Category: Events

The Portland Phoenix has published a field report from the November edition of Pocket Brunch.

When greasy poutine with cranberry ketchup is the salad course, you know you’re in for a raucous meal. But Pocket Brunch pop-ups in secret locations around Portland only one Sunday a month, so it’s worth indulging. The hardest-to-come-by seat in town is the brainchild of Katie and Josh Schier-Potocki, co-owners of South Portland’s 158 Pickett Street Café. Last month, a select sixty-five sat at red gingham-clad tables, dining on five French-Canadian courses, served on paper plates. The “Bienvenue” fête filled an industrial space the couple, expanding their catering and bakery operations, now shares with their friends at the SoPo Wine Co.

Tuesday — Figa is holding a Champagne Dinner, Hood’s soup food truck, Soup Boutique, will be making a stop in downtown Portland at 215 Commercial St.

Thursday — Gritty’s is hosting a beer dinner, there will be a UFF cider and kombucha tasting at Aurora Provisions, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Unibroue.

Friday — baker Ciril Hitz will give a lecture about his life and career, there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli and Wine Wise is leading a Bordeaux class. It’s the First Friday Art Walk this week, restaurants will be packed Friday night so the smart move is to make your restaurant reservations now.

Saturday —Sea Change is teaching a gluten-free Baking class, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Monday — Cloak & Dagger is serving a tapas dinner, to welcome a group of Italian students visiting Maine, Slow Food Portland is holding a potluck lunch and a dinner at The Farmer’s Table.

Wednesday — The American Lobster in a Changing Ecosystem, a 2-day science symposium is taking place.

Thursday — the author of Hoosh: Roast Penguins, Scurvy Day, and Other Stories of Antarctic Cuisine will be at Longfellow for a book signing, Vignola/Cinque Terre is holding an Italian Beer Dinner, The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing Christmas Beers, and it’s the 2nd day of the lobster symposium.

Friday — there will be wine tasting at Rosemont on Brighton.

Saturday —the first Winter Farmers Market of the season is taking place, Novare Res will be one of only 17 bars in North America to be selling Cantillon Zwanze this year, and there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and LeRoux Kitchen.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting a local foods networking breakfast, and the Jordan’s Farm Mobile Farmstand will be at the East End School.

Wednesday — Rob Tod will be at The Great Lost Bear for a showcase of Allagash brews, the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — it’s Thanksgiving. Check the 2012 Thanksgiving Resource Guide for details on which restaurants are serving Thanksgiving dinner and where to get all the fixinings for your own meal.

Saturday — Wine Wise is leading a Pinot Noir Wine Walk.

Sunday — The Triplets of Belleville is the featured film at Petite Jacqueline’s movie night.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

As usual a number of Portland area restaurants plan on serving a Thanksgiving dinner. Here are the ones I know about so far. I’ll update the list as more info comes in:

• Eves at the Garden, $42 for adults, $21 for children
• Five Fifty-Five, 2 – 8, 4-course dinner, $75; wine pairings and children’s menus available
• Harraseeket Inn, noon – 4:30, $60 for adults, $30 for children
• Holiday Inn by the Bay, noon – 5, buffet, $26 for adults and $13.50 for children
• Inn on Peaks Island, 12-4, buffet, $18 for adults and $9 for children
• Old Port Tavern is serving dinner on Thanksgiving
• Rosie’s is serving a Thanksgiving dinner
• Sable Oaks Marriott, $30 for adults, $14 for children
• Saltwater Grille, buffet, noon – 4, $36.99 for adults, $12.99 for children
• Sea Glass Restaurant at the Inn by the Sea, 3-course, noon – 9, $62 per person
• Season’s Grille, 11 – 4, $23 for adults, $18 for seniors, $11.50 for children
  
• Twenty Milk Street, noon – 7
  
• Zackery’s, noon – 4, buffet, $24 for adults, $18 for children
• And if you just want to slip away from the family and go out for a drink, Maine Today reports that Gritty’s, Brian Boru and Ruski’s will be open

 

For those of you hosting your own meal at home:

• You can pre-order your free-range turkeys from Aurora Provisions or Rosemont Market. Between the two of them you can source also the pies, rolls, quick breads, side dishes and just about other item you might need for your Thanksgiving dinner.
• Standard Baking, Scratch Baking, and many of the other bakeries in the area are good sources for pies, breads, etc. Cranberry Island Kitchen is selling turkey-shaped whoopie pies.
• The Blueberry Files has once again assembled a turkey buying guide, and the Maine Sunday Telegram has published an article about local turkey prices.
• From Away has published recipes for 8 Thanksgiving dishes.
• Mister Meatball has published advice on how to have a very meatbally Thanksgiving.
• Checkout these dessert recipes from the pastry chefs at Grace and the Sea Glass restaurant.
• Learn how to put together a holiday cheese plate from cheese expert Shannon Tallman.

 

Community Dinners:

• The Wayside Food Programs is serving a free Thanksgiving community dinner to an estimated 400+ people. They have enough volunteer for Thanksgiving day but are still in need of help to prep on the day before, and with donations of food. Call (207) 775-4939 for more information.

 

Wine and Beer Buying Advice:

• Wine Wise is teaching a class on Thanksgiving wine pairings on November 14.
  
• Wines; Tasted! has posted his suggestions for Thanksgiving.
• Dispatch has published their guidance on Thanksgiving beer pairing.

Inspiration:

• Listen to this interview with authors David Buchanan, Sandy Oliver and Michael Sanders about the traditions of Thanksgiving Dinner.

Is there a local restaurant, market, bakery, or Thanksgiving event that’s missing? Post a comment with the info and I’ll add them to the list.

Tuesday — the González Byass wine dinner is taking place at Bar Lola.

Wednesday — Wine Wise is teaching a class on Thanksgiving wine pairing, The Salt Exchange is holding a Merriam Vineyards wine dinner, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Petite Jacqueline is holding a Beaujolais Nouveau wine dinner, The Great Lost Bear is featuring a set of Sam Adams Rarities, and a wine and cheese tasting is taking place at the Public Market House.

Friday — there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton.

Saturday — there will be wine tastings at Browne Trading and at Rosemont, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Big Night is the featured film at Petite Jacqueline’s movie night.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Portland Beer Week — more than 50 events are taking place now through Sunday. See the Portland Beer Week calendar for  all the details.

Wednesday — the Maine Cooperative Extension is teaching a food safety class for people helping to cook meals for crowds, and the Monument Square Farmers Market is taking place.

Thursday — Grace will be donating $5 per person that has dinner to the Red Cross for victims of Sandy, they’ll be gathering coats and blankets which Sharon Kitchens from Delicious Musings will be driving down to NY/NJ next week. The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from D.L. Geary’s, a Thanksgiving wine tasting is taking place at Aurora Provisions, and Bartlett Winery, Sweetgrass Distillery, Bar Lola and El Camino will be at Seawall for an event featuring Drinking in Maine by Russell French and Michael Saunders.

Friday — there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont Market on Brighton.

Saturday — Rosemont is holding a pie tasting at their Brighton store and a natural wine tasting at their Munjoy Hill store, Sea Change Cooking is teaching a cooking class, and the Deering Oaks Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Pocket Brunch (sold out) is taking place, Babbette’s Feast is the featured film at Petite Jacqueline’s movie night.

Great American Bake Sale — Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale is taking place during the month of November. Proceeds are being donated to the Good Shepherd Food Bank and other organizations that fight hunger in Maine.

Emilitsa — Emiltsa has begun serving lunch on Thursdays and Fridays with a menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and traditional greek comfort food.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Bourbon. Portland. Beer. Politics. has published an interview with Joe Ricchio about his new venture The Food Coma Show,

What can people expect from the episode?
The episode is the pilot of The Food Coma Show. It focuses on a meal at Bresca and it looks great. It’s about 24 minutes long and the guests are Olympic skier Julie Parisien, Spose, Joel Beauchamp, [Ricchio’s roommate] Jon Dietz and myself and basically you watch me have dinner. That may be good, or you may hate me afterward. It is kind of an experiment under the Food Coma umbrella. You might hate it and think “This is the most self-indulgent piece of s**t I have ever seen,” but you never know.

and so has the Press Herald,

What makes a good “Food Coma” guest?
Someone who has stories, appreciates food and loves to get drunk. Someone who you’d like to have dinner with in real life. For the first episode, we’ve got Spose, whom I’ve hung out with a few times. Julie I met just once and I heard she was a fan of the old show. Entertainment, athletics, the wine biz the unifying factor is food and drink. That’s where everyone comes together.

and so has the Portsmouth Herald.

“I always felt that when we go to these places we couldn’t carry the experience to the audience. We couldn’t really show what the place was about . Now it’s all one restaurant experience. For the pilot, the chef Krista Desjarlais (Bresca) introduces the menu and we just eat. I really want people to think, ‘I want to go eat there.'”

The premiere episode of The Food Coma Show is being shown this Sunday at SPACE Gallery. Tickets are now on sale.