Taco Trio(website, twitter, facebook) has a 2nd location under construction in Riverton. They’ve leased 1706 Forest Ave, the former home of India Bazaar (and Nina’s Variety and Papa’s Place.
Owners Manuel Pena and Karen Rasmussen tell me that they hope to open in July with a slightly expanded menu and that they’ll be adding outdoor seating once some landscaping can be completed.
Fore River Brewing(twitter, facebook, instagram) has started construction on their brewery. Their building is located in the Cash Corner section of South Portland across Veteran’s Memorial Bridge.
Tuesday — Mami food truck is planning to launch on Tuesday. Vinland sous chef Jason Mathiason will be preparing a 5-course MOFGA benefit dinner, SoMe Brewing is holding a launch party for Mainely Pale at The Thirsty Pig, and the Bier Cellar is holding a bottle release for the Jolly Pumpkin’s “April Showers Bring Jolly Pumpkin Sours”.
Wednesday — the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Saturday — Slab is hosting a Barreled Souls tap takeover, Rosemont is holding a Rioja wine event, Smuttfest 2015 is taking place at Novare Res, there will be a wine tasting at the LeRoux Kitchen, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday — Chad Conley and Greg Mitchell from Palace Diner are the featured chefs at Flanagan’s Table, and the 42nd Annual Old Port Festival is taking place.
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.
Down East has reviewed Bao Bao.
You are going to have dumplings — served either boiled or pan-fried — so start there. The pork and cabbage are the most traditional; the most imaginative are those stuffed with succulent lamb, black bean chili, and whole peanuts and served with a tomato sauce for dipping. Seasoning is generally subtle in the dumplings, but each table has decanters of black vinegar and soy sauce and a pot of arbol chili oil for mixing (in your own personal ramekin) a sauce tempered to your desired heat, saltiness, and umami.
Here are some updates on four restaurants under construction in Portland:
A new food truck called Mami(instagram) plans to launch on June 9th in Congress Square Park. Mami is run by chef Austin Miller and will specialize in “Japanese street food”.
Here’s a list of this summer’s continuing education classes at MECA in Culinary Arts:
Eat Maine has reviewed The Honey Paw.
The Honey Paw is like no other restaurant I know. The new Portland restaurant’s unique personality completely defies any attempts to group it into traditional restaurant categories or even vague ones like “contemporary American” or “fusion.” Its menu and ambience unapologetically combine a staggering number of elements into a streamlined dining experience while circumventing any kind of identity crisis by keeping the offerings as concise as possible.
The City of Portland is submitting an application to UNESCO to be recognized for its culinary creativity as part of the UN’s Creative Cities program. If successful, Portland would become the 9th city in the world to be included in the Gastronomy category.
The Creative Cities Network aims to strengthen the creation, production, distribution, and enjoyment of cultural goods and services at the local level. It promotes creative expression and enhances participation in cultural life as well as integrates cultural and creative industries into local development plans.
The application deadline is in July and we should know by mid-December if it was successful.
