A new cocktail bar called Proper Charlie’s is under development at 26 Exchange Street.
Owner and Maine native Joshua Miranda “hopes to appeal to Portland’s more refined cocktail consumer” and “bring a modern interpretation of a classic cocktail bar to one of our City’s more iconic thoroughfares.”
Here’s an excerpt of the draft cocktail menu (page 38) supplied with the liquor license application,
and the draft food menu (page 40).
Business Insider has posted a travel guide to Portland.
The article mentions Allagash, Central Provisions, Fore Street, Liquid Riot, The Blue Rooster, The Holy Donut, The Porthole.
The Wild Terrains travel site has published a guide to Portland.
Come for the small town charm, stay for the food. This travel guide is going to sound like a fat kid wrote it and we have no shame. Portland is a foodie wonderland – it’s filled with award winning restaurants all within walking distance of downtown, and they do not disappoint. Get ready to gain a few lbs because you’re about to pack a lot of eating into a quick weekend trip.
The restaurants featured are Bard, Central Provisions, Duckfat, Eventide, Hunt & Alpine, Piccolo, Scales, Street & Co, Tandem and The Honey Paw
The Portland Phoenix has published an article on Botto’s Bakery,
“A lot of people know we do bread. They come in and say, ‘I didn’t know you made pastries,’” Jessica said. Their Washington Avenue location sees a lot of foot traffic from the neighborhood and the morning commute. The storefront business, with a quaint design and a couple of tables and chairs, has tripled since they expanded and upgraded their equipment in 2002, she added. They now bake everything in-house, switching from offering a few frozen items.
and a report on organic farming.
The general impression, from casual conversations with farmer’s market foodies, is that buying organic produce comes with certain expectations: the food will be safer, healthier, tastier and less of a strain on the environment. It’s the “you are what you eat,” kind of mentality and firm believers are willing to pay extra money to adhere to it.
The Press Herald has published an article on a new Food Studies program at USM,
The University of Southern Maine is launching a food studies program next spring to provide a broad, liberal arts-style education in food and offer at least 30 paid internships a year to students who want to try working in food-related businesses or anti-hunger organizations in Maine.
as has the Bangor Daily News.
The first of its kind in the state, USM’s Food Studies Program will launch as an undergraduate minor in the spring semester, and cover subjects such as the economics of Maine’s thriving microbreweries and how public policy might improve food insecurity in the state. The university plans to expand the program over the next two years to include graduate-level courses, a graduate certificate program in food studies and internship placements for students in the various food enterprises around Portland.
For more detail see the original proposal to establish the program (82 pages).
Mike Wiley, co-chef/owner, of Hugo’s, Eventide, and The Honey Paw, has penned an article providing a behind the scenes look at staffing a restaurant. This is the first of a three-part series by Wiley.
When I try to be frank with our guests about where the ideas and food come from, I get the sense they think my explanations are false modesty. That’s not it at all: A lot of really talented and hardworking people work in our restaurants, and everything is a collaboration.
Scratch Baking Company reopened in Willard Square on Tuesday. Bagel production has been delayed due to an equipment malfunction.