Month: December 2022

Best of 2022

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes restaurant critic Andrew Ross’s list of his favorite food experiences from 2022.

But now that I’ve been compiling my own inventories of yearly favorites for the better part of two decades, I’ve started to look forward to paging through my photos and re-reading my notes. The process evokes some of my happiest memories of the previous 12 months. I am lucky to be able to share them with you, and judging by the messages that appear in my inbox after this column comes out every year, I know you appreciate them, too.

Top of the East

| Posted in Profiles

Down East has published an article about the Top of the East which reopened this summer after extensive renovations.

Could it be that my new favorite cocktail bar in Portland is a chain hotel’s lounge? Those sorts of places are supposed to be for weary business travelers too uninspired to venture elsewhere, and yet the question weighed on me as I sipped a very good old-fashioned — subtle sweetness, restrained bittering, judicious dilution — at Top of the East, in Marriott’s downtown Westin. I tried to talk myself out of it: the vests and bowties on the staff were, perhaps, symptomatic of trying too hard at sophistication, and ouch, 20 bucks is awfully steep for an old-fashioned, even in our inflationary age. But Top of the East is the rare exorbitant cocktail joint that’s probably worth the price of admission, especially on account of the stellar views from 15 stories up.

George Parr, 71

| Posted in People

George Parr, the founder of Upstream Trucking, passed away at the age of 71. The Press Herald has published an obituary of Parr,

Parr, 71, the revered fishmonger who supplied seafood to some of the Portland area’s most prestigious restaurants, died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday in Naples, Florida, while visiting his brother-in-law with his wife, Kathleen.

“He was the only fish purveyor for me because he was amazing to work with, and he cared a lot about where and how fish were sourced,” said Cara Stadler, chef-owner of Bao Bao Dumpling House in Portland and Zao Ze Cafe in Brunswick, among others. “He never sugarcoated it when it came to fish. He cared a lot about it, and would tell you what was worth it, what wasn’t and why.

Bar Futo Opens Friday

| Posted in Openings



Bar Futo (website, facebook, instagram) will open for business on Friday—reservations are available via Resy. The Japanese-inspired bar and grill is located at 425 Fore Street in the space formerly occupied by Five Guys. It is being launched by chef Jordan Rubin and Marisa Lewiecki, co-owners of Mr. Tuna and partners in Crispy Gai.

The food menu (see below) offers a mix of yakitori skewers prepared over a binchotan grill and other small plates like the fluke crudo, kohlrabi salad and a koshikari rice bowl topped with duck sugo and pickled squash. For dessert there’s kakigori—Japanese shaved ice (apple pie and bananas foster on the opening night menu) and chocolate cake.

The bar program features an extended sake list (see below) curated by Advanced Sake Professional Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale as well house-designed cocktails (see below), wine, beer, and non-alcoholic drinks and brewed loose-leaf tea options. Sommelier Courtney O’Neil will be Bar Futo’s GM and in charge of the wine program. Ian Driscoll is the head chef and Bryce Summers is the bar manager.

The restaurant seats approximately 60 people with a combination of booths, tables, bar, and kitchen counter seating. In season the patio on Fore Street will provide room for another 40 seats.

Rubin launched Mr. Tuna as a food cart in 2017. The Mr. Tuna sushi counter opened in the Public Market House in 2018. Rubin, Lewiccki Sasha Brouillard, and chef Cyle Reynolds launched Crispy Gai in the summer of 2021.

Night Moves & Lambs in South Portland

| Posted in Under Construction

Kerry Hanney the baker/owner of Night Moves, and Wade Ritchey have leased 695 Broadway in South Portland where they plan to launch two businesses.

Hanney will be building out the right (white) side of the building where she’ll relaunch the acclaimed Night Moves Bread (website, facebook, instagram). She focuses on bread and baked goods made with sustainably grown local grains which she mills in-house. In 2020 Food & Wine named Night Moves one of the 10 Most Essential bakeries in the nation.

Can a loaf of sourdough have terroir, just like wine? If yes, Kerry Hanney’s would be Maine in bread form. One of the region’s most forward-thinking bakers, she leans heavily on local grains and mills them herself. And her loaves, packed with fruit and nuts or subtly flavored with maple syrup, are essential breakfast slices—just add some local butter.

In addition to her breads and baked good, Hanney will sell coffee, tea, espresso-based drinks to go, and bottles of wine and cider. Home bakers will also be able to buy bags of fresh house-milled grains.

Ritchey will be renovating the left (blue) side of the building where he’ll be launching a bar called Lambs (instagram). Lambs will serve a full bar program of beer, wine and cocktails with a pop-up oyster bar in warmer months and food collaborations with Night Moves year round.

695 Broadway is located along the waterfront and is an easy walk/bike/drive from Portland and has ample parking. It sits adjacent to South Portland Greenbelt which is connected to the Eastern Trail. Hanney and Ritchey plan to have waterfront outdoor picnic table seating.

Construction has already begun and the hope is to open both businesses this spring. Leslie Benson is the architect for the project and Jim Rodney is the builder. Among other projects Benson was the architect for Oxbow Beer in Oxford Maine and Rodney recently completed the build-out of Bar Futo.

Stay tuned for more information on Ritchey’s and Hanney’s exciting plans as they get closer to an opening date.

Trudy Bird’s Ølbar in North Yarmouth

| Posted in Openings

A new restaurant called Trudy Bird’s (website, facebook, instagram) opened Friday night in North Yarmouth.

Trudy Bird’s is a Scandinavian-inspired restaurant and bar. They’ve launched with their full bar program and initially with a limited food menu (see below) of apps and bar snacks. The full food menu is expected to be available in the next week or two. Take a look at the Trudy Bird’s instagram account for some food photos.

The kitchen is led by chef Michael McDonnell who was the sous chef at Natalie’s in Camden, and the executive chef at the Blair Hill Inn in Greenville and at Tempo Dulu in Portland.

The beer list includes options from Allagash, Oxbow, Norway, Sacred Profane and other breweries. There’s cider from Absolem, Eden and Fable Farm, and a by the glass and bottle wine list. Trudy Bird’s sets itself apart with its selection of on-market and house-made aquavits (see list below)

Brothers Alan and Jonathan Hines are the owners of Trudy Bird’s. As they’ve shared on their website, the initial impulse to launch the business began with a trip to Europe. The restaurant is named for their maternal grandmother.

Back in 2017 we made a trek to Norway, Sweden and Denmark. We finished our trip in Copenhagen and while there, we made a stop at the Torvehallerne KBH food market where we stumbled upon Hallernes Smorrebrod. The food stand was packed so we knew it was a “must try”. The open-faced sandwiches were not only visually appealing but were down-right delicious. Everywhere a Smorrebrod was spotted, it was almost always accompanied by either a beer or Aquavit or BOTH! It was during this trip that a lightbulb went off and Trudy Bird’s started to come to life.

Trudy Bird’s will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 4 – 9 pm. Hours will eventually expand to include a Sunday brunch service.