MPBN has aired a piece on a new crop of young farrmers in Maine.
“I think that we want to be reconnected with the fundamentals of life,” Gerritsen says, “with growing food, with producing things with our own hands. Living in the city, you commute by subway, you buy your food at the supermarket, you work in a cubicle all day. You’re not intimately tied to anything.”
The Golden Dish has reviewed Ruski’s.
The burgers were textbook good. They were perfectly grilled to medium rare and had the essential outer charred crust that gives the beef so much texture and flavor. The restaurant has many cooks, and that night Will was in the kitchen and did his job very well. For $8.95 you get a half pound burger on a big hefty roll with a mound of fries. Cocktails like premium vodka on the rocks are $6.50, and beers are often on special from $2.50 for PBR to premium drafts at $3.75. With tax, tip and drinks the $20 each spent on dinner was a satisfyingly cut-rate night on the town worth repeating many times over.
Otto Pizza’s 2nd pizzeria in South Portland opened today. The new pizza shop is located at 125 John Roberts Rd which is right near the Maine Mall.
The John Roberts Road location is OTTO’s 9th location overall (10, if you count our Portland delivery facility), and is one of our roomiest, with 5 picnic tables, and an indoor bocce court. Diners can enjoy pizza by the slice or whole pie, along with a full array of beverages, including beer and wine. (Yes, we’re serving Autohelm, our brand new collaboration with Rising Tide Brewing Company!)
Photo Credit: Otto Pizza
The Forecaster reports that Rivalries is working on opening a new 11,400 square foot sports bar in Falmouth.
The proposed restaurant would be a two-story, 11,400-square-foot building with its entrance on Hat Trick Drive. It would seat 192 patrons on the two floors, with 16 bar seats and function spaces upstairs. Seasonal outdoor seating would allow for 32 more patrons.
The lot of almost half an acre is bordered by Clearwater Drive to the east, Farm Gate Road to the south, and the proposed Hat Trick Drive to the north. It is currently undeveloped.
MPBN, WCSH and The Golden Dish have all published reports on the Portland Food Co-op,
The dairy cases stock all of the products that we’ve become so familiar with at farmers’ markets: Lakin’s Gorge’s ricotta (Rockport), Balfour cultured cream (great sour cream), yogurts and cheese to Swallowtail’s dairy lineup of kefir, cheese and flavored yogurts. Ice cream choices include the excellent Catbird Creamery and the store has a small but professional kitchen where many preparations like soups, sandwiches, salads and vegetable dips are made. [Golden Dish]
and today’s Press Herald includes an interview with Mary Alice Scott, the co-op’s education and outreach coordinator.
Q: Why join a co-op instead of going to a mainstream grocery store?
A: It’s a mission-driven idea. People want to support businesses that are locally owned and know they’re generating jobs. Our mission is to have a huge amount of organic and local products and buy from local vendors whenever practical. It’s not just fruit and vegetables, it’s local cleaning supplies and other local items. We already have relationships with more than 120 local producers.
News became public yesterday that Two Fat Cats bakery has purchased Maine Pie Line from owner Briana Warner.
Two Fat Cats has purchased both the business name as well as the recipes and plans to restart MPL’s wholesale business,
That means savory hand pies like spinach, feta and artichoke and southwest veggie will be back in Maine cafes, such as Coffee By Design, and a fresh line of gourmet, locally sourced pies will soon fill the cases at the nine-year-old India Street bakery.
[Two Fat Cats owner] Begin expects to see her retail business grow by 15 percent and double wholesale orders with the acquisition.
[Urban Eye]
For more information see these reports from Urban Eye and Eater Maine.
The Portland Sun has posted an article about the Co-op and its upcoming Grand Opening.
“We’ve gotten a lot of great feedback, exciting products to add,” said Mary Alice, education and outreach coordinator at Portland Food Co-op. “People have mostly walked in and exclaimed about how beautiful it is.”
Home Catering Company (website, instagram, facebook) owner Matt Chamberlain has leased the former Miyake Diner space at 129 Spring Street. According to his post on Instagram he’ll be selling prepared foods to go along with beer and wine as well as running his catering operation from that location.
Chamberlain hopes to be open by mid-February.
Wednesday — the Portland Food Co-op is having their Grand Opening event, and Black Tie is teaching a cooking class.
Friday — Rosemont Market will be serving 25 holiday wines at their Drink Like a Pro event, and Bissell Brothers is celebrating their 1-year anniversary.
Saturday — Allagash is having a bottle release for Pick Your Own, Bard/Wicked Joe is holding a Grand Opening at their new roasting facility, Rosemont and Piccolo are collaborating on a cooking class, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory.
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.
Urban Eye has posted an update on Unwined.
Inside the soon-to-open Unwined Lounge on Congress Street, hospitality veteran Jared Rice explains. “The idea is to create a relaxed atmosphere where people feel comfortable. There won’t be any riffraff or a rowdy bar scene here,” said Portland’s newest nightlife entrepreneur.