Month: January 2016

Woodford F&B to Open Wednesday

| Posted in Openings

Woodford Food & Beverage (facebook, twitter, instagram, website) has announced plans to open on Wednesday January 20th at 5pm.The 85-seat restaurant is located in the center of Woodfords Corner, 660 Forest Ave, at the location of the original Valle’s Steakhouse.

Chef Courtney Loreg with owners Birch Shambaugh and Fayth Preyer have had as their goal to create a “classic neighborhood eatery where you can count on having a reasonable, simple meal or, when you feel like it, something a bit more special”.

Here’s and advance look at the opening night menu (click to enlarge). There’s a daily rotating list of specials (I’m looking forward to Friday’s braised lamb shanks) along with a mix of classic neighborhood restaurant dishes like roast chicken,  strip steak, brussels sprouts, mussels and roast beet salad. The menu’s accompanied by a food friendly list of wine and beer and a short list of cocktails.

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Woodford Food & Beverage will be open dinner 6 days a week (closed Tuesdays). They plan to start serving Sunday brunch (10-3) on January 31st.

Interview with Piccolo & Chef Life Balance

| Posted in People

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with the owners of Piccolo, Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez,

Can you tell me a little bit about your background? What made you get into the restaurant business, and what made you stay?

Ilma Lopez: I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. I studied to work in medicine, but was also drawn to the techniques and specifics of the kitchen and baking. The people and the ingredients (kept me in the business).

Damian Sansonetti: Growing up in a big Italian family in Pittsburgh, Penn., you are always around food and cooking. My father was in the business, but I never thought it would be a career path until when I was in my university chem and bio classes and all I was thinking about was food. (I love) the adrenaline rush of service and the way you get to connect to guests with the food and service. It’s awesome when you trigger a food memory or emotionally move people with what your team can do.

and an article on how two chefs are finding work/life balance once they became mothers.

The funny thing about work/life balance, though, is that for most people the balance is truly key. Too much work can be a bad thing, and so can too little. Now, separately, [Krista Kern] Desjarlais and [Lee] Farrington have turned to breakfast and lunch service, with occasional evening engagements on their own terms, as a way to equalize work and life.

Own a Piece of Oxbow

| Posted in Beer

The Press Herald reports that Oxbow Brewing is seeking to raise $850,000 in equity investment funds, presumably to expand their business.

Oxbow filed a Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities form, signaling that it intends to solicit investments in exchange for shares in the company. The brewer indicated that it would accept amounts as little as $5,000 per investor, and that it expected the offering period to last more than a year.