What’s better than a weekend? How about a weekend with free cake? Stacy Begin, owner of Two Fat Cats on India Street in Portland, will hold the grand opening of the bakery’s second location, in South Portland, this weekend. And yes, there will be (free) cake.
The festivities will begin with a ribbon cutting at at the store at 740 Broadway at 10 a.m. Saturday, attended by South Portland Mayor Linda Cohen.
Two Fat Cats in Portland is a cozy little spot known for its classic American desserts, especially its pies and whoopie pies. But it has limited parking and no customer seating. The new bakery will have both, including seating for 10. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m. to noon Sunday. The bakery will be closed on Mondays.
As part of the weekend celebration, Two Fat Cats will donate $1 from every pie sold to the South Portland Food Cupboard, a nonprofit organization that provides food for the hungry.
“Building relationships in the community is really something we strive for and embrace,” Begin said in a press release.
FORMULA FOR PIE
Last week we announced Tipo’s plan to invite nine local chefs to fire up their own signature pizza in the Portland restaurant’s brick oven every Wednesday night. Who’s up tonight? It’s Pete Sueltenfuss, owner of the two Otherside Delicatessens in the city. His pizza will be topped with garlic sauce, broccoli rabe, pine nuts, golden raisins, guanciale, lomo and Parmesan. He plans to pair the pie with Oxbow’s Bowie.
CONE CRAZE? WE’RE IN
Coffee in a Cone has been called “the world’s most Instagrammable coffee,” and it’s especially popular in South Africa, Australia and Europe. But here in the United States, it’s still hard to find. According to the Coffee in a Cone website, it’s available in only six states – “and very few people actually know what it is,” says Kharis Johnston, owner of One Six Green, a new coffee shop in Monument Square in Portland between David’s and the Public Market House.
Now Johnston, who is Australian, is bringing the concept to Maine. She’s selling Coffee in a Cone for $4.75 at her little shop, which opened in November. What exactly is it? It is a delectable marriage between an ice cream waffle cone, chocolate and coffee. You can put anything hot in the cone – an espresso shot, hot chocolate, etc. – and the patented four-layer chocolate cone won’t melt and turn the cone into a handful of mush. At least not instantly.
You have 10 minutes to drink it before the chocolate melts. Go.
IT’S MILLER TIME
It wasn’t so long ago that Yarmouth chef Christian Hayes won the Food Network show “Chopped” and brought home $10,000. Next up: Austin Miller, chef/owner of Mami at 339 Fore St. in Portland. Miller will be on the show at 10 p.m. April 17, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page. That episode, according to the Food Network’s website, is called “A Frog Leg Up” and begins with a mystery basket filled with donut-shaped sushi. The second basket contains the frog legs hinted at in the title of the episode.
Good luck, and here’s hoping they don’t bring back the pork brains in milk gravy.
THE REPLACEMENTS
If you’re a fan of Botto’s Bakery at 550 Washington Ave. in Portland and have noticed fewer pastries are in the case than usual, it’s because the bakery is replacing a 40-year-old oven, the pastry chef tells me. The old oven will be replaced with two new ovens, which should make bread production much more efficient, she says. The renovations began early last week and are supposed to take a week and a half, after which the retail space will be fully stocked once again with cannolis, tiramisu, cheesecakes, pies and the bakery’s signature Cassata Siciliana.
SWING AND SWINE
If you feel like getting out of Portland and trying something new this summer, head up to The Meadow Golf Club in Litchfield for a free lesson in FlingGolf, a hybrid sport that combines golf with lacrosse. Then grab a bite to eat at Doolin’s Pub, the latest project of Portland chef Dave Mallari. Mallari, who owns The Sinful Kitchen brunch restaurant and The Pig Kahuna catering business, took over the pub at 495 Huntington Hill Road last week. Danielle Nadeau, former chef at Royal River Grill House and Garofalo’s at Higgins Beach, is running the kitchen. Mallari will be putting on Sunday pig roasts throughout the summer, with live music, drink specials, and that free FlingGolf lesson. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday for full service; a limited menu will be available on Mondays and Tuesdays until the golf season starts.
Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:
mgoad@pressherald.com
Twitter: MeredithGoad
CORRECTION: This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday April 12, 2018, to include the address of a business.
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