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Helm

Rating Scale
Number Description
5 Excellent
4 Very Good
3 Good
2 I am not in a rush to return
1 I will not be going back

Helm opened for business on February 11, 2021.

Reviews

  • HelmMaine Sunday Telegram (05/08/2022)

(207) 613-9918

60 Thames Street, Portland, ME, USA
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Paleta Guy
Vy Banh Mi

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, the Under Construction page, guides to Maine apples and cider producers, the restaurant real estate listings, Year in Review reports, and the My Kitchen Their Table chef interview series.

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Battery Steele Brewing (@batterysteelebrewing) is Battery Steele Brewing (@batterysteelebrewing) is opening a second location. They’ve bought the former Varano’s Italian restaurant in Wells where they plan to open a 180-seat pub. The building is undergoing renovations and they hope to open to public as soon as May. Owners Jake Condon, Meaghen Kenney, Scott Kenney, Lee Thibodeau and Shane Noble plan to serve a focused menu of elevated pub food along with wine, cocktails and, of course, Battery Steele beer. A wood-fired pizza oven and raw bar are being added to the downstairs bar. Battery Steele launched their brewery and tasting room on Industrial Way in April 2017. It’s been a long term aspiration to add a restaurant outlet to their business, and in an increasingly crowded Maine brewery industry it has the added benefit of diversifying their revenue. In the last few years we’ve seen other breweries such as Maine Beer Co, Bissell Brothers, Goodfire, Banded Horn and Mast Landing adopt the same mixed business model. Varano’s closed their doors in late December after 23 years in business. The building is located at 60 Mile Road, just off US Route 1, just around the corner from Congdon’s Donuts and almost across the street from Batson River. #wellsmaine #batterysteelebrewing #mainebeer
A new gluten-free brewery called Orange Bike Brewi A new gluten-free brewery called Orange Bike Brewing (@orangebikebrewing) is under development at 31 Diamond Street in East Bayside. Construction of the brewery, tasting room and outdoor courtyard (see 3rd image for floor plan) recently got underway. When Orange Bike launches it will be one of very few dedicated gluten-free breweries in America and the second gf brewery in Maine in addition to @luckypigeonbrewing in Biddeford. Brewmaster Alan Pugsley has joined the team as a consultant and is developing a set of gluten-free beer recipes. Orange Bike’s beer will be produced on a 10-barrel vintage Peter Austin brewery system. Tom Ruff is the founder of Orange Bike Brewing and Neil Spilane—a co-founder of Fork Food Lab—is the COO for the business. Ruff’s plans to establish a gluten-free brewery originated when he became gluten intolerant himself. In addition to brewing a beer that is both excellent and gluten-free, Ruff’s ambition for Orange Bike is to be a mission-oriented organization. “Orange Bike is committed to raising the bar for gluten-free beer and intends to make OBB a center and symbol of positive change in Maine and beyond. With a focus on the triple bottom line – social, environmental, and financial – the OBB team is committed to setting a new standard within the craft beer industry. In addition to pioneering a new standard in sustainable brewing, OBB is defined by its commitment to making a positive impact on the local community, welcoming Maine’s rich diversity of people in a spirit of hospitality, inclusivity, dignity, and friendship, and expanding the potential for meaningful new jobs for Mainers.” Ren Navarro from @beer_diversity has joined Orange Bike as their diversity consultant. As a part of her work on governance and DEI, Navarro will guide the brewery as they begin hiring staff and managers for the brewery as well as recruiting for the Orange Bike board of directors. Orange Bike has begun the process to become a certified B Corporation which requires meeting “high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.” Ruff and the team hope to launch Orange Bike Brewing by this fall. #mainebeer #glutenfreebeer
Thai Esaan (@thaiesaanportland) has leased the for Thai Esaan (@thaiesaanportland) has leased the former Back Bay Grill at 65 Portland Street where they plan to re-open their restaurant. The original Thai Esaan on Forest Ave location closed in late 2021 when a fire damaged the building they were located in. Owners Ben Boonseng and Siwaporn Roberts plan to launch with their classic menu and then expand it over time with new dishes and specials. Additionally, beer and wine will also now be available. They’ll continue to offer takeout as well as dining on-site with counter service and seating for approximately 60 customers. Some light renovations are underway, but the layout of the restaurant will remain generally the same. Roberts and Boonseng  hope to launch Thai Esaan later this month. Their hours will be Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 9 pm. #portlandmaine #thaiesaan #thaiesaanfood #mainefood #backbaygrill #openingsoon2023
Papi (@papiportland) is set to open this Wednesday Papi (@papiportland) is set to open this Wednesday. The highly anticipated bar and restaurant is located at 18 Exchange Street. Papi will be open Wednesday through Sunday, 4 – 11 pm. Papi is being launched by Joshua Miranda (owner of Blyth & Burrows and Via Vecchia) along with beverage manager LyAnna Sanabria (@lyannasanabria) and chef Ronnie Medlock. The menus features food and drink inspired by the foodways of Puerto Rico. When you go be sure to try the Chuletta (fried pork chop serves with rice, pigeon peas, red onion and tomato) and the Papi Douro (guava, mulled port wine, armagnac, pink peppercorn, cane sugar). Here’s a look at the food (4th image) and cocktail (5th image) menus from the friends and family preview service held Saturday night. The food menu is expected expand. #portlandmaine #papi #puertoricanfood #puertoricancocktails #mainefood #portlandoldport
The Instagram post of the January ‘Date Night’ The Instagram post of the January ‘Date Night’ raffle marked a big milestone—it was the 50th raffle since the Date Night Raffle launched in 2018. Over the last few years, it’s become a really popular program for readers and a fun feature for us to produce. Since the first raffle went live, the Instagram posts have collectively been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and thousands more continue every month to tag a friend and get a chance to win. Our thanks to Evergreen Credit Union (@evergreen_credit_union) who initially proposed the idea for the raffle and have supported ever since. In addition to the fun for followers that take part, the raffle provides a great vehicle for us to shine love and attention on Maine’s wonderful restaurants. We feature a mix of businesses from seafood shacks to fine dining restaurants, and everything in between. Thanks to Evergreen’s support, the restaurants don’t pay to participate or for the gift cards the raffle winners receive. Here are some photos (2nd through 10th images) pulled from the past few years of raffles. Maine restaurants continue to create great spaces and dining experiences for us all to enjoy. With the industry growing by leaps and bounds, there’s going to be plenty of great restaurants to showcase in the coming years. In order of appearance these photos are from: Izakaya Minato, Terlingua, Pacifico, Gilbert’s, Sichuan Kitchen, Asmara, Cheevitdee, Schulte & Herr, and Helm. #portlandmaine #evergreencreditunion #datenightraffle #evergreeneverywhere
Bonobo Pizza has been closed since the start of la Bonobo Pizza has been closed since the start of last summer. In the intervening months owners Dominique Gonzalez and Justin Grey have been quietly working on plans to open a new restaurant in its place called Cantina Calafia (@cantinacalafia). A complete renovation is underway and when completed (see floorplan in 2nd image) it will result in a 49-seat restaurant with booths along the Pine Street side, a side and back bar and a raised seating area near the front of the storefront all under a vaulted ceiling. Gonzalez grew up in San Diego with family on both sides of the border—her father was from Guadalajara and her mother lived in Santa Barbara and was the daughter of Mexican immigrants—and crossed the border often. The restaurant and menu will be a reflection of her personal culinary and cultural roots. The menus is still under development but will include dishes like ceviches, aguachiles, smoked fish, and tacos, sopes, etc produced with house-made corn masa. Chef Natalie DiBenedetto (aka Figgy from Figgy’s Takeout) has joined the team as a chef consultant to assist Gonzalez and Grey in bringing the menu to life. Gonzalez and Grey have owned Bonobo since 2018 and it’s been a longstanding ambition of theirs to convert the pizzeria to restaurant serving Alta and Baja California Mexican cuisine. They hope to open Catina Calafia as early as May. Since Bonobo closed, artist Lauren Berg from Botanic Magic (@botanicmagic.studio) has been decorating the building with her trademark style window murals. The latest design includes the message “The more you look the more you see magic in nature”. #portlandmaine #cantinacalafia #bajacaliforniacuisine #altacaliforniacuisine #mainefood #westendportlandmaine
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