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Crispy Gai

Opened for business on June 30, 2021

It is owned by Crispy Gai is owned by Jordan Rubin and Cyle Reynolds.

Reviews

  • Crispy GaiPortland Press Herald (09/02/2021)
  • Crispy GaiPortland Press Herald (04/01/2021)

(207) 535-7935

Crispy Gai, Exchange Street, Portland, ME, USA
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BelleFlower Brewing Co.
Onggi Ferments

About Portland Food Map

Portland Food Map launched in 2007 as a directory of the local food community. Other features have been added over the years including food event listings, Sunday Brunch options, the Under Construction page, pandemic takeout list, the restaurant real estate listings, and most recently the My Kitchen Their Table chef interview column.

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A new Puerto Rican-inspired bar and restaurant cal A new Puerto Rican-inspired bar and restaurant called @papiportland is under construction at 18 Exchange Street (1st photo). Papi is being launched by Joshua Miranda along with bartender @lyannasanabria (3rd photo). As you can see, the space is still very much under construction (2nd photo). However, if the remaining work goes according to plan Papi is expected to open in late November or early December. The space will seat 48—15 at the curved bar shown above, 31 in a banquet along the left wall of the space and the 2 remaining seats in a semi enclosed “lover’s booth” with louvered French doors towards the back of the bar. The menu (4th and 5th photos show a draft menu) will feature food and drink inspired by the foodways of Puerto Rican. Sanabria shared, “I remember hearing a Nuyorican say ‘we are our ancestors wildest dreams’ and that is honestly how I envision the cocktail program for Papi. Like most Puerto Ricans I was heavily impacted by watching my family cook and dance. Honoring the diaspora, expect flavors like guava, coconut and sofrito while melding with the fresh and seasonal seaside flavors available here in Maine.” The Papi team will be running a pop-up event (tickets available on @eventbrite) on October 10th where you’ll be able to get an early taste of the food and cocktails. The pop-up will raise funds for @visitrico and @conprmetidos to aid residents of the island as they recover from hurricane Fiona. #portlandmaine #mainefood #puertoricanfood #puertoricancocktails #papiportland #oldportportlandmaine #lyannasanabria
Portland bartender Arvid Brown and his business pa Portland bartender Arvid Brown and his business partner Nick Coffin have signed a lease for 41 Wharf Street where they plan to open a new bar called @_roomforimprovement_. The cocktail list at Room for Improvement will feature riffs on classic cocktails and some house-designed specialty drinks. The beverage menu will also include local draft beer, and a small and focused by-the-glass wine list, and a selection of temperance cocktails. The owners are hoping to source and reconfigure a Jagermeister shot-chilling machine to set it up as an Allen’s Coffee Brandy dispenser—part of a vision to be a bar that’s serious about cocktails but that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The general concept for Room for Improvement is of an modern dive bar. Renovations have already begun in the former Jaeger/Rogue’s Gallery space and they hope to be open for business by the end of February. Brown and Coffin are positioning Room for improvement as straight up bar that can be a destination for a pre-dinner drink before a prime time meal in the Old Port and also serve as late night spot that Old Port workers can drop in at after their shifts. Brown was a co-owner of the Fishin’ Ships food truck when he first moved to Portland. He moved on to work as a bartender at Ebb & Flow, Roustabout before helping open Baharat where his creative use of Middle Eastern ingredients and flavors integrated the bar program with the menu. Brown is currently the bar manager at the popular Exchange Street restaurant and bar Crispy Gai. Coffin is a native of Vermont and has been a partner and manager in bars in Colorado and California prior to moving to Maine. #portlandmaine #wharfstreet #craftcocktailbar #mainecocktailbar #seriousfun
The newly renovated @topoftheeast reopened recentl The newly renovated @topoftheeast reopened recently. The top floor cocktail bar at the Eastland/Westin hotel has the best views in and of the city. The cocktail menu includes some takes on classics like an Old Fashioned and G&T, as well as a few low ABV drinks, full on mocktails (2nd photo is a Cucumber Collins), and a brief but interesting wine list. The new Top of the East also has a food menu that includes sous vide duck wings, harissa shrimp (3rd photo), sweet potato crab cakes and a charcuterie board. Desserts are also available. Top of the East is open Tuesday through Saturday opening at 5pm. #portlandmaine #topoftheeast #mainecocktailbar #eastlandhotelportland
Here’s a new set of photos from recent Maine res Here’s a new set of photos from recent Maine restaurant road-trips—part of an ongoing project to venture outside the Portland area to visit restaurants, bars, bakeries and other food venues across all of Maine’s sixteen counties. Represented in this post are spots to eat and drink in Norway and South Paris in Oxford County, Ogunquit, South Berwick and Kennebunk in York County, and Lisbon Falls in Androscoggin County. The details (in order of the photos): The bar and an heirloom tomato salad at the @leavittheatre in Ogunquit (the Leavitt has an interesting cocktail program that’s worth checking out), a ginger-orange chicken grain bowl from @engrainkitchen in South Berwick (while you’re there pay a visit to the Sarah Orne Jewett House across the street), a dish of roasted wild king salmon with fingerling potatoes, slow roasted tomatoes, leek soubise, olive tapenade at @fluxrestaurant in Lisbon Falls (while there check out the @ryanwritesonthings mural entitled Feed Your Soul that runs along the left wall of the restaurant), the chicken a la mattone at @wandbylanding in Kennebunk, appetizer and cocktail at @dolceamicigelato in Norway, and braised beef kimchi tacos at @xvaultpub in South Paris (see @tablexdining for chef Alex White’s occasional dinner series). *Do you have a favorite spot outside the Portland area? Tag or mention them in the comments here and we’ll keep them in mind for future travel.* See earlier posts on June 23rd, July 6th, and August 5th for more Maine road-trip restaurant photos. #16countieseats #mainefood #mainefoodmap #heirloomtomatoes #leavittheatre #chickengrainbowl #kingsalmon #chickenalamattone #kimchitacos
@dara.bistro recently opened in Cumberland center. @dara.bistro recently opened in Cumberland center. Dara is a coffee shop Monday through Saturday mornings and transforms into a restaurant Thursday through Sunday in the evenings with both indoor and outdoor seating. Shown here is their pan seared cod served with oyster mushrooms, blue potatoes and corn; a peach and almond crisp dessert topped with peach ice cream; and a glass of Austrian rose. #cumberlandmaine #pansearedcod #peachcrisp
A new Middle Eastern restaurant called Layalina (@ A new Middle Eastern restaurant called Layalina (@layalina_restaurant275) 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 (@alhadidi288) in Biddeford. Layalina will be open Wednesday through Monday, 10 am to 9 pm. #biddefordmaine #biddefordfoodmap #layalina #grilledlambsandwich
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