Maiz Colombian Street Food Opening

Owners Martha Leonard and Niky Walter plan to open Maiz Colombian Street Food (facebook) this Saturday.

Maiz is located on the second floor of the Public Market House. Maiz will serve “modern twists on the traditional Colombian” arepas. In the morning they will also have on the menu a “pan-de-bono, a savory cheese bread made with yucca flour”. Maiz will also serve Colombian coffee and lemonades in fruit and coconut flavors.

Burger Survey

The Press Herald has published a “field guide to a half-dozen of the city’s finest burgers”.

Eat enough hamburgers, and you start to see how varied, how individual they can be. Every time I sampled a new one, I thought about its unique identity. Then during one meal, it hit me mid-bite, juice dripping onto a sheet of wax paper: Burgers are like people. Each has a unique character, inherited from those who created it. Some you like, some you don’t, and that’s okay.

Under Construction: Speckled Ax Coffee Truck

Speckled Ax is working on launching a coffee truck.

So, there’s a Speckled Ax Truck in the works. Phases one and two–drive train and outside cosmetics–took a lot longer than expected, but are pretty much done. On to phase three. Here’s the “before” of the inside, after we pulled out lots of horrible vinyl and fake wood. More details to come.

This Week’s Events: Yes Brewing Launch, Hugo’s Chef Dinner, Brother Cleve, Craft Brew Race, Champagne Dinner

Tuesday – influential Boston bartender Brother Cleve will be guest mixing tiki cocktails at the Hunt and Alpine Club, 5-7 pm.

WednesdayHugo’s is holding a dinner featuring food and wine from southern France, there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and the Old Port Wine Merchants, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – there will be a Champagne wine dinner at Petite Jacqueline.

FridayYes Brewing is scheduled to open at 3:30. They’re located at 609 Main Street behind Mister Bagel.

Saturday –the 2017 Craft Brew Race and Festival and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market are 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.

Scott DeSimon and Long Grain

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an article by Nancy Harmon Jenkins about Long Grain in Camden,

If I told you that one of the most captivating Asian restaurants in the country is a hole-in-the-wall in a pretty little town on the coast of Maine, would you believe me? Forget lobster rolls, I tell skeptics; you’re going to love the kao klug kapi. And the always come away from Long Grain, in Camden, with a one-word reaction: “Wow.”

and the Lewiston Sun Journal has published an interview with A-list food writer and editor, and Maine native Scott DeSimon. He will be a judge at the Down East lobster roll competition in early July.

It’s your first time judging a lobster roll competition. What will make the winner stand out? For me, the ideal roll is all about the perfect mix of mayo to perfectly cooked meat, with very little in the way of other ingredients or seasonings. And the bun needs to be hot and buttery, with a touch of crispness from the flat top. Simple, but so many people screw it up. Of course, if someone does some brilliant take on a lobster banh mi, I could be swayed.