Category: Events

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.

There are three cooking classes scheduled this week: Stephen Lazolatta is holding his weekly Piatto per Tutti class tonight, on Wednesday night Cheryl Lewis is teaching a Mexican Cooking class at the Stonewall Cooking School, and on Friday Paciarino is teaching a class.  On Tuesday the Maine Street Marketplace initiative is meeting at USM.  Thursday night The Great Lost Bear is showcasing the beer from the Marshall Wharf Brew Pub.  There are  two wine tastings scheduled this week: at RSVP on Wednesday, and Scarborough Wine Outlet on Saturday. Cinque Terre is hosting a wine dinner Wednesday night and several restaurants including Five Fifty-Five and Evangeline are offering special Valentine’s Day dinners on Saturday.  For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

There are two cooking classes scheduled this week: at Piatto per Tutti tonight and at Black Tie Bistro on Wednesday.  The Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place mid-day on Wedneesay, and Cinque Terre is holding a wine dinner on Wednesday night. Thursday night Slow Food Portland is holding a potluck dinner and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing the beer from the Run of the Mill Brew Pub.  There are  four wine tastings scheduled this week: at Rosemont on Brighton on Tuesday, at Public Market House on Thursday, at West End Grocery on Friday and at Leroux Kitchen on Saturday.  Friday through Saturday the Flavors of Freeport is taking place. A series of cooking demonstrations with Maine chefs are taking place Saturday and Sunday at the Maine Home & Garden Show. The annual CSA Fair is taking place at several locations throughout the state on Sunday.  For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

Kris Horton and Margo Mallar will be teaching a course on cheese this Winter.  The first class, Three Milks: Cow, Goat and  Sheep, takes place February 10.  This is intended to be “the first module in the Maine Food and Drink Certificate program, designed to create a cadre of Maine Food and Drink ambassadors, who can serve as knowledgeable volunteers at various events throughout the state.”