Category: Events

Are some RestaurantWeekME options a better deal than others? The Phoenix thinks so and has posted an entry on their About Town blog about the value and good food to be had at Pepperclub.

RestaurantWeekME is in full swing this week. In addition to the prix fixe menus as 30+ Portland restaurants there are also special events on the schedule for RestaurantWeekME on Tuesday and Thursday. Also of special note this week are the Whole Hog Dinner taking place at Vignola on Thursday, the 2nd Annual Eco Appetito at Cinque Terre on Sunday afternoon and the first showing of the Food Film Series Sunday evening.  The biweekly Winter Farmers’ Market is scheduled for Wednesday. Piatto per Tutti is holding a cooking class on Monday and Black Tie Bistro is holding one on Wednesday. The Maine Food & Drink Institute’s cheese class starts Tueday night. Both the West End Grocery and Leroux Kitchen are holding wine tastings this week. If that all wasn’t enough to keep you busy this week, First Friday Art Walk is also taking place this week. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

The Food & Health section in today’s Press Herald has a feature article on next week’s RestaurantWeekME. Author Meredith Goad has ferreted out where some of the better values are among the prix fixe menus and produced a Google map of participating restaurants statewide.

The Meal Deals map has been expanded with entries for

• Duckfat – PBR tall boy, small fries, Monday-Friday, 4:30-6 pm, $5.
• Five Fifty-Five – 3-course winter warmer bar menu for $30,
  the menu changes up every Monday and each has a regional theme.
• Pom’s Thai Taste – $1 sushi, Monday & Tuesday.

If you want to learn how to cook Italian this week then you’re in luck, Piatto per Tutti, Paciarino and the Institute for Italian Studies are all teaching  cooking classes this week. The Slow Food Book Group is meeting on Monday to discuss Wrestling with Gravy by Jonathan Reynolds. On Tuesday WMPG is hosting their 14th Annual Fat Tuesday Celebration and Cajun Cookin’ Challenge. There are two wine dinners this week at Bar Lola on Tuesday and the Foreside Tavern on Weddnesday. There are two wine tastings scheduled this week at Browne Trading on Thursday and Kitchen & Cork on Saturday. RestaurantWeekME kicks off on Sunday. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

The West End Neighborhood Association plans on making a 60 foot long lobster roll at this year’s Old Port Festival. Their goal is to raise money for neighborhood projects and make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Whittaker said the association will name a panel of experts to develop a recipe for a lobster roll that’s enormous, delicious and authentically Maine.

It will be made with fresh Maine lobster meat and mayonnaise. It won’t include fillers such as chopped celery.

“That’s a no-no,” Whittaker said. “We haven’t decided whether we’ll use lettuce, which is mostly added for aesthetic value.”

The association is looking for a bakery that’s willing and able to bake a hot dog-style roll that’s at least 60 feet long.

One Longfellow Square in association with Rabelais Books and the Maine Institute of Food and Drink is launching a Food Film series.  The movie series will kick off on March 8 with a showing of Big Night and food provided by Paciarino. There will be a new showing the first Sunday of each month with a theme appropriate restaurant partnering with each one. The upcoming schedule consists of:

March 8 – Big Night with food from Paciarino

April 5 – Diner with food from Miss Portland Diner

May 3 – Tampopo with food from Food Factory Miyake

June 7 – Babette’s Feast with food from Evangeline

The menu options for the venues participating in RestaurantWeekME are now available online. For most of the restaurants you’ll have a choice of 3 options each for appetizer, main course and dessert. All the restaurants have chosen a price point of $20.09, $30.09 or $40.09 per person.  There are also a number of special events scheduled for RestaurantWeekME.

Both Piatto per Tutti and Black Tie Bistro are teaching  cooking classes this week on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.   The biweekly Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place in Monument Square on Wednesday.  Wednesday evening the Portland City Council will debate an ordinance to allow raising domesticated chickens within the city. Also Wednesday night The Great Lost Bear is holding a tasting with Maine Mead Works and Old Port Wine Merchants is co-hosting a Greek wine tasting with Emilitsa.   Leavitt & Sons is holding a  wine tasting on Thursday. On Sunday, the Blue Spoon is offering a Winter Sunday Supper.  For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

A number of Portland restaurants are now offering specials, giving diners stressed by the bad economy another reason to keep eating out. Here’s a list of the ones I’ve heard about so far:

• Bar Lola – 5-course prix-fixe menu, Wednesday-Saturday, $36.
• Blue Spoon – 3-course prix fixe menu, Monday-Saturday, $25.
• Cinque Terre – “A select chef’s tasting menu”, Wedneday-Saturday, $27.50.
• Emilitsa – “an endless series of metzethes small plates, chef’s choice, served family style.” Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 5-7 pm, $20.
• Evangeline – 3-course prix fixe menu on Monday nights, $25-30.
• Hugo’s – 3-course “includes a choice of first course, main course and dessert”, Tuesday-Thursday, $25.
• Vignola – 4-course prix fixe, Sunday evenings, $25.

And in early March 20+ Portland restaurants are participating in RestaurantWeekME. March 1-10 they’ll all be offering prix fixe menus for $20.09, $30.09 or $40.09.