Bold Coast – Lobster Vodka

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails, Fisheries

Bold Coast Spirits (website, facebook, instagram) has launched a lobster vodka produced with shells sourced from Luke’s Lobster. Food & Wine has published an article today about the new spirit,

The result is vodka that’s boldly lobster-flavored with a depth of oceanic flavor and a buttery mouthfeel. The spirit is made without any of the artificial colors or flavors typically found in flavored vodkas, and has a natural hue that resembles the melted butter often paired with lobster.

Bold Coast Spirits is located in Oxford and was launched earlier this year by Jay Lombard and Stuart Littlefield. There first product was an oyster shell rested vodka called Marine 01.

Browne Trading Company

| Posted in Profiles

The Press Herald has published a profile of Browne Trading.

Rod Browne Mitchell founded Browne Trading Company in 1991. The high-end seafood and caviar seller has high recognition in the fine-dining world, with customers including Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, both Michelin-starred restaurants. It sources seafood not only from the Portland Fish Exchange right by its brick building on Portland’s waterfront, but from fisheries and farms around the world, including from Spain, Portugal and Japan.

Veranda Kitchen & Bar

| Posted in Under Construction

The Veranda Group has leased the space at 425 Fore Street next to Barkada where they plan to open Veranda Kitchen & Bar. They shared in a city permit application that the new restaurant will “operate as a full-service, sit-down restaurant, offering our established menu of Thai, Vietnamese, and Asian-inspired cuisine.”

Hai Pham and Sonka Nguyen have operated a Veranda Kitchen & Bar in Westbrook for more than a decade. They hope to launch the 38-seat Portland edition later this year and be open daily for lunch and dinner.

Nguyen and Pham launched their first restaurant, Veranda Thai, in April 2008, followed by Veranda Noodle Bar in 2009, Veranda Market in 2013 and have opened several other restaurants.

The space they’re moving into on Fore Street had been leased by 66S Fusion in 2016 and undergone a full buildout but the business never launched.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – Ladyfish will be holding an “all-you-can-eat buffet plus passed bites throughout the evening” on their last day in business.

Tuesday – High Roller is holding a Maker’s Mark tasting dinner.

Thursday – Adega is holding a pop-up at Lambs.

Thursday-Saturday – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place. Tickets are now on sale for all three events.

Friday – The Pierogi Prince is holding a pop-up at the Local 188 event space.

Saturday – The Maine Tool Library is holding a cider pressing.

Saturday-Sunday – The Messy Cookie is hold the 2nd Annual Cookie Fest.

Sunday – Providence restaurant Frank and Laurie’s (website, instagram) will be at Luncheonette for a pop-up breakfast.

October 21 – Chaval is serving a 4-course Burgundy wine dinner. Root Wild is teaching a fire cider workshop in collaboration with Seed Sound Herbal Apothecary.

October 24 – The 21st Annual Veg Fest is taking place. Sawyer’s is teaching a sausage making class, “The class will give an in depth demonstration of our sausage making process from meat selection, grinding, mixing, stuffing and twisting.”

October 25 – The Great Maine Apple Day is taking place in Unity.

October 27 – Isa is holding a dinner featuring wines from Cantina Flori in Piedmont.

October 28 – Coffee by Design owner Mary Allen Lindemann will be the guest speaker at an event organized by the Maine Trust for Local News.

November 5 – Twelve is holding their 3rd Annual Harvest Dinner.

November 16 – The 2026 Hospitality Maine Summit is taking place.

November 25 – The last day of the year for the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market.

November 30 – The deadline for the Open Call for the 2027 Beard Awards process.

December 5 – The first day of the 2026/27 Winter Farmers’ Market at Stevens Square Community Center at the corner of Stevens Avenue and Walton Street.

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 2026 Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store.

Review of Zaitun

| Posted in Reviews

The Bollard has published a review of Zaitun, the new Somali restaurant that opened in August on Forest Avenue.

We met in the back parking lot around 5 p.m., and as soon as the doors opened we knew we were in for something good. The scent of roasting meat and exotic (for Maine) spices hit us immediately, and the sight of several mature women sitting on milk crates outside the kitchen showed us we were destined to have an authentic experience at Zaitun.

Mainebiz’s 40 Under 40

| Posted in People

Congratulations to the hospitality leaders recognized in the 2026 Mainebiz 40 Under 40 list: