Bar Reviews: Sonny’s & Old Port Sea Grill

| Posted in Reviews

Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Sonny’s,

…The drinks were great and the fries were excellent except for the lack of crisp. In truth, I haven’t been there for dinner in a while as I’ve never been super impressed with their food, but Sonny’s has had some menu changes and it does look better. Maybe I’ll try it again in the future. For now, they get two thumbs up on their drinks.

and the Press Herald has reviewed the Old Port Sea Grill.

But if you can look beyond the somewhat characterless decor, past the blue hue of the tank’s chemical-treated water, and crack open a menu, you’ll likely discover a proper eatery, in line with Portland’s creative and culinary flair.

Now Open: Dean’s Sweets & Golden Lotus

| Posted in Openings

deanssweets

Dean’s Sweets is opening their new larger Fore Street location today. They’ll be having a “tastings of their signature truffles and caramels, hot chocolate and chocolate bars”. Dean’s new store is located at 475 Fore Street, they plan to open at 10 am.

goldenlotusGolden Lotus had their grand opening yesterday. Chef/owner Joe Tang has 30 years of restaurant experience, mostly in NH. For several years he was part of the staff at Wok Inn and most recently he worked at Empire Chinese Kitchen. Golden Lotus is located at 511 Congress Street.

Under Construction: Portland Co-op

| Posted in Under Construction

There’s an article on the new Portland Co-op in the Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald.

Here’s the latest: All of the refrigeration, heating and cooling systems are in place. Floors have been polished. Soon interior painting will begin. Within the next two weeks, shelving, fixtures and checkout counters will begin arriving and workers will start building out the interior of the store at 290 Congress St. in Portland.

But Gadsby declines to reveal a target opening date, sticking to the script that it will be sometime in “mid-fall.”

Arcadia National Bar

| Posted in Profiles

The USM Free Press has published an article about Arcadia National Bar.

On a Monday night the place was packed with people all of whom said that they grew up playing with games Arcadia offered. According to Matt Grassi, a 24 year old Portland local, Arcadia is unlike any bar in Portland and it was inevitable for a place like it to spring up in town. For Grassi, the unique atmosphere lends itself to two things: a good variety of games and a bar free from awkward social expectations.

Farm Produce Distribution Challenges

| Posted in Uncategorized, Farming

The new issue of Mainebiz includes a feature article on the challenges farmers and local food stores face in selling and distributing local produce.

Constant negotiating with buyers and other farmers is a way of life in Maine’s fragmented food distribution system, especially for small farmers and purveyors of specialty items like jams and honey. Those small operations practically define the local food and farm-to-table movements that sparked consumer interest in where food comes from and how it is grown or produced.

But that curiosity hasn’t helped broaden Maine’s food distribution system for the small producers to any significant degree, says Spear. The result: many small operations sell only within Maine or at most a day’s delivery drive, thus limiting their market.

This Week’s Events: Rowan Jacobsen, Allagash Dinner, Winter Hill Dinner

| Posted in Events

applesMonday — James Beard award-wining author Rowan Jacobsen will be speaking at Space Gallery tonight about his new book Apples of Uncommon Character. Jacobsen is also the Author of A Geography of Oysters and a very influential book on honey bee colony collapse disorder entitled Fruitless Fall. Fellow author and heirloom apple enthusiast David Buchanan will be leading an apple tasting as part of the event. Rabelais Books will be at Space selling copies of Jacobsen’s new book. 6pm, 538 Congress Street, admission is free.

Tuesday — The Well is serving an Allagash Beer Dinner.

Wednesday — the grand opening of the Geary’s tasting room is taking place,  as is the Monument Square Farmers Market.

Thursday — there will be a beer and cheese tasting at the Public Market House and a wine tasting at The Corner Store.

Friday —author Kate McCarty will be speaking about her book on the Portland food scene at the Portland Public Library at noon.

Saturday — Rosemont is holding Harvest in the Hood on Commercial Street, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Family Feast is holding their Hams & Clams “Indonesian style New England shellfish boil” at Slab, and Rosemont is serving a dinner at Winter Hill Farm in Freeport.

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.

Blue Current Sake

| Posted in General News

Blue Current Brewing (website, facebook, twitter) is Maine-based sake brewer under development in Kittery. Owner Dan Ford has made good progress (watch video for details) and is turning to Kickstarter for the additional funds needed to fully launch the business. So far the campaign has raised one third of the $33,000 goal.

For more information and to contribute to the campaign visit the Blue Current Kickstarter page.

The Jewel Box is Now Open

| Posted in Openings

nanlThe Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box (website, twitter, instagram) had a public soft opening last night which they announced earlier in the day to their Kickstarter supporters. The cocktail bar is owned by Nathaniel Meiklejohn (shown right) who has worked at a number of Portland area establishments and was part of the team that ran the successful Pocket Brunch series.

The menu is a compact (hand typed) list of 5 cocktails and one beer that was brewed for the bar in collaboration with In’finiti.

The Jewel Box is located at 644 Congress Street near Longfellow Square. The space and very comfortable curved bar was built out by North by East.