Grace, the restaurant being built in the old Chestnut Street Church, now has a nascent website and blog.

I stopped by Thai Chef Buffet after work last night to find out how close they are to opening. The woman I spoke to predicts that they’ll open for business late next week. The owners of Sengchai Thai on Forest Ave are behind this new restaurant. Based on the menu it looks like they’ll be doing a takeout/delivery business in addition to the buffet.

Benny’s, the small clam shack on West Commercial St, received 3 stars from this week’s Eat & Run review in the Portland Press Herald.

“But if you only have a quick lunch break and want to sneak some fast, cheap seafood into your day, try this kitschy little oasis.”

Type A Diversions has reviewed Aurora Provisions.

“With quality fare and a laid back atmosphere, Aurora Provisions is the perfect place to enjoy lunch, grab a pre-made gourmet dinner to-go, or to stock up on provisions for your next dinner party.”

In his first blog post since May, Erik Desjarlais announced that he and Krista Kern, chef and owner of Bresca, will be getting married this weekend in Sugar Hill, NH.

David Turin, owner of David’s restaurant, was quoted in an article in today’s paper about the death of the lunch hour.

There’s been a late addition to the Event Calendar for this week. The Governor’s Working Group on Maine Lobster Sustainability is holding a public meeting at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on Wednesday at 6 pm.

Portland in a Snap has published an update on the restaurant being built in the former Chestnut Street Church. The restaurant’s to be called Grace and is being developed by the owners of the Foreside Tavern.

The Antenna, a multimedia blog from the folks at the gBritt public relations firm, have posted a pair of audio interviews with Leslie Khorsandi and Sam Hayward. Khorsandi is the buyer at LeRoux Kitchen and Hayward is the Chef at Fore Street.

The Lakes Brew Fest is taking place at Point Sebago in Casco on Saturday. On Sunday Cultivating Community is holding the 2nd Annual 20 Mile Meal in Cape Elizabeth. The next Piatto per Tutti cooking class takes place tonight; the classses are taught by baker Stephen Lanzalotta. There will be training run for the Wine Flight 5k on Tuesday; trainees will be jogging to Old Port Wine Merchants. There are wine tastings at Browne Trading on Thursday and at Rosemont on Brighton Ave on Friday. Farmers’ Markets are taking place in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. On Sunday there will be a competition among several local bars to see which can produce the Best Signature Cocktail. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

The Old Port Tavern received 2½ stars from this week’s Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

“Skip appetizers and most desserts to enjoy a good and sometimes exceptional entree, some at bargain prices.”

The process of converting all the past blog posts into the new system will take some time. I will chip away at it as time allows. In the meantime you can read the posts from September 2008 here.