Cong Tu Bot Reopens Friday

Cong Tu Bot is  set to reopen this Friday for indoor dining and with a new concept as a quán nhậu. The concept of a quán nhậu approximately aligns with the idea of a Vietnamese pub or tavern and more directly translates to a shop/diner for drinking and feasting.

The menu (see below) features many new dishes with a few classic carry overs—CTB dessert fans will be happy to know that the chè and the flan made the cut. Some new options include a Rare Denver Steak Salad w/shrimp paste & pineapple sauce, grapefruit, shiso, watercress, birds eye chili, Chicken Liver Pâté w/ fried mantou, whipped condensed milk, chinese mustard, pink peppercorn, and a Caramel Braised Monkfish w/ caramel-cured egg, cilantro, black pepper, and steamed rice.

Also new on the menu is an expanded beverage program designed by Matthew Im, Ashley Ogando, and Hannah Hermes. The bar menu is centered around wine with both by the glass options and bottle list as well as cocktails, beer and no ABV drinks. Cong Tu Bot will also be a BYOB restaurant (see corkage details below).

Co-owner Vien Dobui shared that the popular noodle dishes from their previous dinner service like the phở and bún will eventually make a return.

Cong Tu Bot will be open Friday through Monday, 5 – 9 pm and for the first time is taking reservations.

Dok Mali Opens Tuesday

The new Thai restaurant Dok Mali (website, instagram) is scheduled to open Tuesday for lunch and dinner 11:30 – 8:30. Dok Mali is located in the former Lois’ Market space at 47 India Street which chef/owner Nonglack Thanephonesy has completely renovated into a 32-seat restaurant.

The menu includes the option of a flight of all seven types of dumplings, grilled okra, corn fritters, six different types of noodle soup,  and main courses like Crying Tiger (marinated ribeye, served with sticky rice, veggie skewers and roasted tomato dip) and La La Pork (braised pork belly, bok choi + egg served with ginger rice).

In addition to Dok Mali, Thanephonesy is also the owner of Capital Thai Kitchen and Bar in Exeter, NH. She grew up in Portland and is excited to bring to life a new Thai restaurant in her home town.

Dok Mali will be open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner opening at 11:30 am.

Fruit Bat Cider Distribution

A new distribution company called Fruit Bat Distribution (instagram) has launched. Fruit Bat will exclusively focus on the distribution of hard cider. Owners Jessie Robb and Josh Lemay have a strong passion for cider as well as deep ties in the restaurant industry. Their goal is to create a bridge that helps the growing cider industry thrive.

The first two producers that Fruit Bat are representing in Maine are Sundstrom Cider and Metal House Cider, both located in the Hudson Valley. Lemay and Robb expect to be expanding their portfolio as they build demand for quality ciders and build relationships with restaurants.

Fruit Bat is collaborating with local restaurants on some cider-centric meals. Here are the first two on the schedule:

Twin Swirls Opens Saturday

The Twin Swirls (instagram) ice cream shop is slated to open this Saturday. They’ll be serving a limited menu on Saturday but will eventually have on offer hard serve and soft serve cones and dishes, milkshakes, sundaes and coffee.

The name Twin Swirls is inspired by owner Sarah Palmer’s twin six year old girls, Alex and Sage.

The shop is located at 865 Brighton Ave in the Nason’s Corner neighborhood, and their regular hours will be Thursday through Sunday, noon to 8 pm.

Zu Bakery Pop-ups

Zu Bakery (websiteinstagram) owner Barak Olins is aiming to launch his new West End location in early November.

In the coming two weeks he’ll be holding a series of pop-ups from his bakery at 81 Clark Street on Wednesdays and Fridays, 3 – 5 pm. Stop by to try some of the the breads and baked goods he’ll be featuring in his shop.

When Zu Bakery is fully open Olins and his team will be serving pastries and coffee at the start of the day and with baguettes and other breads going on sale as they come out of the oven and offering two types of pizza alla Romana at the end of the day.

Olins plans to make most of his bakery products with Maine grown grains he mills in-house. In addition to morning pastries and breads, Zu Bakery will also sell biscotti, granola, seasonal pastries and a small selection of bottled wine.

Olins originally launched Zu Bakery in 2000. Previously he was a co-founder/chef of the highly regarded Cafe Uffa, which was located in Longfellow Square and opened in 1995.

Saint Joe Restobar

Joe Fournier has relaunched the former Dirty Dove cocktail bar with a new name and concept as the Saint Joe Restobar (instagram).

The restaurant will be serving  “pan-continental fare” prepared by “Executive Cheftender” Ezra Dunn. Locally Dunn has worked at Evo and Black Cow. Before moving to Portland from the Hudson Valley he led the kitchen at The Stagecoach Inn.

The Saint Joe Restobar—named after Joe Strummer from The Clash—is located at 229 Congress Street. It is open noon to 9 pm, Monday through Saturday.

Separately, Fournier and Matt Moran are opening A & C Soda Shop in South Portland as a successor to Fournier’s popular business A & C Grocery which closed on Washington Ave last year.

Robot Food Delivery at USM

The Bangor Daily News has a report on a new robot food delivery service at the University of Southern Maine.

The bots receive orders via the app and an internal phone SIM card, then proceed to a campus food kiosk — which includes the Hungry Huskies food truck — where a Sodexo employee loads them up with vittles. The machines then trundle on to their destination using GPS mapping software to guide them. Stopping outside their destination building, folks who’ve ordered food then use the app to open the Kiwibot and retrieve their lunch.

Layalina Opens Friday

A new Middle Eastern restaurant called Layalina (instagram) is scheduled to open today at 10 am. Layalina is located at 275 Main Street in Biddeford a few doors down from Elements Coffee Shop.

Layalina will specialize in Middle Eastern food Arabian Gulf region. Owner Talal Alzefiri will be serving a menu that includes lentil soup, fatoush salad, falafel sandwich, chicken or beef shwarma sandwiches, grilled lamb sandwich, a mixed grill plate, stuffed grape leaves and hummus. You can pre-order takeout online. Alzefiri is also the owner of Alhadidi Market in Biddeford.

Layalina will be open Wednesday through Monday, 10 am to 9 pm.

Sacred Profane Opening Thursday

Sacred Profane Brewing (websiteinstagram), the Czech-style brewery and tankpub, is scheduled to open on Thursday. Sacred Profane is located at 50 Washington Street in Biddeford. Sacred Profane will be exclusively serving light and dark Czech-style lagers along with a menu of ‘classic beer hall fare’.

The menu will include dishes such as:

Cretons – pork/dark lager mustard/pickled red onion/saltine

Beef Tartare – top round/mayo/shallot/pickled mustard seed/toast

Salad – little gem/ranch/dorito dust/lardon

Poutine – French fries/curds/beef gravy

Schnitzel – pork loin steak/potato salad/dark lager beer mustard

The dessert menu will feature salty chocolate and basil chip flavors from Parlor Ice Cream.

Sacred Profane is being launched by partners Brienne Allen (head brewer), Michael Fava (former head brewer at Oxbow), and Erin Sheehan and Carson James (co-owners of Lorne Wine).

Sacred Profane will be open Thursdays 4 to 10 pm, Fridays and Saturdays noon to 10 pm, Sundays noon to 6 pm, and Mondays 4 to 10 pm.

To read more about Sacred Profane check out the recent article in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Cabana Opens Friday

Cabana (website, instagram) the new Latin American cocktail bar, restaurant and social space will be opening this Friday. Cabana is located at 111 Middle Street in the space formerly occupied by Piccolo, and will be open 5 pm to 1 am, Friday through Tuesday.

The small plate menu will include dishes like ceviche, pork and beef albondigas, cubano sliders, maduros with house-made ice cream (bottom right), and a seasonal tostones plate.

The beverage program includes mocktails, wine, beer and specialty cocktails like the Valentina (rum, Irish whiskey, velvet falernum, guava, lime, oat froth) and the Perla (pisco, yerba mate, lime, hibiscus dust).

Owner  René Emilio Peña (top right) also operates La Bodega Latina on Congress Street. He moved to Portland 12 years ago from Miami where he worked in the fashion industry. His vision for Cabana has been to meld his passions for fashion, music, art and food into a fully immersive experience that makes use of the small space as part of its personality.