginn about Evo and its sister restaurants
Part 2 – Ilma Lopez, Damian Sansonetti and Kirby Sholl at Chaval
Part 3 – Chris and Paige Gould at Central Provisions and Tipo
Here’s a look at Pigeons (website, instagram) the new restaurant from Maine & Loire owners Peter and Orenda Hale that opened Wednesday. Pigeons is located in the former Drifters Wife space on Washington Ave.
Pigeons is a day bar (open noon to 6 pm, Wednesday through Saturday) and restaurant serving a menu of French bistro fare (crudite, mussels, bavette steak, nicoise salad, etc), cocktails and natural wines as well as ciders, beers, spritzes and other drinks.
Pigeons has both indoor and outdoor seating.
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Two more businesses are launching this week:
Pigeons (website, instagram) the new concept being launched by Peter and Orenda Hale in the space formerly home to Drifters Wife, is opening on Wednesday. The daytime bar and French bistro will be open noon to 6 pm Wednesday through Saturday. Reservations for Pigeons can be made online.
Buzz Coffee (instagram) is launching their new coffee cart this Saturday at the Eastern Promenade 8 am to 1 pm. Corey Koch and Christopher Weiss will be serving cold brew prepared with coffee from Rwanda Bean.
Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic has shared the timeline and thoughts on a return to writing restaurant reviews.
For the moment then, I’m planning a return to writing critically about restaurants toward the end of the summer. I’ll begin outdoors and then, if vaccination rates and waning cases hold, move indoors as the leaf-peepers arrive.
Mike Mwenedata CEO of Rwanda Bean, Niky Watler co-founder of Maiz, and Lucie Narukundo owner of Moriah Market will be part of a panel discussion on Monday 11th, noon to 1 pm on Barriers and Opportunities for BIPOC Entrepreneurs in Maine.
A new restaurant called Tokyo Sushi Ramen & Bar has leased the 4,300 sq ft former BRGR Bar space at 11 Brown Street.
The menu taped up in the window has an extensive list of offerings including sushi, ramen, pad thai, tempura, teriyaki, poke bowls and more.
A growing number (18 and counting) of Portland restaurants are working together to raise money for Stop AAPI Hate, an organization dedicated to addressing anti-Asian hate amid the pandemic.
May 16th through May 22nd participating restaurants will donate $1 for every order of the Stop AAPI Hate item on their menu. Already signed up for this program are:
Restaurants that want to take part should reach out to Krista Cole at Sur Lie (krista@sur-lie.com). You can also make a donation to Stop AAPI Hate online.
On a related note, Hilltop Coffee has announced they’ll be raising funds for Asian Americans Advancing Justice. During the month of May, $1 will be donated for every Green Goddess avocado toast purchased during the month at Hilltop. Hilltop’s initiative was inspired by the Dough Something project launched by Chicago pastry chef Beverly Kim.
You can also make a donation to Asian Americans Advancing Justice online.
Two new businesses are launching this weekend:
BenReuben’s Knishery (website, instagram) will be opening their doors Sunday morning (7 am to 3 pm). Owners Graeme and Caitlin Miller will be serving a menu of 8 different types of knishes plus sides, cookies, cakes and drinks. BenReuben’s is located at 145 Ocean Street in South Portland.
The Paddy Wagon (instagram) food truck will be at Goodfire Brewing in East Bayside starting at noon on Sunday. Owners Luke Benning and David McGuirk will be serving pub fare like “Fish and Chips, Battered Sausages, Mushy Peas, and Chip Butties.”