Maiz Colombian Street Food in Brunswick will close at the end of August. Sande Updegraph/For The Forecaster
Maiz Colombian Street Food has announced it will close its Brunswick location at the end of August. The restaurant was scheduled to open in 2022.
“It was a difficult decision,” said co-owner Martha Leonard. “We love being in the Brunswick community. But food companies are constantly adapting and paying attention to the needs of their customers, and we decided to put our energy into a frozen product line that we have been launching for two years.”
Maiz started selling frozen foods during the pandemic and has so far sold empanadas, arepas and pan de bono, Leonard said. New products are in the works. The line of pre-made frozen foods is available at several local farmers markets, as well as Lois’ Natural Marketplace in Scarborough, Rising Tide Co-op in Damariscotta and Rosemont markets in the Portland metro area.
“It’s for people who want something fast, healthy, different and exciting, but don’t necessarily eat out all the time,” Leonard said. “We’ve had a good response and it’s fun to see people in Maine making arepas at home.”
The original corn, 621 Forest Ave. in Portland, will remain open and its hours are expected to be extended.
YARDIE TING MOVES (JUST A LITTLE)
Jamaican restaurant Yardie Ting is closed for two weeks while it moves from the second to the first floor of Portland’s Public Market, 28 Monument Square.
The move was announced on the restaurant’s Instagram account, and it said it will reopen at its new location at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Yardie Ting specializes in dishes like jerk chicken and pork, curried goat, oxtail mac and cheese, yellow plantains and a variety of patties.
Ben Slattery has joined the team at The Alna Store. Photo: Nicole Wolf
NEW CHEF IN THE KITCHEN OF THE ALNA STORE
Ben Slattery has joined the renowned Alna Store as the new head chef.
Slattery is a well-known name in the Maine dining scene, with credentials including Chaval and the former Pigeons, both in Portland. He also worked for a time as a whole-animal butcher at LP Bisson and Sons in Topsham.
In a statement announcing his new position, Slattery said he looks forward to partnering with local farms and bringing homemade sausages and charcuterie to the restaurant.
“The opportunity to work with the team at The Alna Store feels like a stroke of luck,” he said.
FOOD & WINE’S LOBSTER ROLLS LIST
An article on the Food & Wine website lists seven “outstanding” lobster rolls to try in Maine, including some non-traditional variations.
It’s a list with some standards and a few surprises. Here are the full places to visit to try a roll: Luke’s Lobster Shack, Sur Lie and Twelve in Portland; McLoons Lobster Shack in South Thomaston; Nubb’s Lobster Shack at the Cliff House in Cape Neddick; Latitudes at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunk; and Il Leone on Peaks Island. OK, OK, OK, that last one is a pizza, but who’s counting?
Writer Adam Callaghan, former editor of Eater Maine, explains it this way: “Lobster pizza may be the most avant-garde interpretation on this list, but hey, it’s a beautifully charred crust topped with lobster meat and doused with fat – in this case, extra virgin olive oil from Sicily. If that’s not an oversized lobster roll, I don’t even want to know what is.”
UNE NUTRITION STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP
Annabelle Gascoyne, who begins her final year of a four-year nutrition degree program at the University of New England this fall, is one of four national winners of an Impactful Change Scholarship from Les Dames d’Escoffier International. The scholarship is worth $5,000 and can be applied toward tuition.
“The issue of food insecurity is something I’m very passionate about,” Gascoyne said. “I grew up in a rural town in Vermont that definitely struggled with a lot of poverty, but my community had a lot of great resources like community gardens, dinner parties, and great food pantries. I see this as a need for a lot of places and I would love to be part of the food security effort and make an impactful change in Maine.”
Gascoyne, 21, is an intern with the York County Food Council. She is working on a project that collects simple recipes to distribute to cooks with limited resources at food banks and other food assistance facilities.
“They’re simple meals that seem doable, and they’re also meals that incorporate things like canned goods that you can get from a food pantry,” she said. “The recipes are geared toward people who have fewer kitchen appliances and can’t go to the grocery store on an unlimited budget.”
After graduation, Gascoyne hopes to work for a food council or nonprofit organization specializing in food security.
A statement from Les Dames, a philanthropic organization of women in the food industry, said Gascoyne was “passionate about supporting low-income communities by providing education, social services and counseling to those in the communities who need help the most and have the fewest resources.”
ASIAN FOOD NIGHT MARKET
The Maine Tasting Center in Wiscasset is hosting its first night market, featuring Asian food producers from across the state. The event will take place on August 31 from 5 to 9 p.m. and will feature Asian food, Asian foods made in Maine and cooking demonstrations.
Admission to the night market, held at the center at 506 Old Bath Road, is free and no tickets are required. For more information, visit mainetastingcenter.com.
Copy the story link
