Month: September 2014

Under Construction: Bramhall

| Posted in Under Construction

Urban Eye has posted an update on Bramhall, the casual food and drink destination now under construction in the old Bramhall Pub in the West End.

“New places are super food-focused and the food scene is awesome,” he said, but amid all the James Beard nods, something was amiss.

“It can be a challenge to grab a meal for two, even lunch, for less than $80 in Portland,” said Fraser. “I want people to be able to come in and have a few drinks and have a good time.”…Meals at the new Bramhall gastropub will be priced from $8 to $10. In the kitchen is Chris [Beaulieu], former sou chef at Duck Fat and chef at Sebago Brewery in Portland.

Owner Mike Fraser hopes to open Bramhall next month.

Interview with Chef Fred Eliot

| Posted in People

Eater Maine has published a 3-part interview with chef Fred Eliot (part 1, part 2, part 3) from Petite Jacqueline.

Fred Eliot didn’t intend to cook for a living. Growing up in France, he learned plenty of useful kitchen skills from his grandmother and mother, but his English Literature studies led him away from food. A move to Iowa and then Ohio with his first wife took him even further from food culture, surrounding him with fast food chains. The shock this caused was enough to get him “cooking more” at home again, which ultimately convinced Eliot he needed to stand in front of stove rather than sit in front of a computer.

Food & Wine: Best New Bars

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails

bestnewbarsThe Hunt & Alpine Club has been selected by Food & Wine magazine as a contender in their People’s Best New Bars readership poll.

In a city that’s only starting to show off its cocktail chops, PHAC features original craft cocktails such as White Noise, made with Cocchi Americano, elderflower liqueur and grapefruit zest, from bartender Andrew Volk.

Visit the F&W website to cast your vote Hunt & Alpine.

The Farm Stand

| Posted in Profiles

TheFarmStand

The Bangor Daily News has profiled The Farm Stand, a new butcher shop and local foods market that opened last month in South Portland.

Transmitting such intimate knowledge of the food people purchase and consume is one motivation driving The Farm Stand, a month-old store that operates like a year-round farmers market with walls. The joint venture between Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth and Farmers’ Gate Market in Wales aims to make buying locally raised and grown food easier for shoppers while helping farmers and food producers in the state find a year-round marketplace for their goods.

Coffee By Design’s Roastery Redesign

| Posted in Profiles

Today’s Press Herald provides an inside look at the process Coffee by Design went through to reimagine their roastery when moving to their new 20,000+ square foot facility in East Bayside.

The process started with evaluating – at a microscopic level – the way they were currently working. Each employee was given a log and for two weeks was asked to record examples of waste they observed. When they regrouped to share findings, they had amassed 95 examples of waste, ranging from the time they spent packaging coffee orders to how many times a product crossed the same production space.

“It was mind-boggling,” Hardman said.

This Week’s Events: 555/GMRI Dinner, Zwanze Day, Harvest in the Hood, Piccolo Panarda

| Posted in Events

Tuesday — the monthly Local Foods Networking Breakfast will be held at Local Sprouts.

Wednesday — Five Fifty-Five is collaborating with GMRI on a sustainable seafood dinner, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — the Wayside Food Programs are kicking off a three day food drive at Whole Foods, Black Tie is serving a farm dinner in New Gloucester, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from 21st Amendment Brewing.

Saturday — Novare Res will be one of a select few beer bars in North America that are participating in the 2014 edition of Cantillon Zwanze Day, Rosemont is holding Harvest in the Hood on Brighton, Cape Elizabeth is organizing a kitchen tour, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Piccolo will be celebrating their 1st anniversary by serving a traditional 20-course meal paired with wines from Southern Italy, and Vignola/Cinque Terre is serving their 10th Annual Harvest Dinner in Greene.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.