The Press Herald reports that Fork Food Lab is at risk of foreclosure.
“We are working diligently to restructure our organization and to create a sustainable financial plan that will allow us to continue to serve our members and the community,” Food Fork Lab Executive Director Bill Seretta said in an email statement on Tuesday. “We are actively engaged with our lenders in hopes of finalizing an agreement very soon.”
Punch has included the Salad Bar Martini at Cuties in their list of their Favorite Cocktails of 2025.
In a year filled with exciting new bars, talented emerging bartenders and trends that touched everything from Margaritas to M&M shots, picking a favorite cocktail is no easy feat. So what does it take to stand out? For some of us, the best drinks of the year nail a classic template and make us want to come back for more. For others, the recipes that defy categorization take top honors. And for others, getting a little treat with your drink goes a long way.
With regard to the drink from Cuties they had this to say,
“There’s a scene in Ratatouille where Remy the Rat bites into (I think) a piece of cheese and goes into a synesthesia-like trance as a result of its complex combination of flavors. That was me when I tried this cocktail from Portland all-day cafe Cuties. Despite the flavor’s top billing, with both clarified tomato water and an Italian tomato gin, this is not just a tomato Martini. There is much more going on in this drink…
A new wine and cocktail bar called Marquis Lounge (instagram) is under development in the Arts District at 150 Park Street.
Meg Bartos and bartender Jacob Coombs are taking over Sagamore Hill from owner Ryan Deskins who founded the bar in 2018. Following Sagamore’s last day in business on New Year’s Eve, Coombs and Bartos will begin renovations and hope to fully launch Marquis in time for Mardi Gras on February 18th.
Bartos and Coombs are looking to French American history, New Orleans speakeasies and contemporary French bistros as touchpoints for the concept and design of Marquis. Their vision for the business is as a a welcoming and inclusive neighborhood bar that has a “vibe [that] is sophisticated, elegant, and a touch eclectic”.
Coombs will be developing a cocktail list includes New Orleans classics like the Sazerac and Vieux Carre, and Absinthe Frappe, along with a rotating menu of house designed cocktails and after dinner drinks like an Underberg Grasshopper. Marquis will also offer formal absinthe service with the option of three different labels of the spirit. The beverage program will also include a set of non-alcoholic cocktails, as well as a set of beer and spirit pairings.
The wine program will include a list of 12 still wines by the glass and bottle as well as a selection of champagnes. A food menu of desserts and New Orleans-inspired bar snacks, flatbread pizzas, will be available along with caviar and champagne.
Coombs is originally from Skowhegan and the couple met while he was bartending in Saint Croix. Since moving back to Maine he’s worked at a number of local establishments and is on staff at Sagamore Hill. Bartos has lived in France. She is a serial entrepreneur; this will be her fourth company and the first in the hospitality industry.
The name of the business is a reference to the Marquis de Lafayette whom the Lafayette Building was named for. On his tour of America in 1825, Lafayette visited Portland and stayed at the Mussey Boarding House which was located near the corner of Park and Congress Streets. The motto for the bar will be “Cur non?” which translates as “Why Not?” and was used by Lafayette on his coat of arms.
Monday – Great Wave will be teaching a sushi making class at Good Fire Brewing. Chef Adrian Arvizu will be holding a Tacos by Tio pop-up at the Local 188 event space.
Saturday – Chaval is serving a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.
Sunday – Farms for Food Equity is holding a dinner in Portland in collaboration with Ocotillo.
December 24 – Regards is serving a Fest of the Seven Fishes dinner.
December 25 – It’s Christmas Day. Check with your favorite local restaurants to see who may be open.
December 27 – Browne Trading is holding their annual Champagne and Caviar Tasting.
New Year’s Eve – We’re be putting together a list of special New Year’s Eve food and dining events. New additions will be made as businesses announce their plans.
January 1 – Woodford F&B will be serving a New Year’s Day brunch, as will Douro. and Dolce Amici in Norway.
January 17 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a Coq Au Vin cooking class and Burgundian wine class at Chaval.
January 24 – Courntey Loreg from Woodford’s Food & Beverage will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner. Asher Boisvert is teaching a vermouth class at Chaval.
January 30 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality will be the guest chef at a steakhouse themed Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.
February 7 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a pasta & negroni class at Chaval.
February 8 – Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will be the guest chefs at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner where they’ll celebrate the menu of their former restaurant Piccolo.
February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta on Deer Isle will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.
March 1 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a Whole Hog Butchery class at Chaval.
March 6 – The Maine Craft Brew Summit is taking place. Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner and President of Russian River Brewing Company, will be the keynote speaker.
 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. |
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The highly anticipated Tuan Yuan Hotpot (facebook, instagram) is officially opening for business this week. The restaurant is being launched by Qi Shen, the owner of Sichuan Kitchen, and is located at 29 Forest Ave in the former Able Baker space on the first floor of the Portland Stage building. The name of the restaurant means reunion dinner.
The menu includes a short selection of appetizers like wings and the four-fold crispy pumpkin cakes (shown above). The bar menu includes wines by the glass, beer, cider and nonalcoholic drinks as well as sake. The sake menu features sakes from Japan and also from Farthest Star, a producer located in Medfield, Massachusetts.
The heart of the menu are the Sichuan hotpot options. They have a both a vegetarian Mala-spicy soup and a chicken with pumpkin soup. Vegetable options for the hotpot include winter melon, napa cabbage, and lotus root. Meat options like lamb shoulder, frog legs and rib eye steak, seafood options like mussels, prawns, and seafood dumplings, and the soy-based options are 5-spice pressed tofu and two types of tofu skins. Overall there are 28 add-ins to choose from for a hotpot meal.
Tuan Yuan seats 79 overall with a number of 4-seat hotpot tables and a bar area on the first floor, and seating for 32 with two 8-person marble-topped tables in the mezzanine dining area.
Tuan Yuan will be open Monday through Friday, 5 – 11 pm, and will open at noon on the weekends. While the official opening is this Monday, they’ll be soft opening this Saturday and Sunday for any who happens to walk in.
Barren’s Distillery (website, facebook, instagram) has taken over the former Sweetgrass spot on Fore Street in Boothby Square where they’ve opened a tasting room. Their December hours are Thursday through Saturday, noon – 5 pm operating in a pop-up mode selling their spirits.
They plan to hold a grand opening this spring with an expanded set of retail offerings to include glassware, shakers, syrups, bitters, wild blueberry-based products, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, salts and soaps made with the botanicals sued in their spirits, and Barren’s merchandise.
Jeremy Howard and Andrew Stewart founded the business in 2019. Their restaurant is located at the Lyman-Morse wharf in Camden and their distillery is in the Midcoast town of Hope.
They produce a wide range of gins, vodkas and rums, as well as a whiskey made in collaboration with Cushnoc Brewing, an apple pommeau, a blueberry eau de vie and some other specialty spirits.
The New York Times called out desserts from Franciska in Portland and at McLoons in South Thomaston in their list of the 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025. The NYT called out the Dulce de Leche Flan at Franciska and Blueberry Bread Pudding at McLoons.
In Argentina, flan is typically served with a spoonful of caramel-scented dulce de leche on top. At this tiny Argentine spot, the dulce de leche is incorporated directly into the flan, sharpening the eggy custard with a toasty, burnt-sugar tang.
Vine Pair has included Argenta Brewing in their list of the 26 Best New Breweries of 2025.
Instead of a slew of New England IPAs — the region’s signature beer style — he brews his favorite lager styles, tapping no more than three at a time. But it was Dunlap’s humble, approachable presence on TikTok that made Maine, and the national beer scene, take notice. Upon opening Argenta, Dunlap posted confessional videos about the hard realities of running a small brewery, and the honesty resonated.