Mainebiz has published a report on Ragged Coast’s expansion into baking mixes.
Category: General News
Le Family, Local English Muffins
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about the Huong Le and her family, and
She would go on to have three more children in Portland (and now two granddaughters, as well); to help them get the education she never could; to work long hours in odd jobs to support her family; to open Huong’s, the city’s first sit-down Vietnamese restaurant, and run it for almost two decades; and to see two of her girls open Vietnamese eateries of their own. As her daughter Tuyet “Snow” Thi Le posted on Instagram earlier this spring, “She never stopped working to give her kids a better life the ‘American dream.’ ”
a survey of locally produced English muffins.
Tasting and re-tasting my way through some of the area’s best English muffins has been no hardship. As I’ve done so, I’ve spent time thinking about how differences in flavor, size and format imply a range of different uses. We’re living in a golden age of baking where there’s an English muffin for every occasion. Here are just a few of my favorites.
Rick’s Lobby Cafe
Ricky and Molly Wood, the owners of Rick’s Lobby Cafe, have announced their lease isn’t being renewed resulting in the closure of their Congress Street location sometime later this year. Next steps for the Wood’s and their business are TBD.
Building management gave notification that they are going to renovate our lobby cafe space. The investors, building owners and partners no longer want to include a cafe or food establishment in this building, post-renovation. As such, our lease is not being renewed. Thankfully, we have until the end of October until we need to be out.
Truck-to-Table
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram tells the story of 5 food trucks that are making the transition to becoming restaurants.
For a food truck owner, launching an actual restaurant is often a dream come true. But it’s also leveling up by an order of magnitude, requiring more money, time, staff and dedication.
Talk to the budding restaurateurs about their conversion projects and you find that while the path to a fixed location contains seemingly endless hurdles and serious financial investments, they feel the potential rewards are worth the stress.
Featured in the article are: George’s North Shore, Yolked Farm to Table, Rebel Cheesteaks, Curbside Comforts, and Quanto Basta.
The food truck-to-restaurant path is well established in Portland. 20+ food trucks have made the transition since 2012 when the city passed the food truck ordinance.
Review of The Danforth and Vegan Dining Advice
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of The Danforth.
The Danforth is buzzy for good reason. Opened last July by the owners of New York’s Death & Co. bar, this lounge/restaurant is decorated sumptuously, taking midcentury modern tropes and inflecting them with a hint of ’70s mod glam. It is an exceedingly appealing restaurant to stare at from a seat in the plush lounge. Drinks are a bit hit-or-miss, but the bar staff knows how to shake up a tasty nonalcoholic drink, so order a gingery Artificial Light and ask for a food menu. Here, The Danforth is on solid ground, thanks to executive chef Michael Boomhower’s menu of comforting “Americana” classics.
The paper also includes guidance to date-night worthy restaurants with vegan food options.
Restaurant Required to Replace Doors
Today’s Press Herald reports that Papi is being required to replace their front doors with ones more in keeping with the architectural history of the Old Port.
The doors simply don’t meet historic district standards, said Evan Schueckler, the city’s historic preservation program manager.
“They’re much more ornate and have a different shape than the doors that would have originally been on that building,” Schueckler said. “They’re sort of creating what we would call a false sense of history, where they’re trying to represent a design and historic character for that building that isn’t authentic to it.”
Menu Pricing, Review of Nomad
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about surcharges and menu prices, and a review of Nomad in Brunswick.
T&L: Biddeford
Travel & Leisure has published a guide to Biddeford including a survey of the city’s drinks and dining options.
Located roughly 20 minutes south of Portland, Biddeford was once a bustling mill town with a robust textile manufacturing industry. The brick structures of these factory buildings line the historic downtown area and are now home to breweries, bakeries, restaurants, and other food and beverage venues. Recently featured in the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil and lauded as an up-and-coming culinary destination, the youngest city in Maine is drawing praise from local and national headlines. Here’s how to plan the perfect escape to Biddeford, Maine.
Cong Tu Bot Unionized
The Press Herald has a report on the newly formed union at Cong Tu Bot.
Employees at Portland’s Cong Tu Bot restaurant voted to unionize this week, making it the state’s first independent unionized restaurant in more than 40 years.
Workers and union officials hope others will follow suit.
Cong Tu Bot’s 21 employees voted unanimously to join UNITE HERE, a union that represents 300,000 workers in the hotel, food service, gaming, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation and airport industries.
Fire at Brea Lu Construction Site
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A fire broke out last night in Westbrook at the construction site for the new Brea Lu Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) . The fire centered in the back right part of the building which will likely need to be replaced or removed, and it destroyed the newly delivered hood and walk-in.
Owner Christian DeLuca has been in the process of building out a new larger cafe at the 511 Main Street site. The cafe was originally located in Portland and moved to Westbrook after a fire damaged the building they were in on Forest Ave.