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The new Little Woodfords (website, instagram, twitter, facebook) opened for business this morning. They’re located at 316A Congress Street at the intersection with Franklin. The same great coffee, staff, service and food in a cute new space.
Their hours will be Monday through Friday 7am – 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am – 3pm.
Bard Coffee launched their new coffee truck this morning. They’re located at the Four Points Marina off the Eastern Prom walking trail near the end of Thames Street. The Bard truck is open Wednesday through Sunday, 8am – 2pm.
Pizzeria Radici (website, instagram) is scheduled to open on Friday. Owners Randy and Ally Forrester have renovated the former Terlingua space. They’ve already sold out of pre-order capacity for takeout on Friday. They plan to open up ordering for Saturday in the near future.
The word “radici” means root in Italian and indicates the restaurants intent to pair ancestral food traditions with the “sustainability and versatility of Maine’s harvest from the land and sea”. The Forresters hope to open the pizzeria this coming summer.
The Forresters moved to Portland from Allentown, New Jersey where they operated Osteria Radici. Osteria Radici was a James Beard awards semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2018, and Randy Forrester was a semifinalist for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic in 2019.
Buoyed by an interest in local food, gluten-free eating, and the ongoing enthusiasm for heirloom apples, the last few years have seen significant growth in Maine cider industry. There are now 17 cider makers in Maine with at least four more producers under development. Additionally, in 2019 two dedicated cider bars – Perennial in Belfast and Anoche in Portland – opened for business.
With all of that in mind, I’ve put together a Guide to Maine Cider to provide a resource for me and my fellow cider enthusiasts to the producers, cider bars, bottle shops and events that are part of the emergent cider community in Maine.
Two Fat Cats (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has announced they’ll be opening their new bakery cafe at 195 Lancaster Street on Thursday, July 2nd Saturday July 4th. The bakery will offer take-out and pre-order options as well as, a special menu for the opening of their newest location. Indoor dining will be postponed for now.
The new building will provide Two Fat Cats much needed room to continue to grow their business. The 3,000 sq ft building will has space for seating and has onsite parking for customers.
Stacy Begin, Owner, Two Fat Cats Bakery, recalls “The first time I walked into the Lancaster Street building, it was gutted – an empty shell that required imagination. But the spirit of the building grabbed me and said, ‘Make me a bakery.’ And, I said, ‘Yes, you need to be a bakery.’ From that day to this, we saw the potential and the personality of the building come alive. Now when I walk through the door, I see a bakery. Not just any bakery – Two Fat Cats Bakery. It feels like home. It feels like Two Fat Cats. Sometimes you just have to listen to the building. It knows best.”
Two Fat Cats was founded in 2005 by Dana Street, Alison Pray, Matt James, and Kristen DuShane. Begin and Matthew Holbrook bought Two Fat Cats in 2012, and in 2018 TFC added a South Portland location.
A new mobile app Food Truck Movement (facebook, instagram, twitter) that tracks a growing number of food trucks from across Maine launched earlier this month. The app is the creation of Julian and Rachel Gallo, and is available via the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Food Truck Movement currently tracks the location of 9 food trucks including Bogs Bakery, Mac Daddy’s Seafood and Tots, Mainely Meatballs, Muthah Truckah, Nom Bai, Rose’s Spring Rolls, Taco Cat, The Moody Dog, Vantage Point Provisions.
A second food truck tracking app for both Apple and Android called Food Trux (website, instagram, twitter) is in the final stages of development and is launching today in Denver with plans to launch soon in Portland as well.
And a web-based food truck app called Maine Food Truck Tracker (website, instagram, facebook) launched earlier this year. Maine Food Truck Tracker is used by 23 Maine-based food trucks.
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Via Vecchia (instagram, facebook, website) is scheduled to open on Friday with options for both indoor and outdoor seating. Via Vecchia is a new restaurant and bar from Blyth & Burrows owner Joshua Miranda.
Located at 10 Dana Street in the 3,900 sq ft space formerly occupied by Vignola/Cinque Terre, Via Vecchia will be serving a menu of Italian food (think pizzettes, house-made pasta, polenta fries, etc), classic and creative cocktails, and Italian wines.
The Via Vecchia design team have created a beautiful space that draws its inspiration from pre-WWI European bistros. The front room features a circular bar. The back dining room has seating in the mezzanine and a table for larger parties on the ground floor.
Reservations for Via Vecchia are available on Resy.com.
The former general manager and chef de cuisine from Five Fifty-Five, Yazmin Saraya and Kyle Robinson, have launched their own restaurant, Chez Rosa (website, facebook, instagram), in Kennebunk.
The French bistro is located in the former Bandaloop space 2 Ocean Ave in Dock Square. Chez Rosa began outdoor dining service on June 10th and continues to do curbside takeout.
Chef Ilma Lopez, co-owner of Chaval and Piccolo, is one of 100 chefs who have contributed a recipe to a United We Cook. Lopez provided recipes for Coq au Vin, and Chocolate Budino.
Editor Nadia Mashar has gathered food and cocktail recipes from restaurants in 37 US cities and 24 states.
The digital cookbook is available online, and “100% of proceeds go to participating restaurants & local food banks”.
Chef Cara Stadler and her business partner/mother Cecile Stadler opened Zao Ze Cafe and Market (instgram) yesterdsy in Brunswick.
Zao Ze serves “Asian street foods, with a focus on breakfast and lunch”. You can see the menu and order online. It has an open air seating area in the Tao Yuan parking lot.
Shown here is the Drunken Lamb Rou Jia Mo sandwich made with Shaoxing and Baiju braised lamb and kimchi on a sesame bun.