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Salud Cafe (website, instagram) is operating at the Salud fitness studio on Marginal Way. The menu includes a selection of ready-made salads, snacks, drinks and packaged goods from LB. Minimart, as well as made to order smoothies, Forage bagels, toasts and Bard coffee prepared by the cafe staff. The cafe is open on weekdays 7 am – 4 pm, and on weekends 8 am – 1 pm.
For a time last year the cafe space at Salud was occupied by Leda. Leda opened in May and closed in October.
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Chef/owner Cole Curcio has announced the closure of Abbiocco. It reads in part,
Over the past six months, you filled my dining room with laughter, celebration, and support in ways I’ll never forget. What started as a vision became something real because of all of you, my guests, my community, and everyone who walked through the doors.
To my incredible staff, thank you for your passion, your resilience, and the care you brought to every service. You are the heart of Abbiocco, and none of this would have been possible without you.
Abbiocco opened last October. It was located at 634 Forest Ave in Woodfords Corner.
The Portland Logbook has published a list of Portland Maine’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.
The list includes 16 different bakeries with the top rated cookies coming from Luncheonette, Belleville, Onggi and Bread & Friends.
The team from Terlingua, Terlingua Outpost, and Ocotillo have announced plans for Terlingua Side Car (website). The food truck will be stationed on Washington Ave in the outdoor seating area in front of Oxbow Brewing and Hardshore Distilling.
Side Car will be serving street tacos along with a 7-layer dip and tortilla chips, and frozen fruit pops. The draft menu includes options like Smoked Pork Carnitas tacos topped with Winter Hill cotija, onions, spicy taco sauce, cilantro, and Mushroom tacos made with local mushrooms and topped with refried beans, crispy potato, cilantro and salsa matcha.
Side Car will launch in June and be in operation through the end of October, open Thursday through Sunday.
Mainebiz has published an article about The Velvet Dog, a new restaurant that’s under construction on Preble Street.
“We want to be a little higher-end but not pretentious,” he said. “Velvet ropes and dogs — we thought, ‘Okay, that’s cool.’ We’re kind of mixing that together. We’re not going to be taking ourselves too seriously.”
Civil Eats has written about an initiative run by members of Maine’s Cambodian community to make Kdam Prai from invasive green crabs.
A decade later, [Bunly] Uy is bringing kdam prai to Maine. He’s now the food and farm program manager at Khmer Maine, a nonprofit serving Portland’s 2,000-plus Cambodian residents through cultural exchange, community building, and civic engagement. And he’s marrying his past and present by developing a salted crab product featuring an invasive species from the Gulf of Maine, protecting the state’s marine ecosystem while feeding his community.
Monday – Anoche is holding a Spanish gin and tonic party with guest Natasha Bahrami.
Tuesday – A Cherie pop-up is taking place at Regards, and Blyth & Burrows is holding a Ginworld cocktail party.
Wednesday – Fermin Nunez from Austin, Texas will be the guest chef at a Tuna & Friends dinner.
Thursday – It’s the opening night of An Empty Plate at the Cafe du Grand Boeuf at Mad Horse Theatre in South Portland.
Friday – This week’s Family Meal at Local 188 will be a Southern Fish Fry prepared by Eventide chef Donny Carrasco.
Friday – May 3 – Maine Seaweed Week is taking place.
April 27 – The Native Maine food show is taking place.
April 30 – Ed Szymanski from Dame, Lords and Crevette in New York City will be the guest chef at a Tuna & Friends dinner.
May 2 – SeaFest is taking place.
May 3 – CiderFeast is taking place.
May 4 – Chaval is holding the annual May the Fourth Star Wars themed dinner.
May 6 – Evo is holding an Austrian wine dinner.
May 9 – The premiere screening of the movie Lunchroom Revolution is taking place.
May 9-10 – The 2026 A Taste of Nations Food Festival is taking place at Mayo Street Arts.
May 10 – It’s Mother’s Day. Check with your favorite local restaurants for whatever special holiday menus they may be offering.
May 16 – The Maine Wine Wine Fest (tickets) is taking place in Freeport.
May 17 – Cafe Mugen is holding a pop-up at at Izakaya Minato.
June 15 – The James Beard Foundation will be announcing the 2026 award winners. Thomas Takashi Cooke from Izakaya Minato and Dana Street from Fore Street, Scales, Standard Baking, and Street & Company are this year’s nominees from Maine.
July 24-26 – The Kneading Conference is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 25-27 – The Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
 Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.
The Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store. |