The premiere issue of Maine magazine is now out. It includes an article on a set of six recently launched or up and coming restaurants in Portland as well as Three Tides beer/cocktail/oyster bar in Belfast, Old Vines wine bar in Kennebunk, and a profile of winemaker Brian Smith. There is an online version of the magazine but you’ll find it easier to read the articles if you nab a print copy. I picked up my copy at Bard Coffee.
The Maine Bean Cafe opened for business this past week. The new business is in the space formerly occupied by Portland Coffee Roasters.
The ice cream window at Bonobo reopened last week. The operation is being run by Sara Lemieux and Kellen Tucker (shown above) who are leasing the space from the pizzeria. The ice cream they’re serving is from Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook.
Avery Yale Kamila reports on Twitter that Luna Rossa hope to open next week. They’re just “waiting for state liquor inspector to return from vaca“.
Grace plans on opening tomorrow. According to the restaurant’s blog they were aiming for a soft opening but word spread fast. The blog goes on to say that they’ll be opening with a limited menu “while we work some kinks out and get product in”. Portland in a Snap has published a profile of the restaurant and wrote, “The menus will emphasize small plates and appetizers, but with plenty of entree-sized meals. The goal is to keep prices below $30, with the apps falling in the $8-$12 range.”
A call to The Corner Room confirms they also plan on opening tomorrow.
Both restaurants probably already have a full reservation book for Thursday evening. For reservations you can reach Grace at (207) 828-4422 and The Corner Room at (207) 879-4747.
According to a report at HillyTown, Otto Pizza at 576 Congress Street opened yesterday for business. HillyTown reports that “The pizza they’re serving up isn’t your average greasy thin-sliced business, this is serious pie.”
Kon Asian Bistro opened for business at 1140 Brighton Ave on Sunday. This pan-Asian restaurant serves up a mix of dishes from pad thai to sushi to General Tsao’s. Click on the Maine Gallery link on their website to see photos of the interior and the grand opening. See the comments posted by Will for some additional observations.
After a First Friday dry-run last week, The Salt Exchange opened for business today. The small plate restaurant serves lunch and dinner and is open 6 days a week.
Katie Made has expanded its commercial and custom baking business to include walk-in retail baked goods and coffee at their location on Cumberland Ave in the East End.
A pair of new entries have been added to the site. The Burger Boat (shown above) is a food cart that can usually located on Commercial Street. Edible Obsessions is a new food blog. According to the author, she may gush about foie gras but is more likely write about “fried bologna sandwiches (slathered with butter, like how Mom made them)”.
El Rayo is now open. They started lunch service yesterday and, according to owner Cheryl Lewis, they’ll be begin doing dinner sometime in the next few days as soon as they work out a few more details.
A new Internet cafe, the Somali-American Cybernet Cafe, is opening/has opened at 621 Forest Ave. In addition to serving up online access they have a short menu of sandwiches, salads, fruit smoothies and more.
Benny’s is a seasonal clamshack located on West Commercial near the Veterans Memorial Bridge. As the sign says, they plan on re-opening “on or about [April] 29th weather permitting”.
Saigon Sandwich and Variety is now open for business.
Pearl, a new cocktail lounge on Fore Street, opened for business tonight. Pearl is in the space that was formerly occupied by Onyx.