Category: General News

Chef/owner Krista Desjalais has announced that she’ll be going into Summer recess for The Purple House after May 12th in order to focus time on her Bresca and the Honey Bee location.

When The Purple House reopens in October, Desjarlais will be launching “with a new format which will include new pastries, bread, bagels, savory baked goods and pizza al taglio for the weekend….we will also offer a fancyish lunch served Thursday and possibly Friday… two seatings, 8-10 people per seating, multi course”.

Details on how to reserve seats for lunch will be shared later this year.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram takes a look at the diverse range of international street food now being served by Maine restaurants.

Street food taps into our culture’s growing preference for international flavors and casual restaurants, where curious diners can explore new dishes with friends and family. As with tapas-style dining, people can sample several dishes without blowing their budget, and can pass dishes around the table to share. A lower bill at the end of the night means diners can enjoy a restaurant meal more than one night a month, said Clay Norris, chef/owner of Baharat.

WGME and the Press Herald have pushed reports on yesterday’s fire at Fore Street.

Standard Baking is expected to open as usual today. Fore Street is not planning to reopen until Saturday.

The Press Herald has published a report on the City Council’s approval of a new liquor license for Rising Tide.

Portland city councilors have rushed through a liquor license for a local brewery despite a warning from the city attorney that doing so would violate the city’s zoning rules and code of ordinances, and go against precedent it set in dealing with a competing brewery.

The list of nominees for the 2019 James Beard Foundation awards were released today.

There is one nominee from Maine this year. Rob Tod from Allagash Brewing Co. is a nominee in the Outstanding Wine Beer or Spirits Professional category.

This year’s semifinalists were announced in February. The 2019 award winners will be announced on May 6th at the Awards Gala in Chicago.

Related information:

• Award and Nomination Process – learn more about the award nominations process.
• James Beard in Portland – James Beard taught several days of cooking classes in Portland in 1964.

The new issue of Down East is out and it’s all about Maine Food. The articles include:

• A discussion of some of the leading female chefs of Maine
• A list of the 35 “Maine-iest” Foods
• An article by  Guest Editor Sam Sifton
• A look at the diverse cuisines being served on Forest Ave
• An article about American Unagi
• A profile of a 97-year old lobsterman
• and a lot more

Most of the articles are not yet available online.

The number of local coffee roasters has significantly expanded over the past decade and many run cafes where you can try their coffee such as Arabica, Bard, Coffee by Design, Speckled Ax, Tandem in Portland, and Elements and Time & Tide in Biddeford.

But there are also a growing number of roasters you can try by visiting coffee shops and restaurants that don’t roast their own and have opted to bring in beans from elsewhere in the state or the country. Here are the ones I know of:

• Acadia Coffee – Scratch Toast Bar
• Astro Coffee – More & Co
• Bucklyn Coffee – Lolita or Forage
• Carrabassett Coffee – Crooked Mile Cafe
• Crossroads Coffee Beans – Terlingua
• Flight Coffee Co. – Proper Cup
• George Howell Coffee – HiFi Donuts
• Parlor Coffee – Cong Tu Bot or Rose Foods
• Seacoast Coffee – Central Provisions, Omi’s Coffee Shop or Good News
• Speedwell Coffee Roasters – The Purple House
• Stumptown – Giant
• Swift River Coffee Roaster – Mainely Wraps
• Vivid Coffee Roasters – Little Woodfords

The Lost Kitchen has released details of their 2019 reservation process. It follows the same pattern as last year, so dust off your stack of 3×5 cards, find an envelope and a stamp and get your letter ready to mail on April 1st.

The Press Herald is seeking nominees for this year’s Source Sustainability Awards. Past year’s winners have included butchers, grocers, aqua-cultivators. If you know of a person or organization (or are one yourself) that are “contributing to the state’s environmental well-being” then take a moment to nominate them for consideration.