Month: December 2017

This Week’s Events: Fore River Dinner, Sidework, Hugo’s Holiday Dinner, Swain Anniversary Dinner, 7 Fishes, New Year’s Eve

| Posted in Events

Monday – Sur Lie is holding a Fore River Brewing beer dinner.

Tuesday – The Honey Paw is hosting Sidework, a craft fair featuring work by restaurant industry professionals.

Wednesday – Hugo’s is holding a 5-course holiday wine dinner.

Thursday – a 5-course wine dinner to celebrate Ned Swain’s 15 years in the wine business is taking place at Vinland.

Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Piccolo will be serving a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

New Year’s Eve – Restaurants are starting to announce their NYE plans. Here’s the ones I’ve heard of so far. I’ll be expanding the list over the next couple weeks as more information comes in:

  • Baharat – pre fixe and regular menu.
  • Bolster Snow – 3-course dinner, $65 per person.
  • Boone’s – 4-course dinner, $95 per person, 9 – 2am they’ll be a NYE gala for $40 per person, $125 if you combine both options. The events are a benefit for Full Plates Full Potential.
  • Central Provisions – 5-course dinner with optional pairings, $150 per person.
  • Chaval – serving regular menu plus specials.
  • East Ender – serving regular menu.
  • Evo – 4- and 7-course menus.
  • Five Fifty-Five – 5-course dinner, $100 per person.
  • Grace – will be open serving their regular menu.
  • Hunt & Alpine – champagne cocktail and special menu.
  • Little Giant – will be serving their regular menu with some NYE specials.
  • Lolita – a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings, $110 per person (tip included).
  • Petite Jacqueline – 3- and 5-course dinner, $45/$65 per person.
  • Piccolo – 10-course dinner, $115 per person.
  • Sonny’s – their last night in operation before starting the renovations for the launch Black Cow.
  • Terlingua – 4-course tasting menu in addition to their regular menu.
  • Tipo – 4-course dinner, $75 per person with optional wine pairings ($35).
  • Tiqa – 3-course dinner for $55 per person.
  • Vinland – 5-course dinner for $121.60 (tax and tip included) plus optional pairings.
  • Woodford F&B – will be serving their regular menu with some NYE special until 10pm, the rest of the evening is a menu of fried chicken, oysters, caviar and champagne.

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.

Yordprom Coffee

| Posted in People, Profiles

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Yordprom Coffee and its owner Tom Yordprom.

Many of Tom’s customers know that he’ll have their regular orders waiting for them by the time they step up to the counter. They’ve been coming to the same place everyday for years because they feel like a part of a community. Tom created that community and he knows that without him, that community wouldn’t exist.

The article reports that Yordprom Coffee will be expanding to Biddeford and may also launch a coffee truck.

Reviews: Noble BBQ, Blyth and Burrows, Sun Bakery & Restaurant

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Noble Barbecue,

The culinary freedom Noble allows itself creates the space for a menu where a terrific, Texas-style smoked brisket can live happily alongside a New York pastrami or a wacky, yet completely addictive smoked spaghetti squash sandwich. A few dishes, like under-seasoned cubed pork and overcooked fries, need a tweak or two, but they are the exception, not the rule at Noble. Most, like macaroni and cheese prepared to order, are inventive and well-executed – way beyond the quality of anything you’d have any right to expect from a BBQ sandwich shop in Maine, of all places.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Blyth and Burrows, and

Blyth and Burrows turned my expectations upside down. I expected little and got everything. The drinks were solid, the food even better and the atmosphere as good as any around. The establishment is comfortable, looks really sharp, and feels like a place one could happily hang out in for hours. My two hopes are that next time I go I’ll spend some time in The Broken Dram downstairs and that at some point my wife will stop telling me how great her bao was.

the Press Herald has reviewed Sun Bakery & Restaurant.

For an entree, I tried the chicken lemongrass with rice ($8.50), which came with well-cooked (not clumpy) white rice, chunks of white meat chicken and a ton of vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, celery, onion, green beans, and both green and red peppers. The vegetables were perfect — cooked through, but they still had a little bite to them. The lemongrass flavor was very subtle, and at times I found myself wanting more, something to elevate it above a simple stir-fry.

Victorieux Champagne

| Posted in Profiles

The Press Herald has published an article about Victorieux Champagne and Thomas Brems who launched the company earlier this year in Maine.

In the Champagne region of France, about 100 miles east of Paris, there are 14 acres in the Côtes de Sézanne where the family vineyards of Cédric Guyot have been producing grapes and making Champagne for three generations. One day, a fresh-faced college kid from America came knocking at the door, in the small village of Fontaine-Deni [and now a few years later] two of the small grower’s Champagnes are being sold in 13 locations in southern Maine and nowhere else in the United States: Brut Millésime 2009, a traditional vintage Champagne, and a Rosé Brut.

Victorieux Champagne is donating $1 per bottle sold in December to Full Plates Full Potential.

Bon Appétit: 6 New Restaurants in Portland

| Posted in Reviews

Bon Appétit editor Alex Dealney was recently in town and has posted this report on Little Giant, Cong Tu Bot, Noble Barbecue, Belleville, Island Creek Oyster Shop and Rose Foods.

Portland, Maine is a bit of an anomaly. For such a small city, it has no business having such a high concentration of killer restaurants, bars, and breweries. Every time I’m there, I’m amazed. From diners to serious cocktail establishments to bakeries, Portland shows up in full.

I recently spent a few days eating around Portland, checking out spots that had opened since I was in town in the spring, and falling into comfortable, beer-coaxed sleeps. I’m happy to report that, like any noteworthy food city, Portland’s scene is still changing, growing, and impressing.

This Week’s Events: Dessert & Drink Extravaganza, Food-Tech, Erin French, NYE List

| Posted in Events

Monday – The Great Holiday Dessert & Drink Extravaganza is taking place at Thompson’s Point, and Janet Helm will be giving a talk on The Food-Tech Revolution at Cellardoor.

Tuesday – Erin French, chef of The Lost Kitchen, will be speaking at One Longfellow Square.

Wednesday – there will be a tasting at Old Port Wine Merchants, and Little Giant market is holding a holiday pop-up shop.

Thursday – The Great Lost Bear will be holding their annual 12 Beers of Christmas showcase.

Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

New Year’s Eve – Restaurants are starting to announce their NYE plans. Here’s the ones I’ve heard of so far. I’ll be expanding the list over the next 4 weeks as more information comes in:

  • Baharat – pre fixe and regular menu.
  • Bolster Snow – 3-course dinner, $65 per person.
  • Boone’s – 4-course dinner, $95 per person.
  • Central Provisions – 5-course dinner with optional pairings, $150 per person.
  • Evo – 4- and 7-course menus.
  • Five Fifty-Five – 5-course dinner, $100 per person.
  • Grace – will be open serving their regular menu.
  • Lolita – a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings, $110 per person (tip included).
  • Petite Jacqueline – 3- and 5-course dinner, $45/$65 per person.
  • Tipo – 4-course dinner, $75 per person with optional wine pairings ($35).
  • Tiqa – 3-course dinner for $55 per person.
  • Vinland – 5-course dinner for $121.60 (tax and tip included) plus optional pairings

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.