Category: Events

Monday – Good Wine for a Good Cause, a wine tasting event that raises money for the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, is taking place at Grace.

Tuesday – the April Hush Hush event is taking place at Giant.

Wednesday – Woodford F&B is holding a launch party for Allagash Darling Ruby.

Friday – there will be a wine tasting at the Brighton Ave Rosemont and Vermont wine/cide maker Deirdre Heekin from La Garagista will be at Maine & Loire for a wine tasting, Oxbow Brewing is hosting Bully Boy Distilling for an event to launch their amaro, and a Graze Dinner is taking place.

Saturday – Lone Pine is opening their Gorham tasting room, a Titanic-themed dinner is taking place at the Cumberland Club, as is the Winter Farmers’ Market.

Sunday – there will be a Selections de la Vina tasting at Maine & Loire, and Bow Street is holding their monthly Sunday Wine Seminar.

A Look Ahead – here are a couple events happening a little further out that you may want to check out.

• • Ripka is holding a pop-up dinner at Piccolo “a night filled with vodka, “zakuski” to share, pierogis, “golubtsi” (stuffed cabbage) & more” on April 15th, 5-10pm.
  • Chefs Matt Ginn and Christian Hayes will be guest speakers at a MaineVoices event taking place on April 23rd at One Longfellow Square.

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 – Belleville is hosting a sold out Mexican pop-up dinner being produced by Turamali.

Thursday – Fred Eliot from Scales will be the guest chef for a sold out French wine dinner at Hugo’s, and The Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Maine Beer Company.

Friday – the Bier Cellar is holding a Cushnoc Brewing beer tasting.

Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

A Look Ahead – here are a couple events happening a little further out that you may want to check out.

• The Portland Wine Week Grand Opening Dinner is taking place June 17th. The dinner will feature “5 outstanding Maine Chefs and 10 Greater Portland Sommeliers who all happen to be women”. The 5-course dinner will take place on the greens of the Falmouth Country Club.
• Mary Ann Esposito will be the guest of honor for a 5-course dinner at Solo Italiano. The ticket includes a signed copy of her latest book Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy.

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.

Acclaimed Maine author, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, will be teaching a food writing workshop this summer in Rockport, June 23-29.

Want to be a food writer but don’t know how to start? Already a food writer but feeling stumped or uninspired? Whether a beginner or experienced writer, you’ll explore every aspect of writing food, from recipes to restaurant reviews, from profiles to feature articles, from food memoir to food history to the issues that make food a compelling read in today’s news. Read, write and share thoughts about what makes the best food writing, what makes it salable, how to pitch a story, how to craft a cookbook, or just how and where to begin.

Join award-winning cookbook author and food journalist Nancy Harmon Jenkins and several of her peers including Brian Kevin, editor of “Down East” Magazine, and Edward Behr, editor and publisher of the online publication, “The Art of Eating”. Together, we’ll break apart the complex world of food writing and see what makes it work when it does—and also when it doesn’t.

Monday – it’s the second of a 2-night restaurant takeover of Cong Tu Bot by Lil’ Deb’s Oasis. Both restaurants are semifinalists in the Best Chef Northeast category in this year’s James Beard Awards. The event is  purely on a walk-in basis.

Tuesday – Figgy DiBenedetto from Figgy’s Fried Chicken will be a contestant on Chopped, Paolo Laboa from Solo Italiano is teaching a pasta making class, the latest edition of Symphony & Spirits is taking place, and there will be a panel discussion at Maine Craft Distilling on Why Seaweed Matters.

Wednesday – the Beard Foundation will be releasing the name of the 2019 award nominees. The list of the semifinalists were announced in February. Check back here mid-day to see who made it to the final stage.

Thursday – the 1st Annual Cultivator Showcase is taking place. Big Tree Hospitality and Portland Flea-for-All are collaborating on a 5-course plant based dinner.

Friday – Rosemont is holding a wine tasting at their West End store.

Saturday – there will be a Moroccan cooking class and dinner, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – The Cheese Shop and Tandem are collaborating on a Raclette Night, the 5th Annual Tiki Shake-Off is taking place, and Ripka will be at Rose Foods for a Pierogi Pop-up.

A Look Ahead – here are a couple events happening a little further out that you may want to check out.

• Fred Eliot from Scales will be the guest chef for a 6-course dinner paired with “classic vintage varietal French wine” taking place at Hugo’s on April 4th. Tickets are $135 per person.
• The 2019 Portland Symphony wine dinner is taking place April 3rd. The dinner will feature wines from Portugal from Rose Wine Traders with a 5-course meal prepared by chefs Courtney Loreg from Woodford F&B, Jay Magill from Fore Street, Kate Fisher Hamm from Lio, David Turin from David’s, and Troy Mains from the Haraseeket Inn.

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.

Wednesday – the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club is hosting a pop-up by bartenders from Blossom Bar, and there will be a wine tasting at the RSVP.

Thursday – Solo Italiano is holding their 3rd Annual Farmer Appreciation Dinner, the Great Lost Bear is showcasing beer from Liquid Riot, Austin Street will be at Bao Bao for a tap takeover and a la carte beer dinner.

Saturday – the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – it’s Maine Maple Sunday, Bow Street is holding a Chateau Musar wine seminar, and it’s the first of a 2-night restaurant takeover of Cong Tu Bot by Lil’ Deb’s Oasis. Both restaurants are semifinalists in the Best Chef Northeast category in this year’s James Beard Awards. The event is  purely on a walk-in basis.

A Look Ahead – here are a couple events happening a little further out that you may want to check out.

• Found and Foraged is a collaboration between Big Tree Hospitality and Portland Flea-for-All. The night includes a 5-course plant-based dinner and pre-opening opportunity to explore Flea-for-All’s finds for the week. The event is taking place March 28th.
• LB Kitchen is hosting a Magnus on Water pop-up dinner on April 19th. The 3-course natural wine paired menu also includes two low ABV cocktails by bartender Brian Catapang.

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.

The inaugural Seaweed Week (website, facebook, instagram) is taking place April 26 – May 4.

25+ restaurant cross the state will be participating by featuring seaweed dishes on their menu.

You can read more about Seaweed Week the full range of event being planned in this article from the Mainebiz.

Monday – Maine Restaurant Week continues through Tuesday.

Tuesday – Bird & Co. plans to open with a Grand Opening scheduled for March 19th, and the March edition of Hush Hush is taking place at Giant on Clark Street.

Wednesday – There will be a wine tasting at the Old Port Wine Merchants.

Thursday – Vermont restaurant Hen of the Woods will be at Hugo’s for a collaboration dinner, and Noble BBQ is holding a Detroit Pizza Pop-up.

Friday – there will be a wine tastings at the Congress Street Rosemont Market and at Maine & Loire. Black Tie is holding a Graze farm to table dinner in Yarmouth.

Saturday – Palace Diner will be open 30 hours straight starting at 8 am to celebrate their 5-year anniversary, you’ll have the chance to try beer and cake pairings at Goodfire Brewing, RSVP is holding a beer tasting, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Saturday – Cambridge delicatessen Mamaleh’s will be bringing some of their signature products to Rose Foods for the day.

Upcoming Pop-ups – two very interesting pop-up dinners are taking place in the next few weeks:

• • Túramali, a pop-up Mexican restaurant, is holding their first dinner at Belleville on April 1st. As of Sunday both seatings were nearly all sold out. Turamali is the creation of Carlos Duarte, a baker at Belleville who formerly worked as sous chef at Five Fifty-Five.
  • Lil’ Deb’s Oasis from Hudson NY will be staging a kitchen takeeover of Cong Tu Bot March 24th and 25th. Both restaurants are semifinalists in the Best Chef Northeast category in this year’s James Beard Awards. The event is on a walk-in basis only.

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 – Maine Restaurant Week continues.

Tuesday – Elise Miller, a butcher at Rosemont, will be competing on Chopped at 9 pm.

Wednesday – the 1st floor of N To Tail will open. The downstairs space opened as a Korean BBQ and sake/soju bar in December. The final renovations are now complete and the first floor will serve a “unique Korean Fusion menu with popular dishes such as Bibimbap and Poke”.

Thursday – there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire.

Friday – Vignola is holding a wine dinner featuring wines from Corte alla Flora, and there will be a wine tasting at the Brighton Ave Rosemont.

Saturday – Hi Bar Bakery  is holding a brunch pop-up at Fork Food Lab, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – The Lost Kitchen will be announcing their method for accepting reservation requests for the 2019 season; check back here on Sunday and I’ll publish the details. Maine Restaurant Week is holding their (sold out) Spirit Quest event.

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.

The 2019 edition of Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is scheduled to take place June 17 – 23.

Fifteen events are already on the schedule with new ones being added as details are locked in. They include a pasta making and wine pairing class at Solo Italiano, a rosé and tapas dinner at Sur Lie, a Wine Wise sails in Casco Bay featuring brunch by chef Ilma Lopez from Chaval and Piccolo, a curated Women Winemakers wine list at Central Provisions; and Bivalves & Bubbles at The Shop.

In addition to the wine dinners, classes, tasting events, seminars and other sessions that made last year’s PWW  a success the 2019 festival will  include a Women in Wine track which will have “special event programming that highlights dozens of female wine makers, sommeliers, and wine industry leaders.”

Last year 46 local restaurants participated Wine Week which in over 50 events in the seven-day schedule.