Surf ‘n’ turf

The ever-changing restaurant landscape at the Bangor Mall has a few new additions. First, sushi-crazy Queen City diners have a reason to rejoice: Green Tea Restaurant has opened at 19 Bangor Mall Blvd., in the spot that formerly housed Sizzler. Offering a full sushi bar and both Japanese and Chinese cuisine, Green Tea opened in early August, and is a welcome development – the more good sushi in town, the better. Also new is the LongHorn Steakhouse, under construction at the old Smokey Bones, across from Shaw’s Plaza. LongHorn promises the “taste of the authentic West,” with a vast array of meat, meat and more meat for a truly carnivore atmosphere. LongHorn will open this fall. Moo.

The fine art of chocolate

When customers see the chocolates displayed at Pomegranate Style, Beth Oliver’s art gallery and home decor business in Northeast Harbor, they sometimes can’t believe it’s food they’re looking at, and not little works of art. That’s because the man who makes those confections, Norman Love, treats each as much as a piece of sculpture as a piece of candy. Love, formerly the executive pastry chef for Ritz Carlton Worldwide, sells his edible art exclusively through his Web site, www.normanloveconfections.com, at select Ritz Carlton and Mandarin Oriental hotels, and at just one other place – Pomegranate Style. Oliver, a longtime friend of Love’s, will host a chocolate tasting at her shop at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21, featuring the handcrafted, hand-painted, all-natural, ultrapremium confections. Pomegranate Style is located at 3 Summit Road; for more, call 276-5778.

The folk’s on us

Last week in Tidbits we asked you to tell us what your favorite foods at the American Folk Festival are. Not surprisingly, the runaway favorite was, of course, the blueberry smoothies, blended to perfection by United Cerebral Palsy of Maine. “Last year I tried the blueberry smoothie from the UCP booth,” wrote Pami Hall of Bangor. “It is incredible. Perhaps the smiles and bouncy service from the server persuaded me some.” Other favorites include Mainely Smoked Salmon, based in Perry; Mark Nason of Bangor wrote to say “I liked it so much at dinnertime on Friday that I had it for lunch and dinner on Saturday, and lunch again on Sunday!” Joy Sinclair of Bangor has a weakness for fresh-cut french fries, and Allison Edwards, also of Bangor, is a huge fan of Hammond Street Congregational Church’s bean supper. Anne Page of Orono opted for something a little wilder – the alligator nuggets from Hammerhead’s Seafood are a personal fave. “They’re good eatin’,” she said. But we’re pretty sure everything at the AFF is good eatin’. And it all works out perfectly: indulge in some tasty treats, and then burn off all those calories at the dance stage.

Send your Tidbits by mail to: Bangor Daily News, attn: Tidbits, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329; by fax to 941-9476; or by e-mail to tidbits@bangordailynews.net