Category: General News

This week’s Food & Dining section includes an article on the 40-year anniversary of The Great Lost Bear,

Dave Evans, who founded The Great Lost Bear with his wife, Weslie, is now 72, but still comes into the restaurant every day and has no plans to retire. Many Portlanders have their own fond recollections of spending time at the Bear – such as sipping craft brews from one of its 80 taps, or mugging for the Bear Cam at the bar. Evans, naturally, has his own, and recently shared some of his favorite memories of the place that has become his second home.

and an article on sidewalk dining in Portland.

As the number of restaurants in Portland continues to rise, so does the demand for outdoor seating, where locals and tourists alike can bask in the sun while slurping Maine oysters or sipping craft beer. Setting up tables on the sidewalk allows restaurants without private outdoor space to compete for customers who won’t dine out any other way when it’s warm enough or have their dog in tow — and more and more of them are taking advantage of that option.

Today’s Sunday Telegram includes an article on the growing popularity of Bánh mì sandwiches.

In Portland, it used to be just the foodie crowd who knew what a banh mi was, and that you could get one at Kim’s Sandwich on St. John Street, before it closed in 2016. Today these Vietnamese sandwiches seem to be everywhere, showing up in both traditional and experimental forms.

The Bangor Daily News, Fox 23 and the Press Herald have all published reports on a pilot program that will let restaurants rent an adjacent on street parking space for outdoor dining.

Portland has approved a pilot program for “parklets,” which are raised dining areas in on-street parking spots adjacent to restaurants that don’t have enough sidewalk space or a nearby public park for outdoor dining. Just five parklets will be allowed in the city during the first year of the program.

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, Burundi Star, 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
• Astro Coffee – More & Co
• Bucklyn Coffee – Forage
• Carrabassett Coffee – Crooked Mile Cafe
• Crossroads Coffee Beans – Terlingua
• Flight Coffee Co. – Proper Cup
• George Howell Coffee – HiFi Donuts
• La Colombe – Navis Cafe
• Parlor Coffee – Cong Tu Bot or Rose Foods
• Seacoast Coffee – Central Provisions, Omi’s Coffee Shop
• Speedwell Coffee Roasters – The Purple House
• Vivid Coffee Roasters – Little Woodfords