Category: Uncategorized

Draft magazine has named Novare Res and The Great Lost Bear to their 2013 list of America’s Best Beer Bars.

[The Great Lost Bear is p]art of the beer-bar Old Guard, this Portland dive has everything you want in a beer bar: a tavern vibe, an unfussy crowd, a gigantic wing-and-burger-driven menu, and a treasure trove of beer.

Once inside [Novare Res’] delightfully warm, brick pub, grab a seat at one of the communal tables and get decisive: This little bar stocks more than 500 beers from around the world.

Wines; Tasted! has published some additional details on Bresca’s new lunch service, including a photo of the menu and tasting notes from his lunch.

The sub was huge; rich, gooey, dripping with ricotta and stewed tomatoes.  The meatballs were only lightly spiced to show off the excellent elegant flavor of the meat.  By the time I’d finished that I was vaguely uncomfortably full and felt like a nap.  Best of all the menu seems really well priced.  $12 for a huge and delicious meatball sub consumed relaxing at Bresca seemed like a steal!

Scratch Baking has published photos (set 1 and set 2) of their intricate gingerbread rendition of the bakery in Willard Square.

The gingerbread house is currently on display in the lobby of the Downtown Residence Inn/Marriott on Fore Street. It’s an entry in a gingerbread house competition raising money for the Ronald McDonald House in Portland.

Photo Credit: Scratch Baking Co.

Portland was included on the Zagat blog’s list of 20 Awesome Winter Foodie Destinations (slide 18).

Rabelais and Tandem Coffee are co-hosting James and Caitlin Freeman, founders of Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco, to celebrate the release of their new book The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee, Growing, Roasting and Drinking, with Recipes. The event is taking place Sunday October 21, 1-3 pm at Tandem Coffee, 122 Anderson St in East Bayside.

Blue Bottle is one of the nations leading coffee roasters. Kathleen and Will Pratt, owners of Tandem, are alums of the Blue Bottle organization in San Francisco and Brooklyn. During the event you’ll have the chance to sample their coffee and tour their new coffee shop/roastery.

The Forecaster has published an article about Yarmouth’s new restaurant, Gather.

A new restaurant on Main Street hopes its commitment to regional farms and producers will have a lasting impact on the local food scene.

Gather, which opened in mid-September, is an 80-seat restaurant at the Route 1 Main Street exit. It has a focus on locally farmed food and community-centered, casual dining.

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.

Confirming what we in Portland have long known, OpenTable has included Bresca and Hugo’s in their 2012 national list of restaurants that are Fit for Foodies. The list is compiled based on ratings by diners who use the popular reservation service.

WMTW TV and the Forecaster covered the opening of Love Cupcakes in the Old Port yesterday.

Meanwhile, Love Cupcakes is preparing to celebrate its new location with menu additions, including coffee and a selection of fall-themed cupcake flavors. Spear said she is “optimistic” about the food truck’s future.

“Portland is such a great city,” she said, “and the addition of food trucks can only make it better.”

Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz were interviewed on 207 about their new book Portland Maine Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From Casco Bay.

Margaret and Karl are holding a launch party for their book Wednesday at the Portland Museum of Art. The launch party will feature food from Back Bay Grill, Silly’s, Otto, the East Ender and The Farmer’s Table which were showcased in the book.