The South Portlander: Dining

The Indian Association of Maine has watched its membership grow from a few dozen members to a few hundred.
That increase inspired 38-year-old Mamta Punjabi to open the first and only Indian grocery store in southern Maine: Masala Mahal.
The retail shop, which offers spices, oils, lentils, mango drinks and more, began operating in June at 798 Main St., in the Southside Plaza. “We specialize in Indian spices, Indian lentils and different flours,” said Punjabi. “These are the foods that we grew up with. It feels like home to have them.”
Shoppers can find an abundance of traditional Indian spices—from curry to coriander—but there also are Indian foods with a modern twist—like packaged mango cream cookies, bottled guava juice, fruit lassis (yogurt drinks) and frozen, ready-to-heat breads and meals. The shop attracts Indian customers from as far away as Lewiston and Augusta, but also has many local converts.
Before Masala Mahal opened, the Punjabis were among the Maine customers who drove to Massachusetts for supplies of Indian ingredients to cook traditional meals. An organizer with the Indian Association of Maine said that many families from India move to Maine for jobs in high-tech as computer software engineers. Some of the posts are temporary jobs that may last several months or a couple years.

The old-fashioned butcher shop has been modernized at the Meat House, a gourmet grocer that recently opened in Mill Creek Plaza.
Maine natives Justin Parent and Jason Rosberg are carving a niche in South Portland, with their selection of beef, fine wines, micro beers and cheeses. The store also sells steak, lamb, pork, chicken, veal, roasts and marinated meat tips.
Chris Carragher, director of field marketing with the Meat House, corresponded with me earlier this summer about his company’s approach to selling meats and catering to customers.
Q. What is the concept behind the Meat House?
A. Both Justin and Jason come from a restaurant background, with management experience at the Weathervane Restaurants. Justin went on to work at Bear Stearns (investment company), after getting his MBA. The two friends then decided to utilize their experience with the restaurant industry on the retail side by creating a high-end butcher shop that really caters to the customer.
The staff is trained and knowledgeable and approachable. They will walk customers through the process of buying ingredients and fixing a restaurant-style meal at home, from preparing a particular steak to pairing it with a nice bottle of wine.
Q. Tell me about the meat products you sell.
A. First and foremost, out cuts are choice or higher, which are the best quality meats you can buy. We sell choice and prime meats that you may not readily find at a big-box grocery store. We really offer a product mix. We are like the old-fashioned butcher shop, with everything from traditional sirloin to marinated turkey tips to exotic meats, like rattle snake or ostrich, though you need to phone in advance so we can get it for you.
There also is almost a cult following of people who have fallen in love with our marinated meats, particularly the steak, turkey and chicken tips. We have a whole line of marinade that ranges from cilantro lime to the house marinade light Italian, with a hint of pepper and mustard seed. We use an air-tight, stainless-steel machine we call a tumbler to infuse the meat with the sauce.
Q. Is the Meat House a “guy” store?
A. We like to think our store appeals to everyone. In fact, 60 percent of our customers are women. But it’s interesting to note that the percentage of women shoppers at grocery store chains is even higher.
Q. What are your personal favorites at the Meat House?
A. I love our Cowboy Steaks, which are big pieces of steak with a bone protruding out of it. The bone adds to the flavor.

Beale Street BBQ seems to sizzle at its new location on Broadway, offering an expanded menu, an emphasis on locally produced foods, and a dedicated area that just handles takeout traffic.
I recently e-mailed owner Michael Quimby to ask him about the changes. Here is our correspondence:
Tell me about your expanded menu. Is Beale Street offering a new style of barbecue?
The biggest change in what we are currently offering is that we have put an emphasis on buying foods that support local producers, and producers who practice sustainable agriculture.  Most of our beef now comes from Wolf’s Neck Farms, our Chicken from Springer Mountain Farms, our Tomatoes are the Backyard Beauties greenhouse grown and vine ripened in Madison, Maine, as always we buy Maine Shrimp, Maine Crab, and Maine Haddock.
We buy cheese from Pineland Farms in New Glouster, Maine, and whenever available we order local and or organic produce.  We don’t claim to be using these items exclusive, but over 80% of the items on our menu contain one or more of these products. 
As for our core menu, we haven’t changed a thing about our BBQ, but we do have a Wolf’s Neck beef baby back rib that we are doing a little differently than we do our regular dry rub BBQ.  The beef lends itself well to basting, so we use a special Texas style BBQ baste and coat the beef ribs several times during the smoking process.  This gives them a tender, almost braised, quality.  Then, also a departure from our standard Q, we grill the beef ribs with the sauce on before we server them.  They are really a nice addition.
Other key aspects to the new menu are some new pastas and salads, and a “combo up” section which allows guests to mix and match various BBQ & grilled specialties with any other entree or large salad.
I notice that there are a few macaroni and cheese selections. Those items must be hits with families.
A lot of people really love the Mac & Cheese options, especially the Mac & Cheese topped with BBQ beef.  We’ve always featured Mac & Cheese on the kids menu, but we’ve created a few more options for those who are a kid at heart.
How is business going in your new location? Is this restaurant larger than the place on Waterman Drive?
Business is going really well.  It is a good location, and folks seem to really like the new atmosphere—not that there was anything wrong with the old design, but the new place really has a nice feel to it.  It is about 20% larger, and the bar area is greatly expanded.  There is always plenty of parking too, though sometimes at a glance in might seem we are packed full because we share parking at both ends of the Thos. Room / Beale St. BBQ building.
Has Beale Street started offering live music? If so, where or how can customers get a schedule?
So far we have only had live music on special events, and we are not sure if we will ever have any sort of regular schedule.  Maybe a subtle “local acoustic blues” night weekly or monthly in the winter months.  We’ll be sure to let you know when we do.

Peggy Kovensky’s sugary floral creations look so real that a bee once tried to alight on a cake she created for an outdoor wedding. Kovensky’s stunning cakes have graced national wedding magazines, and the South Portland resident has quickly built a name for her artistry since she went into business two years ago. Now Kovensky has expanded New England Couture Cakes to include just about any type of celebration cake—sweet treats for birthday parties, anniversaries, you name it.
Kovensky—who has lived in Nigeria and London—has set up a retail shop in the new plaza where Newick’s Restaurant used to be located.
In addition to offering rich, European-influenced celebration cakes, Kovensky sells handmade breakfast pastries and macaroons that are made without flour.
Kovensky said she often can turn around a celebration cake order in one day. Her wedding cakes, on the other hand, must be ordered months in advance.

The family-owned Amato’s—which has a sub shop at 1108 Broadway—will open an outlet at the Maine Mall.
Amid the national chains in the food court that include McDonald’s, Sbarro and Cinnabon --Amato’s will offer its signature Maine Italian sandwiches.
Amato’s founder Giovanni Amato is credited with creating the original Italian sub in 1902 in Portland.
Giovanni sold his fresh-baked Italian rolls filled with meat, cheese and veggies to fellow immigrants who worked the docks in Portland Harbor.
Fast-forward a century and the Italian sub is Maine’s unofficial state sandwich. Amato’s—owned by the Reali family—has locations in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, and continues to grow.
The new mall shop will open in the fall where Au Bon Pan used to operate.