Category: Profiles

Instant Portland has posted a look at Fore Street’s 2 gelato shops: Gorgeous Gelato and Gelato Fiasco.

I suspect you’re expecting me to come down on one side or the other – to pick a shop as the top gelato shop in the city. I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to encourage you to try them both and see which one you like the best. Like chocolate and vanilla, they are very different shops but each delicious in their own way.  Fore Street is one of the most visible locations in the city, with heavy foot traffic, and I’m confident that both shops will do well…

Today’s Portland Daily Sun includes a profile of MB’s Sweets, a South Portland gluten-free bakery.

Mary Beth Goldman of MB’s Sweets is quietly, persistently and actively infiltrating area restaurants, retail outlets and coffee shops with products that are deceivingly healthier than their white flour and hydrogenated-frosted counterparts. All the rage, or not, Goldman says, “Gluten-free sweets don’t have to be dry, gross and recall a childhood memory of choking on a graham cracker. Most people associate gluten-free with crumbly, gritty and crunchy — but that just isn’t the case.”

In Portland, MB’s Sweets products are available at Morning in Paris Cafe on Exchange Street.

 

Earlier this week the Portland Daily Sun published a profile of Marcy’s Diner including details on the eatery’s change in ownership.

Back in March, the previous owners and motorcycle fanatics Murray and Joely Sparks put the word out that they were looking for someone to take over the diner. They had a 2-year-old son at home, and work days that could sometimes turn in to 24-hour-long marathons proved to be incompatible with the challenge of raising a little boy. They wanted to make sure the location, a diner since the early 1940s, would remain an eatery, and decided to find a new owner rather than close and risk the space being leased to other entities.

The Food & Dining section in today’s includes a feature article about Maine-based Gryffon Ridge Spice Merchants.

The Suydams run their spice business out of their rural home, where they also raise heritage pigs, chickens and ducks. They prepare and package the spices in a commercial kitchen they’ve built in their basement, which has a six-burner gas stove, a huge mixer, large stainless sinks and other equipment. Colorful spices are everywhere, and when Rick is working on a curry blend, the fragrance wafts upstairs and fills the house.

In Portland you can buy Gryffon Ridge products at LeRoux Kitchen on Commercial Street.

The Maine Culinary Podcast has published an interview with staff from the Portland Food Co-op on  Hampshire Street.

Welcome to Episode 11.  In this episode we had an opportunity to learn about the Portland Food Co-op.  Michelle Smith, sat down with us and explained a bit about how the group came to be and how the Co-op works.  Michelle also told us all about the suppliers and vendors that make their product available to the group. Tim, working as Vendor Coordinator, also joined us to go a bit more in depth about the building the Co-op resides in and also how he got started working with the group.

Food, etc. has published a profile of The Honey Exchange.

Buying a jar of honey is like buying a bottle of wine, says Meghan Gaven, who owns the business with her husband, Phil. “Each has a different character. Lighter colored honeys tend to be more floral and minty,” she says. “The darker the honey, the stronger the flavor.”

Bresca has announced the start dates for their highly anticipated lunch service,

Beginning Wednesday December 7th, at 11 am, Bresca will be offering a take away and sit-down cafe style lunch. Look forward to pastry, sandwiches, salads and soup. The opening hours will be limited to 11 am to 2 pm, Wednesday and Thursday.

LiveWork Portland has put together a select list of coffee shops in Portland.

Perhaps the current epicenter of Portland’s Coffee Universe is Bard, at the corner of Middle and Exchange streets. Here’s where budding entrepreneurs set up shop early in the morning, laptops open and buzzing, conducting business all day long. There are some obligatory sofas at Bard, but the crackle of commerce (or, at least, intense discussions) is in the air. If Bard were a movie actor, it’d be George Clooney.

Roma Pizza opened for business on Friday. They’re located at 10 Exchange Street.

They join a crowded field of pizza shops in the Old Port: Flatbread, Joe’s, Portland Pie, Pat’s, Anthony’s, Bill’s and Pie in the Sky.

Roma will be closed Tuesday through Thursday this week in observance of Thanksgiving and will hold their Grand Opening on Friday.