Category: Events

Check out the latest post from Portland in a Snap to learn about the meet/eat-up club options available in Portland.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is teaching a hands-on food preservation workshop this morning. The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place tonight at Bull Feeney’s. Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class on Wednesday night. There are 3 wine tastings scheduled this week: on Wednesday at RSVP, wine and cheese on Thursday at the Public Market House and Sautrday at the Scarborough Wine Outlet. The Great Lost Bear is hosting South African winemaker Jose Conde from Stellenbosch on Wednesday and showcasing beer from Victory Brewing on Thursday. Sunday evening the chefs from Hugo’s and Miyake are teaming up to cook a wine/beer/sake dinner. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday.  For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

Here are some new meal deals that I’ve recently come across:

• Bonobo – slice and soup or salad for $6.50, get all three for $9, lunch Wednesday – Saturday.
• Maria’s – “3-course Italian dinner for 2”, $19 per person.
• Old Port Sandwich Shop – buy one sandwich and get the second one at half price, Tuesdays.
• Pom’s Thai Taste – “2 for 1 dinner”, Wednesdays.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and a number of Portland venues are offering special menus for what is one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants. Here are the ones I’ve heard about so far:

• DiMillo’s – call 772-2216 for more information
• Eastland Park Hotel – menu and pricing
• Eve’s at the Garden – menu and pricing
• Evangeline – call 791-2800 for more information
• Five Fifty-Five – hours
• Nakornping Thai – call 253-5311 for more information
• The Inn on Peaks Island – hours and pricing
• Twenty Milk Street – menu
• Verrillo’s – call 775-6536 for more information
• Vignola – menu and pricing
• Zackery’s – info

and there’s always the regular Sunday Brunch List to choose from as well.

The James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony is being held in New York tonight; Fore Street (Outstanding Restaurant) and chef Rob Evans of Hugo’s (Best Chef Northeast) are finalist this year. The weekly Food and Drink Trivia Contest is taking place tonight at Bull Feeney’s. On Tuesday, Five Fifty-Five is teaming up with Allagash Brewing to serve up a 6-course beer dinner. Black Tie Bistro is teaching a cooking class on Wednesday night. On Thursday there will be a wine dinner at David’s featuring wines from South Africa. The 2009 Food+Farm is taking place this week: lobsterman and researcher Ted Ames is speaking on Thursday, a pre-release screening of Food, Inc. is on Friday, eco-chef Bryant Terry is speaking on Saturday, and their are activities and class on gardening and farming throughout the weekend. On Saturday, the co-owners of Coffee by Design are giving a talk on the sourcing and blending of their coffees at PeRx-U-Up Cafe. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday.  For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

Bar Lola is holding a wine dinner Tuesday evening contrasting wines of the same varietal from the Old World and the New. The Slow Food Book Group is meeting Wednesday, they’ll be discussing Down and Out in Paris by George Orwell. There are four classes scheduled this week: cooking clases at Piatto per Tutti on Monday and Black Tie Bistro on Wednesday; as well as Maine Ambassadors of Food and Drink classes on Tuesday and Thursday. There are two wine tasting: at the West End Grocery on Friday and Leroux Kitchen on Saturday. Sunday evening the next movie in the Food Film Series, Tampopo, will be screened at One Longfellow Square with dinner sourced from Miyake. Farmers’ Markets are being held in Monument Square on Wednesday and at Deering Oaks Park on Saturday. If you’re up for a road trip, Ruth Reichl, the Editor in Chief of Gourmet magazine, will be speaking in Portsmouth on Friday night. For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

There are a few late additions to this weekend’s calendar worth drawing attention to. This morning Cultivating Community is holding their 8th Annual Potato Planting and Farm Clean Up Day out at Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth. Go for the pancake breakfast and stay for the potato planting. This afternoon Rosemont Market is holding a tasting of some excellent wines from Burgundy. Tomorrow there will be a group of Belgian brewers and associated professionals at Novare Res where they will be “pouring hard to find draughts and rare bottles.” For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

More information has made it online about Sunday’s Deathmatch. Zack Bowen has published 300+ photos of the event, the Rabelais Books blog reports that the “marathon of mastication was a good one”, and Accidental Vegetables has a brief report but promises that she’ll have “a full report in Deathmatch Last Meal” soon. JohnnyD has continued to add to his thread about the event on the eGullet forum.

The Deathmatch crew reunited this weekend for another gastro-celebration. This time around they were tasked with answering what food, drink, company, music and setting they’d want for their last meal. See JohnnyD’s post on the eGullet forums for photos, menus and more.