The bar area inside The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth reopens this week. Photo by Cody James Barry
Purchased by the upscale Prentice Hospitality Group last fall, The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth reopens to the public Thursday.
The 38-year-old landmark restaurant, known for its Sunday brunches, family-style service and farm-to-table ethos, underwent some cosmetic changes in the months since the Prentice purchase. Still it should feel quite familiar to regulars, according to Executive Chef Matt Ginn, who oversees back-of-house operations for all Prentice restaurants; the others are the Chebeague Island Inn, Evo Kitchen + Bar and Twelve.
“I don’t think it’s changed a whole lot,” Ginn said. “We kept the bones of the space, the bar is in the same location, and the sunroom and dining room are just as they were. We put down a new hardwood floor and painted.
“It’s still a very family-friendly, welcoming environment, and we hope to carry on the tradition that Lisa (former owner Lisa Kostopoulos) had prior to us purchasing the property,” he added.
The new menu from Ginn and Chef de Cuisine Jim Stein features an array of “American classic dishes that we put a subtle twist on,” Ginn said. Starters include Casco Bay fish chowder ($11) that Ginn calls an “homage” to the chowder under the previous ownership, a duck fritter ($15) and Bangs Island mussels ($20), while entrees ($22-$36) include a vegan tofu and asparagus dish, halibut with white bean salsa verde, and shepherd’s pie.
The restaurant serves wine, draft and bottled beer, and classic cocktails with tweaks, such as a bourbon Negroni.
The restaurant can seat up to 100, but Ginn said they’ll limit the reservations in the first few weeks as the staff gets up to speed. The Good Table will offer brunch on Saturday and Sunday starting later this spring, he said.
For now, The Good Table is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m.
“I’ve been cooking now for 20 years, and it’s a nice full-circle feeling,” Ginn said. “I grew up in Cape Elizabeth, and I’m honored to carry on a place that has a great tradition and is really beloved by the community.”
Freedom’s Edge hard cider tasting room, launching in early April in East Bayside. Photo courtesy of Freedom’s Edge Cider
CIDER TASTING ROOM COMES TO EAST BAYSIDE
Albion-based Freedom’s Edge Cider is set to open a hard cider tasting room in East Bayside in Portland in early April.
Located at 31 Diamond St., next to Orange Bike Brewing Company and Bite Into Maine, the new tasting room is to officially launch on April 4, according to Freedom’s Edge partner Andy Kaplan.
The 3,200-square-foot space, including an 800-square-foot mezzanine area for special events, was formerly a warehouse for a garage door company and has been completely renovated, Kaplan said. It can accommodate 55 people inside and another 35 outdoors.
Freedom’s Edge plans to use part of the space for cider production and bottling. They also hope to offer monthly classes on the traditional Champagne method for cider making.
The tasting room will feature 11 Freedom’s Edge draft ciders and three of their bottled ciders, with another 12-15 bottled styles added over the next six months, Kaplan said. They’ll also serve beer from Maine Beer Company and Banded Brewing. The menu in the tasting room will include fondue, which Kaplan said pairs particularly well with hard cider, and items from Bite Into Maine.
The tasting room will be open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2-8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from noon-8 p.m., and Sundays from noon-6 p.m. Closer to the summer season, Kaplan expects to open on Mondays as well and expand the operating hours.
Freedom’s Edge, which launched in 2020, is the state’s largest hard cider producer, making about 50,000 gallons a year. The company also has a tasting room near its orchard in Albion, open noon to 6 p.m. on Saturdays from May to October.
Kaplan said the new tasting room is a way for Freedom’s Edge to build brand awareness in-state. “I really don’t think people know much about who we are, and in the Portland area, people don’t even know that we’re local,” he said. “For us, it’s a chance to cement in people’s mind that we’re local, we’re family.”
DON’S LUNCH LAUNCH
Don’s Lunch opened in Westbrook on Monday in the former Main Street home of River’s Edge Deli.
The new breakfast and lunch restaurant is a melding of Don’s Lunch Van and the breakfast offerings of River’s Edge, which closed earlier this year when owner Steve Lampron retired. Don’s Lunch Van owner Craig Bernier is serving as the 20-seat, 700-square-foot eatery’s general manager, while a silent partner who wishes to remain anonymous is the venue’s owner.
Breakfast dishes ($4-$12) at Don’s Lunch include omelets, French toast and pancakes, egg plates and a breakfast sandwich. Lunch offerings ($3.50 to $8.25) include burgers, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs and clam cakes.
Bernier said Don’s Lunch plans to open a takeout window later this spring. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch service begins every day at 11 a.m.
Bernier said Don’s Lunch Van isn’t fully retired, but is “resting” now, and won’t be back in operation anytime soon. “Maybe down the road we might do something with it, but as of right now, just this (new restaurant) is quite an undertaking, so the van is way in the back of my mind,” he said.
AWARDS FOR LOCAL MALT MAKERS
Beer malt producers Blue Ox Malthouse of Lisbon Falls picked up two awards during the international Craft Malt Conference this month.
Blue Ox earned a silver medal in the Pilsen category for its floor-malted Yankee Pilsner malt, and a bronze medal in the Caramel category for its floor-malted Caramel 20 malt. Blue Ox, the only New England malt house to medal at the 6-year-old competition, also won two bronzes in the Craft Malt Conference’s 2023 awards.
“It’s more than recognition,” Director of Malting Operations Benji Knorr said of the awards. “It helps our team justify the dedicated effort that we put into making quality floor malts and inspires us to make each batch better than the last. Importantly, it validates that world-class malt can be made by hand using locally grown Maine grains.”
Blue Ox sources its barley from Porter Farms in Aroostook County.
Entries from 26 international malt houses were evaluated by 70 expert industry judges at the competition.
OCEAN MARKET AT MAINE CRAFT DISTILLING
Maine Craft Distilling is hosting an ocean-inspired market in April to support the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
Local makers, including Atlantic Sea Farms and All Swell Goods – which specializes in making marine-safe zinc sunscreen – will offer their wares in the distillery’s Washington Avenue venue in Portland on April 6 from 1 to 5 p.m.
The event features live music from 3 to 5 p.m., a raffle including a surf board rental from Black Point Surf Shop, drink specials and the association’s Maine Coast Monkfish Stew and Maine Smoked Pollock Dip available at discounts. Tickets are not required to attend the event.
MAINE FOOD AND TECH EVENT
The FoodTech Maine Showcase, slated for next month at the University of Southern Maine, aims to highlight how sustainability and technology are advancing the state’s food system.
Bristol Seafood President and CEO Peter Handy will deliver the keynote address on the role of food tech in Maine and around the world, and how Bristol became one of the world’s leaders in seafood sustainability.
Hosted by the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, the event will showcase innovative products from six companies around the state, including biomedical products derived from aquaculture byproducts from Salmonics in Brunswick; compostable, biodegradable cellulose-based mesh bag for seaweed and produce from Brunswick’s Ocean Farm Supply; and fish sauce made with fermented eel byproducts from Maine Garum Company in South Thomaston.
“Maine is renowned for its commitment to quality and sustainability, especially within our food sector,” Handy said in a news release. “The FoodTech Maine Showcase is an opportunity to honor our heritage and celebrate the technological innovation that is guiding Maine, and the world, into a new era.”
The event is scheduled for April 9 at 4:30 p.m. at the University of Southern Maine McGoldrick Center in Portland. For more information or to register, visit the showcase’s event page online.
SIXTH ANNUAL MAINE SEAWEED WEEK
Maine Seaweed Week, the annual food and drink festival celebrating the state’s kelp harvest, returns for a sixth year in late April.
More than 70 restaurants, bars and businesses are participating in the event, set for April 19 to April 28. The event will feature local seaweed-based food and drink specials, from sugar kelp cocktails to kelp burgers. Special events, like aquaculture community panels, will also run throughout the week.
New this year is Seaweed Saturday on April 20, an all-ages expo at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. The Maine Outdoor Film Festival will screen short documentaries featuring seaweed aquaculture stories, Maine Sea Grant will offer hands-on seaweed ID workshops and demos, and local artists will exhibit algae-inspired works. Also, seaweed farmers and makers will showcase products to sample or take home.
More information on Maine Seaweed Week is available online.
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