Mediterranean restaurant Ebb and Flow is fully permitted and licensed, and co-owner/chef William D'Auvray is fully facial hair-free. Shaving his beard just before the opening of a restaurant he's working on is a tradition, apparently. Coming most recently from Florida as he is, wish D'Auvray luck keeping his face warm in these dropping temperatures.
Things are in high gear for the restaurant, where front of house manager and special events coordinator Melissa Santos was leading staff trainings already last week. Dan Klenske will manage the bar; he was at Royal River Grill House previously. Friends and family test dinners are in the works, but D'Auvray hasn't set an official opening date. He said when he's ready, he prefers to open the doors quietly, so don't expect much advance notice.
In a good bit of synergy, co-owner Angelo Ciocca also runs Nova Seafood. His sister, Nancy Angela Ciocca, works for the seafood company and is an accomplished photographer whose art will be featured in the restaurant (the mural by the entrance is an example). She took some photos for Eater last week, including shots of mixologist Jesse Cortez testing out cocktails. Cortez is a friend of D'Auvray's from Florida who flew up temporarily to create the cocktail program.
The model cocktail seen in the gallery is tentatively called The Serrano. The final version should feature Serrano ham- and Serrano pepper-infused Herradura silver tequila; blood orange juice; vanilla extract; amber agave; lime juice; and egg white, all shaken together. The glass will be rimmed with a muddled mix of pistachio, fresh cilantro, and salt, then garnished with a piece of dried ham.
100 Commercial Street, Portland, (207) 780-0227, website. Opening soon; reservations will be available through OpenTable.
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