Old Port Spirits and Cigars (facebook) is opening today at 10 am at 79 Commercial Street in the space formerly occupied by Downeast Beverage.
Old Port Spirits is owned by Jacques deVillier who also runs Old Port Wine further down the street.
WSJ: A New England Focus on Local Foods
Chefs at Vinland and Hugo’s/Eventide are featured in this Wall Street Journal article about the New England local food movement,
Griddled until golden but still tender at the center, it arrived nestled up against crescents of delicata squash, in a pool of sage-scented melted goat cheese that evoked the world’s most rarified Welsh rarebit. A tousle of tiny arugula stems and sunshiny tatsoi blossoms topped it all off. The dish was simultaneously surprising and comforting. It tasted of place and possibility. And like everything else on the menu at Vinland, chef David Levi’s fledgling experiment in Down East cuisine, not one morsel of it had started life more than a few dozen miles from my mouth.
Anywhere Coffee Truck (Updated)
The Gorham Grind is in the last day of a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to launch their coffee food truck, Anywhere Coffee Bar (twitter). There goal is to raise $9,000 and they’re currently just shy of $6,000.
Update: The campaign reached it’s goal yesterday raising a total of $9,130.
Interviews with Joe Ricchio and Thomas Pisha-Duffly
The latest to Shift Drink interviews from the folks at Knack Factory are out. This time around they interviewed well known bartender and Portland personality Joe Ricchio, and chef and Family Feast creator Thomas Pisha-Duffly.
The Maine Brew Bus & Coffee Tour
This Week’s Portland Phoenix includes a report on The Maine Brew Bus and their new itinerary of tours, dinners and the Hop and Go shuttle services they plan to run during happy hour.
Also keep your eyes peeled this summer for the bright green bus serving as a shuttle during happy hour (4-7 pm) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Maine Brew Bus “Hop and Go Shuttle” will make a loop around Portland, stopping at 10 established locations to let riders on and off (the service will be free for riders and funded by charging the official stops a bi-monthly rate). The service starts next month.
Portland Coffee House Tour
I’m also happy to announce that Portland Food Map is working with The Maine Brew Bus on a Portland Coffee House Tour, taking place next Sunday June 1. Join me and Brew Bus owner Zach Poole as we visit Speckled Ax, Bard Coffee, Tandem Coffee Roasters and Coffee by Design to learn more coffee and the exceptional businesses behind this dynamic part of the local food community. Tickets are $35 per person, June 1, 12:45 – 5 pm.
Down Home Cookin’ Closed
Down Home Cookin’ on Preble Street has announced that today will be their last day in business. The owners are moving to Oregon and have sold the business “to a local person who has great plans for the space”.
Bissell Baby Genius
Boston Magazine reports that Bissell Brothers is working on a summer session beer called Baby Genius,
“So, we’re using all Australian hops with high alpha acids, which I’d never really used before Baby Genius. The hop bill is Ella, Galaxy, and Summer, which gives the beer a fruity, floral, melon-y profile. Australian hops are familiar enough without being alienating, but different enough to where it’s going to taste much different than other beers on the market.”
Under Construction: Market/Butcher in SoPo
Jordan’s Farm and Farmers’ Gate Market are collaborating on a new local foods market they plan on launching at 106 Ocean Street, according to a report from The Forecaster.
The market – Jordan hopes to finalize the name and opening date in the next two weeks – is a partnership with Farmers’ Gate Market, an organic butcher shop in Wales, owned by Ben Slayton. They plan to offer a variety of meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as dairy products, prepared foods, and beer and wine.
Owners Penny Jordan and Ben Slayton have been working on this idea for over a year now and it’s great to see it becoming a reality.
Photos of Timber Steakhouse
Spoon & Shutter has published a set of preview photos from Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie, located at 106 Exchange Street.
Timber has announced that they’ll be accepting reservations starting at 10 am today for next week’s opening on Thursday.
The menu is classic steakhouse, with some less-traditional dishes in the mix. The appetizer list includes jumbo shrimp cocktail ($18) and steak tartare ($14), but also “smokey bourbon-infused chicken chili” ($12) and “batter-dipped fried bacon strips with Maine maple syrup.” ($8) Steaks — 16 oz. New York strip ($46), 10 oz. filet mignon ($26), 40-day aged, 24 oz. ribeye ($55) and a 2-pound porterhouse ($78) — are all Certified Angus Beef.
“We are the only restaurant in the state to be Certified Angus,” said Noah. “When you eat here, you will be guaranteed that it will be delicious.”
Cupping Coffee in Portland
Follow along with Portland Phoenix food columnist Kate McCarty on her visits to four local shops to learn more about coffee processing and coffee tasting.
While sipping the four samples, my thoughts went like this: “Hmm, tastes like coffee… also tastes like coffee… yup, coffee again… Woah!” The fourth coffee tasted radically different due to the processing method. The Ethiopian coffee from Slate was naturally processed, meaning the fruits of the coffee plant, called “cherries” (inside of which you’ll find the “bean” or seed), are dried in the sun rather than mechanically pulped and then dried. The resulting coffee frequently is full of berry flavors; this one tasted like someone had infused it with blueberry syrup.