I've been wishing Portland had a butcher shop for a while now. Something like The Kennebec Meat Co. up in Bath. Whenever I'm up there visiting family, I make a point to stop in and bring home at least a slab of bacon.

So when I first read on Portland Food Map that Sawyer's Butcher & Delicatessen was opening in Portland, I was pumped.

Then I saw where it was going.

10 Cotton Street, the spot tucked behind Bread & Friends. I've always thought that location was a little cursed. It seems like every time a new restaurant opens there, it's gone before you know it.

To be fair, I rarely found myself going to any of the places that were there before. But Sawyer's has given me the opposite problem. I can't seem to stay away.

They've only been open for a little over two months, and I've already lost count of how many times I've stopped in.

I've tried a few different things from the butcher counter, and the pancetta alone is worth going back for.

I used some of it in a spiced squash soup the other day, rendering the fat first to give it a richer flavor. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in the kitchen lately.

But what really sold me on Sawyer's was talking with the owner, Chris.

Chris is the kind of guy you want behind a butcher counter. Tell him what you're making, and he'll help you figure out what to bring home. He'll explain why one cut might work better than another, and if the cheaper one is just as good for what you're cooking, that's the one he'll tell you to buy.

I love that. He's more interested in you making a good dinner than selling you the most expensive piece of meat in the case.

Chris has spent years in Portland kitchens, including as chef de cuisine at Eventide and running his own restaurant, the now-closed Judy Gibson, in South Portland. Along the way, he's built relationships with Maine farmers, and those connections are now at the heart of Sawyer's.

They're bringing in whole animals, breaking them down in-house, and making their own sausages and charcuterie. That also means you'll find cuts you might not see at a typical grocery store.

They make sandwiches, too, using their own house-made cold cuts and bread from Bread & Friends right next door.

They're even starting sausage-making classes upstairs, which sounds like a pretty great way to make new friends while elbow-deep in sausage casings.

Portland has no shortage of great restaurants, but it's nice having another place that makes me excited to cook at home.

I think Sawyer's might finally be the one to break the curse at 10 Cotton Street. And if I have to keep buying pancetta to help make that happen, so be it.

If you want to learn more about Chris and how Sawyer's came together, Portland Food Map has a great write-up on the shop.

If you've driven into the Portland Jetport a few times, I'm sure you've noticed those big metal deer along the road. And if you're anything like me, you've probably mistaken one for a real deer more than once.

There's also a wolf and a pair of porcupines out there.

But I just found out those aren't the original porcupines. Someone stole the one that used to be there back in 2016.

How someone managed to steal a 30-pound steel porcupine covered in six-inch nails from an airport, of all places, is beyond me. The thing was valued at $4,000 back in 2016, and I found that the artist is now selling porcupine sculptures starting at $7,000.

All that was left behind were a few broken quills and a piece of rusty steel.

The animals are actually part of an art installation called Glimpse, made by artist Wendy Klemperer from salvaged industrial steel. They've been welcoming people to the Jetport since 2011.

A couple of months later, the stolen porcupine was replaced with another sculpture by the same artist. Only this time, we got two porcupines, a mother and her baby.

This time, they attached them to a massive piece of granite. Can't say I blame them.

I actually came across this whole story because the Jetport is expanding its parking area, and the city is considering moving two of the deer sculptures. I was worried they'd end up somewhere less visible, because I genuinely look forward to seeing them whenever I drive into the airport.

But what I can't get over is that I couldn't find anything saying the original porcupine was ever found.

I even started looking through old sale listings to see if anyone had tried selling it. No luck, but now I know I'll be keeping an eye out every time I walk into an antique shop, just in case.

For all I know, someone still has a 30-pound steel porcupine sitting in their backyard somewhere.

I would genuinely love to know what happened to it. If anyone remembers hearing anything about the theft, or has actually seen this thing somewhere, please hit reply and tell me. I'm so curious where it ended up.

🐱 Lily – 7 yrs
A fluffy black beauty who needs a little time to warm up. Lily's looking for a patient home without young kids and a confident feline friend to help her settle in.

🐰 Lima Bean – 1 yr
An excellent name for a very shy bunny. Lima Bean needs a calm home without young kids and someone happy to let him settle in at his own pace.

If the link doesn’t open anymore, it means they’ve already been adopted!

Bruce Cockburn @ State Theatre | 7:30 pm | 🎟️ $40

Dance Freak @ SPACE | 7 pm | 🎟️ $10

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors @ Stevens Square Community Center | 7 pm | 🎟️ $40

Author Talk with Ed Pearlman @ South Portland Public Library | 6 pm | Free

Cirque Alfonse: La Noce d'Alfonse @ Merrill Auditorium | 7 pm | 🎟️ $25

Assembly of Dust @ Portland House of Music | 8 pm | 🎟️ $35

Ada Ferrer: Keeper of My Kin @ Mechanics' Hall | 7 pm | 🎟️ $10

Sunny Laprade & Emma Dalenberg @ Empire Comedy Club | 7 pm | 🎟️ $25

Miss Marple: Murder at the Vicarage @ Footlights Theatre, Falmouth | 7 pm | 🎟️ $25

Charlie Pike Band + Cole Phillips and The Early Morning Weather @ Blue | 8 pm | 🎟️ $10.25

Boltcutter, Misery Whip & more @ Geno's Rock Club | 9 pm | 🎟️ $15.38

Damnationland @ State Theatre | 7 pm | 🎟️ $15

Portland Ballet presents Dracula @ Westbrook Performing Arts Center | 7 pm | 🎟️ $35

Pete Kilpatrick Band @ One Longfellow Square | 8 pm | 🎟️ $30

Hawthorne Heights @ Aura | 7 pm | 🎟️ $45.75

Haggis X-1 with Bailey's Mistake @ Live at Madrid's | 7 pm | 🎟️ $23

The Story and the Tragedy of the Royal Tar @ Maine Historical Society | 1 pm | Free

Bitter/Sweet Opening Reception @ 49 Oak Street | 5:30 pm | Free

21st Annual Veg Fest @ East End Community School | 11 am | Free

Maine Mariners Home Opener @ Cross Insurance Arena | 12 pm | 🎟️ $35

Evan Honer @ State Theatre | 8 pm | 🎟️ $26

Hearts of Pine vs. Charlotte @ Fitzpatrick Stadium | 5 pm | 🎟️ $62

Sausage Making Class @ Sawyer's | 1 pm | 🎟️ $125

Monster-Making Workshop with Dr. Stampenstein @ Congress Square Park | 1 pm | Free

Portland Symphony: Mozart & Pathétique @ Merrill Auditorium | 2:30 pm | 🎟️ $44

Mike Dawes @ One Longfellow Square | 7 pm | 🎟️ $30

Portland Lantern Walk @ Deering Oaks Park | 5 pm | Free

Ishna's Slí Amach: From There to Here @ Maine Irish Heritage Center | 2 pm | 🎟️ $25

Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven @ Congress Square Park | 1 pm | Free

Lily King, Maine Author @ Scarborough Public Library | 5 pm | Free

Great Maine Apple Day @ MOFGA, Unity

Until next week,
— Jake Newman