Thin crust pizza & green furniture come to Congress

Portland is blessed with an abundance of pizza parlors, but the city's main drag has been woefully underserved when it comes to pies and slices. Not any more. Otto Pizza, at 576 Congress St. (near the Portland Museum of Art and across the street from Empire Dine & Dance), recently opened with thin crust pizzas. The counter service joint is owned by Anthony Allen (left) and managed by Mike Keon (right).

There's no set menu at this point, but you can buy slices ($3-$3.50) or whole pies ($12.99) and Anthony and Mike can accommodate most of the standard requests such as pepperoni, cheese or veggie. The cheese blend includes whole milk mozzarella, asiago and fontina. A selection of sandwiches, salads and scratch made cannolis will be added soon.

Anthony and Mike are using local ingredients whenever they can. Of course, you can't get more local than the potted herb garden they have growing in the front window. These fresh, savory seasonings are added to all the pies.

Next door, there's another cool new shop to check out. Good Earth Furniture opened roughly a week ago and is offering a unique line of furniture made from old shipping pallets and other reclaimed wood. Since shipping pallets are made from a wide variety of wood, including mahogany, oak and cherry, the furniture makers have plenty of choices. The business is owned by Dana Awtry and all the furniture is built in Portland.

When I stopped by, Annmarie Lunt was holding down the fort. She's a recent MECA grad with a BFA in woodworking and furniture design and says the job is a perfect fit for her. The company offers a wide-range of furniture pieces, from jelly cabinets to coffee tables. Annmarie says they always wait until a customer buys a piece before adding any shelving, as this allows the customer to specify what would work best.

For instance, this sweet-looking armoire (priced at $1,200) could be fitted with shelves to hold sweaters or configured to accommodate an entertainment system. Smaller cabinets generally range in price from $200-$400. The shop carries pottery by Leestice and has a few furniture pieces made by a local woman's grandfather who used wood reclaimed from a bar that operated in Portland in the 1700s.

Otto Pizza (at left) is open seven days a week. It stays open until 2 am Thur-Sat and is open until 9 pm the rest of the week. They will deliver pizzas within the immediate area. Call 773-7099 to order.

Good Earth Furniture is open from 9 am-5 pm, seven days a week. Custom orders are welcome. Call 603-738-7579 for more info.

Shop shuffle in Old Port

In the past month, a number of my favorite storefronts have packed up their bags and moved to new digs. Here are a few of the highlights.

Aucocisco Galleries is now settled into the spot previously occupied by the Daniel Kany Gallery. Since I walk by this window at 89 Exchange Street almost daily, I'm thrilled to have the chance to check out this majestic Bernard Langlais sculpture every time I pass. The gallery also puts on an awesome reception for every First Friday Art Walk.

Down the street a bit, near the intersection of Exchange and Fore, Puzzles & Games Etc has moved into a new shop at 299 Fore Street. (It used to be on Wharf Street.) This is an excellent place to pick up a fun board game or a puzzle before you head out to camp. It's also a great spot to buy gifts for those hard to shop for people.

With the warm weather here, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy a bottle of wine. If you're looking to pick up some at Old Port Wine Merchants, you'll want to know it's moved from Fore Street to 223 Commercial Street. Should you need buying advice or want to try something new, proprietor Jacques deVillier is always happy to help. And while I don't know the first thing about stogies, the shop has a big walk-in humidor and what I hear is an excellent selection of cigars.

Indie Biz Awards celebrate Portland's unique style

The Portland Indie Biz Awards gala took place last night at Empire Dine & Dance. The upstairs bar was packed with tons of folks who run or work for the city's many independently-owned businesses. Now in its second year, the party was a fun-filled event with free food and lots of amazing silent auction items.

Kathy Palmer of Fetch (left) organized last night's party. I snapped this photo while she was chatting with Nancy Lawrence of Portmanteau. Both ladies serve on the Portland Buy Local board.

A great group of volunteers helped put the party together, including Alisa Conroy (left) of the SOAP Group and Kristen Smith of Planet Dog.

Here are a few of the party-goers: From left to right they are photographer Sam Cousins, Hilly Town blogger Bryan Bruchman and Portland Arts & Cultural Alliance Director Cathy Valenza.

There will be lots more photos from the party coming soon. MaineToday Seen photographer Cara Slifka (at left) was snapping a bunch, which will be uploaded to the Seen section.

And now for the winners ...

The always popular Coffee by Design (represented by owners Alan Spear and Mary Allen Lindemann) took home the Community Hero award, presented by Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance.

The award for the Business With No Front was won by Emilie Sommer of Emilie Inc. Photography. It was presented to her by Elise Loschiavo of Portland's Downtown District.

Here are the rest of the winning businesses:

Soul of Portland: Portland Farmers' Market
Flavor of Portland: Fore Street
Environmental Hero: Portland Trails
Portland's Best Kept Secret: Micucci's Grocery Store
Portland Totem: Becky's Dinner
Global Hero: Portland Museum of Art
Wild Card Award: Longfellow Books

Congratulations to all the winners and to all the people who support these awesome locally-owned businesses! Without them, Portland would be a very different place.

Buy Local members mix it up at Andy's Old Port Pub

Last night the Allagash was flowing during the Portland Buy Local mixer at Andy's Old Port Pub. This association of business owners and residents promotes the idea of keeping our purchasing power in the community and holds these networking parties every couple of months. It's not tough to get members out when local brewing superstar Allagash donates the drinks.

Another big attraction was the fresh pizza that Andy's kitchen kept bringing out for the crowd.

Joe Walsh, of Green Clean Maine, spoke to the crowd about Portland Buy Local and thanked Andy's for hosting such a fun gathering, which took place in a private room behind the main bar. After the Allagash ran out, members could order from the regular bar and Andy's donated $1 from each drink to Portland Buy Local.

A little later, Stacey Mitchell, a board member and author of "Big Box Swindle," thanked Joe for all the great work he's done this past year in organizing these mixers. She also urged everyone to join the New England-wide effort called 10% Shift. The campaign asks people to sign a pledge and commit to shifting 10% of purchases from out-of-state businesses to locally-owned businesses.

According to the number crunchers behind this effort, if five million households in New England make this shift, the money spent at local businesses (a greater portion of which stays in the local economy as compared to purchases made at out-of-state chains), would result in the creation of 48,000 new jobs and the generation of more than $5 billion in new economic activity.

Portland Buy Local is always hosting cool events, and the next one to look forward to is the Indie Biz Awards taking place May 13. Be sure to mark your calendar. If you want to see some photos from last year's awards ceremony, check out this post on my Commune Tested, City Approved blog.

Coffee + compounds come to Marginal Way

In some ways, entering the new Apothecary by Design and attached PeRx-U-Up Specialty Coffee & Cafe shop on Marginal Way is like stepping back in time to an old-fashioned pharmacy. The locally-owned business is brimming with helpful staff members and the coffee bar is similar to an old-timey soda fountain. But in other ways this place is as modern as can be.

The shop does carry the mass market brands and items you usually see in a national pharmacy chain. But it also offers an extensive selection of natural remedies and personal care products. You can find everything from herbal tinctures to Traditional Medicinals teas and cruelty-free soaps to natural hair dyes.

Not only does it have a regular pharmacy, but the shop also has a specialized compounding pharmacy, which you can see here through the glass. Inside this sterilized zone, pharmacist Joe Lorello mixes up custom medicines. For patients and doctors who need prescriptions made in higher or lower dosages, prepared as a cream rather than a pill or formulated without an ingredient to which the patient is allergic, a compounding pharmacy is the solution.

Here are just some of the pharmacists and specialists available to help customers. Mark McAuliffe, far right in the photo, tells me that the shop has particular expertise in working with insurance companies to obtain coverage for medications and that the team has extensive experience formulating prescriptions for transplant patients and women undergoing fertility treatments.

And whether or not you have a prescription to fill, it's worth popping inside to pick up a Coffee By Design coffee, a soup or a sandwich.

The sandwiches are made fresh each day by City Deli and the soups and pastries come from Stones Cafe and Bakery in North Yarmouth. Regular offerings include chicken caesar wraps ($6.50), veggie wraps ($5.95), ham and cheese paninis ($6.95) and roast beef and cheese sandwiches ($6.25). There's a special wrap and panini each day, and today's are a honey curry chicken wrap and a steak bacon cheddar with horseradish panini. Today's soups ($3.25-$6.45) are carrot ginger, portabello primavera and beef sausage chili.

The pharmacy and coffee shop are located at 84 Marginal Way, in the new InterMed building. It is open Mon.-Fri. 7 am-6 pm and Sat. 8 am-1 pm. During the week, the pharmacy opens at 7:30 am. You can reach them by phone at 774-5220.

Utopia makes old stuff cool again

I've been wondering what was going into the storefront in the recently completed glass-fronted building attached to the Portland Harbor Hotel, and today I found out. It's a sleek new furniture gallery called Utopia, where everything on display is created from reclaimed materials.

Shop manager Elena Usova was kind enough to show me around and tell me about the company's green philosophy. The wood comes from things like old pickle barrels and tobacco barns, and the metal in one of the pieces began life as a bridge. A few pieces are made from eco-friendly bamboo. Veering away from petroleum-based lacquers, finishes for the wood include citrus oil and natural wax.

Utopia runs a manufacturing facility in Gorham, where it's been making custom fixtures and furnishings for stores and restaurants for a number of years. Rather than showcasing commissioned work, the retail space contains Utopia's own line. But custom orders are welcome too.

Here's the Kinetic Table and Kinetic Chairs, which boast clean lines and a modern aesthetic. The table sells for $3,000 and the chairs go for $780.

This edgy table ensemble is one of president Ty Parr's latest creations. Parr and Brett Miller are the designer brains behind all this beauty.

Here's the Cashmere Sofa ($3,600), which is an utter dream to sink into. Should you want to give it try, head over to Utopia tomorrow night, Dec. 11, from 7-9 pm for a grand opening party. I can't promise Shangri-La, but I do hear there will be free drinks.

Utopia is located at 470 Fore St. It's open from 10 am-8 pm seven days a week. FMI call 899-4266 or click on over to www.utopiadesigns.com.

Chocolate pours into foodie enclave

Portland's East End restaurant district, which is home to such delicious eateries as Hugo's, Micucci's, Duckfat and Ribollita, just gained a new foodie storefront. Dean's Sweets opened up shop on Saturday. Located between Rabelais books and the Pepperclub, the chocolatier is offering up 18 flavors of hand-dipped, Belgian dark chocolate goodness.

These include flavors such as cinnamon, coffee and blueberry. I had the thrill of trying the cayenne variety, which was a perfect blend of sweet and hot. People who really like the heat will want to try the super cayenne, which I hear has three times the amount of cayenne.

"Super cayenne started out as a mistake," owner Dean Bingham tells me. "It's nice to be able to eat your mistakes."

Sounds like a sweet job, indeed.

For those of us who like a little booze with our chocolate, we can't go wrong with the brandy, rum, scotch or tequila lime flavors. And if anyone on your shopping list has a nut allergy or sensitivity, you'll be happy to know Dean's Sweets never uses any nuts or nut extracts in its chocolates.

Should you need a gift in a hurry, just pop in and grab one of the pre-packaged gift boxes. The 8-packs sell for $17.50 and the 16-packs go for $27.50. Sounds like a sweet gift to me.

Dean's Sweets is located at 82 Middle St. It's open Mon.-Fri. 11 am-8 pm, Sat. 10 am-8 pm and Sun. 10 am-6 pm. FMI call 774-7779.

Inked in Portland

Portland overflows with creative talent, and frequently it makes its way onto T-shirts. As of today, there's a new source for artsy Ts. Local-Ink.com just hit the internets, with an offering of six artist-designed garments.

The brainchild of Mark Ohlson, Local-Ink.com offers limited edition shirts from local designers. Right now those designs come courtesy of Theodore Bettcher and Tessa O'Brien. Each shirt is signed and numbered.

Plans are in the works to release new designs from two more Portland artists this spring. This will be followed in fall 2009 by designs from two Portland artists, two Boston artists and two San Francisco artists.

"I want to create clothes people can have a connection with as soon as they buy it," Ohlson says.

Warm up to Mexico on Market Street

With the arrival of the frigid air, I'm on the hunt for ways to warm up, and I just found a perfect place to shake off the cold at the brand new Se Vende boutique. Located at 81 Market St. in the Old Port, this darling shop is run by mother and daughter duo Sage Eskesen and Olive Jones and features artisan treasures from Mexico.

Hand-painted pottery, in everything from mugs and butter dishes to platters and planting pots, is one of the first things you'll spot when you walk into the shop. The dishes in this snapshot range in price from $28 to $90. To accompany this dinnerware, there is a wonderful selection of hand-blown glasses. You'll find margarita glasses for $17 and martini glasses for $19.

The extensive collection of silver jewelry is another highlight, and Eskesen said this in one of only three shops in the world that carries the patented work of deceased designer Margot de Taxco.

"I don't like winter in Maine," Eskesen told me. "I went down (to Mexico) and I ran into the silver. I called my daughter and said, 'What would you like?' She said, 'You know my taste. Get whatever I'd like." I came back with a box and that was the start of the store."

The shop first opened in Damariscotta, where Jones lives, before the two decided to move the operation to Portland.

Everywhere you look you'll find fun items, such as these hand-hammered copper basin sinks ($450). Or the candy wrapper purses. Or the copper drawer pulls. Or the tin mirrors.

To top it all off, the store houses a fine art gallery downstairs and plans to be open for each First Friday Art Walk. Right now there is a group show on view, which includes the work of Matt Anderson, Pat Corrigan, DOGHAUS, Jennifer Gardiner, Colleen Kinsella, Lisa Purinton, Kyle Purinton, Rebecca Lentrichia, Frank Menair, Adinah Barnett, Deborah Gardner and Emily Trescot.

Se Vende (which means for sale in Spanish) is open seven days a week from 10 am-6 pm, and the hours will expand the closer we get to the holidays. You can reach the store at 761-1808.

Portland's modern home store expands to York Street

Modern mavens Shawneric Hachey and Brian Latham, who opened the sleek Addo Novo furniture gallery on Congress Street about a year and a half ago, are at it again. The duo just opened a satellite shop called Addo Novo Home at 45 York Street, right next to the yummy Portland Pie. It's located in the same spot Whitney Art Works used to occupy before Deb and Peter Whitney moved to Congress Street (right next to the original Addo Novo).

I stopped in today and met the charming Tyler Kidder, who is managing the store. Here she's modeling a contemporary sofa, however, the store is primarily devoted to housewares, such as linens, dinnerware, lamps and accessories. The majority of the company's furniture collection can be found at the Congress Street location.

The selection of bedding is perfect for an urban space, and Tyler tells me another shipment from Italy is on its way.

You'll find lots of fun and colorful accessories in the store, all from well-known designers. Early next year the boutique will launch a bridal registry.

In the meantime, for the person you know who has everything, there's always the Philippe Starck Dr. Skud flyswatter with the designer's mug embedded in the mesh. It's yours for only $15.

Show your locavore pride

Portmanteau has these fun, locally-made, organic cotton T-shirts for sale at their Old Port shop for $19.50. ($2 from each purchase goes to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.) Adam bought one the other day. I particularly like the double entendre on the sleeve.

I also love the overall message. As more of us realize that we can pump up the local economy and get the best tasting food from nearby farmers and food producers, we're slowly but surely reducing the demand for the tasteless and contaminated food produced by industrial agribusinesses. Even though these huge corporations have mastered the art of selling us cheap food, we're beginning to smarten up and realize that we pay the true cost of that food with higher healthcare costs and tax bills. Of course, no one wants to be responsible for such atrocities as rainforest clearcutting or the ocean's dead zones. Which is good to keep in mind when you're considering that factory farmed hamburger or that high fructose corn syrup laden soda.