An Adventurist Portland Dining Guide

| Posted in Reviews

The Adventurist has published a dining guide to Portland.

There are cities that appear on my work calendar and inspire all the excitement of a dental appointment. Portland, Maine, is not one of them. Even in February, when the harbor air seems designed to punish me for wearing an ankle-length dress, I’m happy to go back, because this city keeps adding some new restaurant, new chef, or new dish worth folding into the list.

The article features: Aomori, Central Provisions, Cong Tu Bot, Crispy Gai, Fore Street, Izakaya Minato, Magissa, Miyake, Mr. Tuna, Papi, Regards, Scales and Twelve.

The Adventurist has also written articles highlighting Winona’s in Camden, Aragosta on Deer Isle, and The Lost Kitchen in Freedom.

Uni Lunch at ISF

| Posted in Profiles

Food & Wine has published an article about the seafood lunch experience to be had at ISF Trading on Hobson’s Wharf.

ISF Trading doesn’t seem like a place you could have lunch. The seafood processor on Hobson’s Wharf at 390 Commercial St. has minimal signage and limited web presence…Nevertheless, ISF opens its break room daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to anyone who wants to eat uni and other seafood at the source. Check the menu via a QR code on the company’s website, flag down an employee to order, and load up on boxes of raw uni, spicy squid, and other sought-after seafood. Then, take your tray to the second floor to dine. You can also help yourself to free coffee and tea from massive urns.

Kathy Gunst Food & Memoir Workshop

| Posted in Events

Acclaimed writer Kathy Gunst is teaching a workshop this summer at Hewnoaks in Lovell, Maine. Finding Voice: A Food & Memoir Writing Workshop will take place July 26th through August 1st.

This workshop is built for anyone interested in food writing, whether you’re crafting essays, collecting family recipes, developing a newsletter, or working on a memoir. Each day begins with a focused morning session offering prompts, discussion, and shared work time. Afternoons are open for writing, swimming, hiking, or simply resting. Hewnoaks provides the calm, supportive environment needed for new ideas to take shape.

Each morning session centers on a different aspect of food and memoir writing. Prompts are designed to spark ideas, help you refine your voice, and support meaningful progress in your work. Afternoons are left open for writing, reflection, and enjoying the landscape.

Gunst is the author of 16 cookbooks and is a three-time James Beard Award winner. You can learn more about her work on kathygunst.co.

Y%F Coffee Opens Next Week

| Posted in Openings

Y%F Coffee (instagram) is set to open on Friday, March 20th. It’s located in the long vacant ground floor space at the corner of Congress and High Streets. It will initially be open daily, 8 am – 4 pm.

The spacious cafe features counter seating along the windows overlooking Congress Square, a number of tables in the center of the dining room, a pair of group seating areas with comfy large format chairs, and a green tiled service counter at the back of the space.

Y%F is brewing house-roasted coffee from Ethiopia and Mexico and a decaf coffee from Colombia. Owner Yousif Albadri and his team are serving the standard line-up of drip and espresso-based drinks plus specialty beverages like Spanish lattes (sweetened with condensed milk), pistachio lattes and two variations of Turkish coffee. The menu also includes Belgian hot chocolate, a variety of nonalcoholic mojitos, matcha, green and black teas, and Karak tea.

The food options at Y%F include breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, bagels with cream cheese, and sweet treats like chocolate croissants and pistachio croissants, three flavors of tres leches cake, Dubai cheese cake and Dubai strawberry cups, and a Basque cheesecake.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Through Thursday – Maine Restaurant Week is taking place. Visit mainerestaurantweek.com for a list of participating establishments and special events.

Thursday – Goldies Gin is the featured producer at the next Crafted Conversations event at the Five of Clubs. Portland area baristas will be participating in a latte art competition at Coffee by Design. Mayo Street Arts is holding Dinner, Culture & Connections: Southern India which “celebrates the vibrant culture and flavors of Kerala State in Southern India” . The dinner will be prepared by Bombay Mahal from Brunswick and paired with a series of four beers from Rupee Beer Company. The meal will be accompanied by Indian shadow puppetry  and Mohiniyattam folk dance.

Sunday – Chef Madison Andrews from Mad Mealz is holding a pop-up at the East Ender.

March 16 – The K-Pop Kimbap food truck is holding a pop-up at Cantina Calafia.

March 19 – Chef Matt Ginn will be serving a 4-course wine dinner at Dry Dock. Twelve is holding a 4-course Rhone wine dinner.

March 20 – It’s the opening day of Y%F Coffee (instagram) in Congress Square.

March 21-22 – Maine Maple Sunday Weekend is taking place. Visit the Maine Maple Producers Association website to find a sugar shack or two to visit.

March 22 – The local chapter of the American Culinary Federation is holding their Annual Chefs’ Touch Dinner. Barista Milo Ryan-Humphrey will be holding two Brewers Cup program demonstrations at Another Round. A cupcake decorating class with Meadowsweet Bakery is taking place at Angoor Wine Bar.

March 24 – Jordan Brocklesby from Plates of Portland will be the guest speaker at a Maine Voices Live event at One Longfellow Square.

March 25 – Ironside Whiskey Bar is hosting a conversation and whiskey tasting with Aaron Wood.

April 8 – The Maine Menu is teaching a class for hospitality industry professionals on how to work with social media influencers and creators.

April 17-18 – The 2nd Annual Organic Grain & Seed Summit is taking place.

May 3 – CiderFeast is taking place.

May 16 – The Maine Wine Wine Fest (tickets) is taking place in Freeport.

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.

 

Milo Ryan-Humphrey at Brewers Cup

| Posted in People

Milo Ryan-Humphrey from Another Round will be going to North Carolina later this month to compete in the US Brewers Cup Championship—one of 24 competitors from around the country.

As shared by Another Round, “Competitors spend months preparing a recipe with their own choice of specialty coffee. Preparing these recipes is an incredibly involved process involving trialing different types of filters, grind sizes, even temperatures and mineral content of the water. Milo will be competing with a washed-process Geisha from Panama expertly roasted by Onyx Coffee Lab.”

Ryan-Humphrey will be holding two demonstrations of the Brewers Cup program on March 22nd at Another Round that are open to the public—tickets are available online.

Review of Mandy and Matt’s Cafe

| Posted in Reviews

The Bollard has published a review of Mandy and Matt’s Cafe in Morrill’s Corner.

I opted for a veggie breakfast sandwich ($8.99) of egg, cheese, spinach, tomato, and onion on an English muffin, which I doctored up with a little salt and a splash of Cholula hot sauce. As with most breakfast entrées on the menu, the price included either home fries (griddled or deep fried) or my favorite: hash browns, pressed flat on the griddle until intensely crispy. I ordered a side of meaty, salty, homemade corned beef hash ($9.99), which was also griddled to a delightful crisp (canned hash is available for those willing to trade excellence for nostalgia).