Here’s a look in the window of The Salt Exchange on Commercial Street. The latest word from the owners is that they plan to open on Friday 6-10 pm with “passed canapes and cash bar” but no table service. They currently plan to have their full service opening on Monday.
There’s a feature article in today’s Press Herald about Grace—the restaurant located in the historic Chestnut Street Church that is slated to open later this month. Owner Anne Verrill is quoted describing the menu as “It’s going to be affordable food – a little higher-end experience, I think, but really affordable . . . We’re going to offer a lot of appetizers and small plates, and maybe a dessert menu, just to capture that Merrill Auditorium crowd.”
When the massive red doors open, patrons of Grace will be able to choose from a seasonal menu prepared by New York Chef Eric Simeon, a wine list that includes about 20 wines by the glass, and a selection of beers and specialty cocktails. In a nod to the building’s origins, one of the nonalcoholic offerings will be Holy Tea, a specialty infusion from Homegrown Herb and Tea that includes the herb holy basil.
Food for Thought has published a review of Hugo’s.
So my meal there the other night was a true revelation. From the get-go, each course was a winner. What’s offered is either a tasting menu of 6 courses or their regular menu, in which it’s recommended that you order at least 3 courses. All courses are basically the same size. I wound up ordering four, plus dessert. That turned out to be too much food for me.
Portland Fodder has some updated photos of the construction site for Harding Smith’s new restaurant The Corner Room, and a report that The Grill Room is closed for a few days while some work gets down on the kitchen floor.
Both Harbor Fish Market and Browne Trading made it on to the short list of authentic Maine seafood markets that appears in the new issue of Down East magazine.
It’s an easy assumption: Maine, a state revered worldwide for its seafood, has an abundance of fabulous and authentic seafood markets. The truth is that authentic fishmongers are a dying breed — even in this seafood-loving state. Nonetheless, plenty of authentic fish markets still exist — you just have to know where to look. So we did the legwork for you. We traveled more than five hundred miles on our quest to find markets that demonstrated three major qualities: selection, freshness, and the more subjective standard of trustworthiness.
It’s Only Natural . . Gluten-Free is the name of a new Portland area business that plans to serve the expanding market for gluten-free food. I talked last week with one of the organizers, Andrew Pettingill. Pettingill said that as a first step, It’s Only Natural plans to start selling prepared glutten-free meals, and then move on to opening a market/restaurant/juice bar in the city. They are already scouting locations in Portland for the market.
Wealden Farm is teaming up with Rosemont Market to run an urban farmstand once a week at the store on Brighton Ave. Starting tomorrow, Wealden will be at Rosemont on Wednesdays, 2-6 pm.
Mainebiz has a report on a new partnership between Binga’s Wingas and The Stadium that “will allow The Stadium’s owner, Michael Harris, to focus on the bar business and other operations, while offering diners a full Binga’s menu”.
Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes an article about Steven Lovenguth, the bartender/mixologist at Walter’s Cafe.
Sangria is the project of the moment; it’s summer after all, but what’s next? Lovenguth loves Bloody Marys and his special spice mix is the centerpiece of the one served at Walter’s. But lately he’s been trying to shake Mary out of her rut, so he’s been taking her around the world. Japanese Mary has wasabi and soy, Mariner’s Mary has Clamato and a little clam garnish, Greek Mary has a little Ouzo, Danish Mary has Aquavit flavored with Caraway.
Governor Baldacci recently signed into law LD 904. The new law will allow breweries to sell half gallon containers of beer (aka growlers). See Shipyard’s blog for photos from the signing in Augusta.
A bill that would relax the restrictions on direct shipment of wine to Maine (LD 1008) passed an initial legislative hurdle last week with a 107-39 vote in favor in the House.
The Legislature is considering LD 1259 which would require chain restaurants to display calorie counts for items on their menu. The Maine Sunday Telegram came out in favor of it in a recent editorial,
As the trend in home-prepared meals shows, people are trying to eat better but need support when they go out. That’s why the Legislature should pass a law requiring chain restaurants to post the calories contained in a food item on menus and other displays.
The Portland Daily Sun last week suggested that “[w]hen coffee is illegal, roadside tests are next“.
I don’t know when they’ll finally outlaw coffee, but I have an idea what the roadside uber-sobriety test will look like.
Okay, not totally “outlaw,” but get it onto an alcohol-like track before it’s too late.
The officer, noticing you driving too intently or maybe having noticed your car was outside Arabica for three house in mid-afternoon, will hit you with the pull-over lights.
They will approach with caution. Everyone’s heard the recent stories about caff-fiends losing control, spouting bad poetry and wreaking violence all over town.
The Eat Local Foods Coalition of Maine (ELFC) has launched a beta version of a resource to help people more easily connect with local foods organizations in the state. It’s called the Maine Food Map (the map is quite large and the page will take a while to load) and it’s a Google map/directory of local food resources such as farm stands, CSA, CSF, Buying Clubs, etc. While not yet a complete listing, it already provides information for more than 1300 organizations statewide.
ELFC describes the map as an “evolving project”. They hope to raise $6,000 to continue development and work on the “suggestions about functionality that people would like to see added”.
The Blueberry Files has published a review of Miyake.
So, yeah, I definitely recommend Miyake for great sushi in Portland. It is not your typical sushi place, but rather challenges your previously held notions of sushi with new flavor profiles and preparation methods.
Lindsay Sterling from Inside Immigrant Kitchens has published another installment in her series on authentic ethnic cooking. This month’s recipe is for Thai Spring Rolls with Chili Peanut Sauce.
Rattana Sherman, from Bangkok Thailand, is the source of this healthy, scrumptious recipe that my young kids and friends all gobble up with glee. Here she is Maine (on Forest Ave. across from Baxter Woods in Portland) about to show me the curious wonders in Haknuman, our town’s Asian market. You can find what you need in a well-stocked supermarket, but it’s less fun.
The 10 restaurants looked up most often during the month of May were:
The numbers in parentheses indicates their rank last month.
Jennifer Flock, a Certified Sommelier, is teaching a class this evening on food and wine pairings. The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is at Bull Feeney’s tonight. On Tuesday, the next Wine Flight 5k Training run is taking place. Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class on Wednesday. On Thursday there’s an Allagash Brewing showcase at The Great Lost Bear. Wine tastings are scheduled for Friday at the West End Grocery and Saturday at Leroux Kitchen. The 36th Annual Old Port Festival is taking place on Sunday. Sunday evening, Evangeline’s Erik Desjarlais is the featured chef at the Food Film Series presentation of Babette’s Feast. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.