Stone Fort Distillery (facebook) opened for business yesterday. They’re located at 26 Pearl Street in Biddeford. Their first product is a vodka.
Black Cat Changes Hands
Founders Jenny Siler and Keith James Dunlap have sold Black Cat Coffee to Ben Graffius and Mike Mwenedata from Rawanda Bean/White Cap Coffee.
Dear friends and neighbors, for 5 years you have graciously welcomed us into this community and your lives. Today we are saying goodbye. As some of you already know, our family has been dealing with a cancer diagnosis for some time now. Given the difficulties we are facing, we have made the decision to find new ownership for Black Cat Coffee.
Reviews: Rose Foods, Drifters Wife, Fore Street, Becky’s Diner
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Rose Foods,
The best expressions of his intentions are the Harbor Master, a kelp, collards and egg sandwich, and the Monday Morning, filled with rich chopped chicken livers and chicken skin cracklings. The Health Salad, a zingy, dill-and-caraway-scented cole slaw made with cabbage, celery root and shaved fennel, is excellent, as is the classic bagel-and-smoked-fish spread for two, the Fisherman’s Feast. Order it with horseradish cream cheese and a pumpernickel bagel – it’s worth writing home about, especially since you never call and you never write.
The Blueberry Files has posted a first look at the new Drifters Wife,
The new Drifters Wife is like the big sibling to the old space, its elegant menu and unique wines set against a cooler, sophisticated backdrop. As anyone who has visited the restaurant before knows its price point is high, so it’s not for the faint of wallet. But the new space elevates the experience, with more of the same expert natural wine picks and delicious small plates.
Peter Peter Portland Eater has reviewed Fore Street, and
When you walk into Fore Street, you are immediately greeted by the smell of wood smoke, but the smells, colors, flavors, and textures around you will continue to provoke your senses throughout. Even the sounds of the kitchen will add to the experience. For me, this time at Fore Street was even better than the last. The meal was outstanding from cocktail to cake and while the boldest flavors came at the end, the palate throughout the meal painted a beautiful picture one happy, little bite at a time.
The Bollard has reviewed Becky’s Diner.
The diner’s popularity isn’t rooted in some provincial, uncritical enthusiasm. Becky’s is good — a certain kind of good, a cheap and filling, homemade and unfussy kind of good. And it’s not just the food. It’s the florescent lights, the industrial-sized coffee maker, the red vinyl stools along the counter. It’s the service, which is friendly in a Maine sort of way — which is to say, when you ask your server how things are going, she replies, “It’s goin’!”
Regulatory Pressure Hamstrings In-House Curing
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram reports on City regulatory enforcement that has ended in-house meat curing programs at Portland restaurants.
Chefs like curing their own meats because it makes their restaurants stand out and attracts customers who like an artisanal approach to food. But Portland chefs appear to have decided that curing food in-house is not worth the paperwork and potential regulatory tangles. No restaurants have plans on file with the city indicating they are using sodium nitrite, also known as “pink salt,” to cure meats such as ham, bacon, brisket or pork belly in-house, according to Michael Russell, director of Portland’s permitting and inspections department. Some have simply taken the meats off their menus, he said, while others “are finding it more convenient just to buy the product.”
The Proper Cup Now Open
The Proper Cup (website, facebook, instagram) opened for business this morning. The new coffee shop is located at 500 Forest Ave on the corner of Noyes Street.
Owners Rachel Kreie and Zachary Figoli are serving coffee from Flight Coffee Company and baked goods from HiFi Donuts in their “quirky, professional and industrial themed cafe“.
The Proper Cup brings a third option for specialty coffee—Parlor Coffee at Rose Foods and Vivid Coffee at Little Woodfords being the other two—to a section of Forest Ave that just a year ago had none at all. I expect we’ll continue to see rapid change in the retail food scene on Forest from USM to Woodfords Corner in the next few years.
Drifters Wife Opens Today
Drifters Wife will re-open at 5pm in their new expanded location at 59 Washington Ave today. Here’s a look at the menu and inside the space. You make reservations online at Reserve.com.
Lobster Emoji Coming this Year
The Unicode Consortium has announced plans to add a lobster emoji to their 11.0 release in June, and predict that ” The new emoji typically start showing up on mobile phones in August or September.” Here’s a sample image of the emoji.
Lack of Love for Valentine’s Day?
Mainebiz reports data that shows Valentine’s Day is the 130th busiest day of the year for Maine restaurants.
If you do go out, the Womply’s breakdown of the stats for Maine restaurants shows there’s a 1% decrease in transaction volume on Valentine’s Day but a 12% lift in revenue compared to an average day. In other words, while fewer people eat out that night, they’re spending more money in the name of love.
Bow Street Now Open on Forest
Booze Traveler and Chopped
Maine food folks will be appearing on two upcoming TV shows:
- Linda Kate Lobster will be featured in episode 14 of the Travel Channel show Booze Traveler. The episode will air February 26 at 11pm.
- Dandelion Catering chef/owner Christian Hayes will be competing on an upcoming episode of Chopped which is set to air March 20 at 10pm. The episode is entitled Pork on the Brain. The Press Herald has posted an brief interview with Hayes.