More Anticipated at Thompson’s Point

| Posted in Under Construction

A number of food and drink busineses have already announced plans to locate at Thompson’s Point. Cellardoor is opening a 5,000 sq ft tasting room, Stroudwater Spirits is building a distillery, Jason Loring has plan to launch a seafood shack called The Point, and artist Sam Van Aken plans to install a grove of his grafted Trees of 40 Fruits.

Sharp-eyed watchers have noticed that the overall site plan on the Planning Board website also reserve space for 10,000 sq ft brewery and a 125 room hotel and restaurant.

Imbibe: The Maine Event

| Posted in Beer, Distilling & Cocktails

imbibe2015ndImbibe magazine has published a feature article on Portland in the November/December issue of the magazine. The article addresses Portland evolving cocktail scene, distilleries and breweries as well as touches on coffee roasters, retail shops and restaurants.

Mentioned in the article are: Allagash, Austin Street, Bissell Brothers, Bunker, Central Provisions, Cold River, Eventide, Foundation, Geary’s, Gritty McDuff’s, Hunt & Alpine, Liquid Riot, Maine Maine Craft Distilling, Mead Works, New England Distilling, Novare Res, Rising Tide, Shipyard, Sur Lie, Tandem Coffee, The Bearded Lady, Three Dollar Deweys, Urban Farm Fermentory and Vena’s Fizz House.

Vena’s Fizz House has a small stack of the new issue on sale at their Fore Street store.

Under Construction: Vinbar

| Posted in Under Construction

A new wine bar called Vinbar is now under development at 3 Deering Ave in the space vacated by Tawakal Store in Bramhall Square.

co-owners Colleen Callahan, David Levi and Robert Swain intend to serve a line-up of natural wines accompanied by “food items that are thoughtfully made, and do so at an accessible price point.” They plan to serve breakfast and lunch and anticipate their customers will come from the surrounding neighborhood as well as Maine Med and staff from other nearby businesses.

The draft menu (page 63) supplied with Vinbar’s liquor license application includes items like buckwheat galettes, smoked fish pate as well as grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers and fish chowder. They plan to be open 7 days a week.

David Levi is the chef/owner of Vinland.

Vinbar is the second natural wine bar project that’s been announced. Last month, Maine & Loire made public there plans to launch Drifter’s Wife on Wahington Ave.

Wild Beers in America

| Posted in Beer

Food Republic has published an article on the origins on wild-fermented beers in the US. The article relays details on a seminal trip in 2006 by the owners of 5 American breweries to Cantillon in Belgium: Allagash, Dogfish Head, Russian River, Avery and The Lost Abbey.

[Russian River Brewing owner Vinnie] Cilurzo wasn’t the only brewer inspired on that voyage. In 2008, Allagash Brewing of Portland, Maine, became the first to utilize a coolship, a large pan used for open-air “wild” fermentation. As Allagash brewmaster Jason Perkins recalls, shortly after the trip, “[owner] Rob Todd came in, and basically said, ‘Fuck it, let’s build a coolship. And let’s do it right.’” The brewery had been emulating old-world Belgian brewing techniques for decades, but had never taken on an experiment like this.

Reviews: Mi Sen & Little Tap House

| Posted in Reviews

The Blueberry Files has reviewed Mi Sen,

Eating out on a Monday and Tuesday night in Portland can cause a bit of head scratching – so many restaurants are closed on these weeknights, especially as we head into relatively slower seasons. Fortunately, Mi Sen Noodle Bar is open on these early weekdays, causing me to land there twice recently for some great noodle dishes. You should head there any night of the week (except Sunday, they’re closed) when you’re in the mood for some filling, inexpensive, and delicious Thai food.

and The Golden Dish has reviewed Little Tap House.

Little Tap House has grown into a full-fledged neighborhood meeting place that serves not only craft cocktails and local brews but a decently satisfying menu of creative pub grub. The night we were there earlier this week the place was literally packed to the rafters. It had great vibes and atmosphere as a thriving popular pub.

Review of Rosen’s Deli

| Posted in Reviews

The Press Herald has published a review of Rosen’s Deli.

With meats piled as high as the Chrysler building on rye bread, you’re forced to take tiny bites around the edges, or pick it apart bit by bit until you whittle it down to manageable size. This is partly why some of their larger sandwiches are more expensive, ranging from $10.99 all the way up to $15.99 for chopped liver, tongue, corned beef and Swiss cheese. (Maybe that last one comes with a side of health insurance?) It’s also why fans from all over the country went apoplectic when the previous incarnation of the Jewish deli closed in January.

2nd Annual Heirloom Apple Tasting (Updated)

| Posted in Events

IMG_0862The 2nd Annual Heirloom Apple Tasting took place yesterday. 85 different varieties of apples sourced from about a dozen orchards in Maine and New Hampshire were part of the event that I helped organize along with friends Sean Turley and Cecilia Ziko.

A few of my favorites were Ashmead’s Kernel, Esopus Spitzenburg, Hudson’s Golden Gem, Frostbite, Sundance, Ribston Pipppin, Pitmason Pineapple and Red Astrachan.

Nearly all of the apples were purchased in a single day on Saturday within a  few hours drive of Portland. It’s encouraging to realize that so many great heirloom varieties are out there if we just take a bit more time to explore.

For those of you without cars, Rosemont Market is the best in-town source of unusual apple varieties. There’s also a rare apple CSA that is run each fall called Out on a Limb run by Maine’s preeminent  apple expert John Bunker.

Update: Here’s a complete list of the apple varieties we had on-hand for the tasting. It includes information of which orchards we bought them from, and interesting details on their origin and apple genealogy.