Category: Events

Monday —chef Damian Sansonetti is holding a Sonnet pop-up dinner.

Tuesday —chef Rob Evans is appearing on Food Network for an episode of Chopped Champions. El Rayo is kicking off their language exchange program; every Tuesday 3-4 pm El Rayo will host this event to connect English and Spanish native speakers. Participants will have a chance to learn from each other while enjoying half-priced drinks from the bar.

Thursday — the Great Lost Bear is showcasing Bray’s Brewpub.

Friday —in a continuation of their monthly international dinner series Eve’s is featuring Aphrodisiacs from Italy and Greece.

Saturday — Rosemont is holding a wine tasting, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — chefs Sam Hayward, Rob Evans and Chad Conley will be cooking at Flatbread to raise money for Share Our Strength, The Chinese Laundry will be serving up tea and dumplings at Speckled Ax, the (sold out) February edition of Pocket Brunch is taking place,  Petite Jacqueline is screening Sabrina, Two Fat Cats is teaching a baking class.

Figa — starting this week Figa is reopening, by reservation only, on Fridays and Saturdays.

Valentine’s Day — restaurants have started posting their plans for Valentine’s Day. The holiday falls on a Thursday this year and nearly every restaurant will be open. Here are the one’s planning Valentine’s Day menus or events:

• Anthony’s, 5-course dinner and Rat Pack Valentine’s Day show, $39.95
• Bar Lola, 5-course prix fixe, $55 per person.
• Five Fifty-Five, 5-course tasting menu, $88 per person with optional wine pairing for $35 or $50.
• Hugo’s, 7-course dinner, $80 per person with optional wine pairing at $55.
• Nosh is celebrating a Love Affair with Bacon.
• Novare Res is collaborating with Sweet Marguerite’s to serves a set of beer and chocolate pairings.
• Petite Jacqueline, 3-course dinner, $55 per person with optional menu supplements, wine pairing and champagne flights.
• Roost and Modern Vegan are collaborating to offer 5-course series of chocolate and wine pairings, $25 per couple.
• The Holy Donut is making a strawberry glazed donut drizzled with 60% dark chocolate.
• The Salt Exchange, 6-course Midnight in Paris menu, $65 per person.
• Twenty Milk Street, 3-course menu.
• Zapoteca, 4-course dinner “Celebrating the Love of Asian Influenced Mexican Cuisine”, $50 per person.
• Maine Restaurant Week has posted their recommendations for Valentine’s Day parsed by relationship status.

Modern Vegan Cooking School — throughout February and March, Modern Vegan is teaching a series a cooking classes on winter soups, cooking for weight loss, cooking with greens, vegan entertaining and more.

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.

Malcolm Bedell, co-creator of From Away, will be appearing on NBC’s Today show this morning prepare his Apricot Shellacked Ghost Chile Chicken Wings. His wings along with those of two other cooks will then be judged by Sunny Anderson.

Malcolm’s segment should air sometime between 8 and 9 am.

Update: Malcolm won the competition. Watch the cook-off on Today.com.

Monday — Cloak & Dagger is holding an homage dinner where they’ll “replicate famous dishes from: Thomas Keller, Escoffier, Albert Adria, Ferran Adria, David Chang, Grant Achatz, Daniel Boulud, and more.” Local Sprouts is screening the movie Betting the Farm.

Wednesday — The Salt Exchange is hosting a Beer & Bacon dinner, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute will be screening Alaska’s Red Gold, a movie about the sockeye salmon at Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Thursday — Bard is hosting the monthly Latte Art Competition, the Great Lost Bear is showcasing a set of beers from New Hampshire, and there will be a wine tasting at the Public Market House and a beer tasting at the Bier Cellar.

Friday — Wine Wise is teaching a class on the wines of Rhone Valley, there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli, and it’s First Friday Art Walk so make your reservations soon before the restaurants are all booked up.

Saturday — Figa is holding an Art Bar, there will be wine tastings at LeRoux Kitchen and Browne Trading, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Petite Jacqueline is screening Les Diaboliques.

Coffee by Design — is running a series of educational events in February to celebrate Specialty Coffee Month.

Food Preservation Workshops — the University of Maine Cooperative Extension has published an extensive list of classes on food preservation taking place all over the state.

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 — it’s the start of Maine Shrimp season, and wine dinners are taking place at Bar Lola, Five Fifty-Five and Hugo’s.

Wednesday — Portland’s National Pie Day celebration will be held at the Mayo Street Art Center, and Callabash Cafe in South Portland is hosting a cigar dinner.

Thursday — Aurora Provisions is holding a pie and wine tasting, it’s the first night of the Ice Bar at the Portland Harbor Hotel, and The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing Dogfish Head Brewing, and the Bier Cellar is holding a tasting of beers made with Brettanomyces yeast.

Friday — a culinary immersion feast is taking place at the Museum of African Culture, Zapoteca is hosting the first dinner of their cellar series, there will be a wine tasting at Rosemont, The Honey Exchange is giving a lecture on beekeeping, and it’s the 2nd night of the Ice Bar.

Saturday — Sea Change is teaching a cooking class, it’s the last night of the Ice Bar, and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place.

Sunday — Petite Jacqueline is screening La Delicatesse.

Valentine’s Day — restaurants have started posting their plans for Valentine’s Day. I’ll add to the list as I get them. The first few out of the gate are:

• Bar Lola, 5-course prix fixe, $55 per person.
• Hugo’s, 7-course dinner, $80 per person with optional wine pairing at $55.
• Petite Jacqueline, 3-course dinner, $55 per person with optional menu supplements, wine pairing and champagne flights.

The Chinese Laundry — will be serving up tea and dumplings at Speckled Ax on February 10.

Sonnet — chef Damian Sansonetti is holding a pop-up dinner on February 4, “based off of the recipes of Apicius but modern interpretations and Maine ingredients”.

Chopped Champions — chef Rob Evans is making an encore appearance on the Food Network show Chopped on February 5 at 10 pm.

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 Portland Pie Council is once again planning an event for National Pie Day on January 23rd at the Mayo Street Arts Center:

• Everyone is encouraged to bring a pie to enter into the contest. There will be $50 prizes for the sweet and savory pies that win the ranked choice vote.
• There will be Pietry readings.
• There will also be a pie-themed dramatic performance “in the same vein as Pace Egging plays of England“.

The celebration begins at 6pm, $5 per person.

Petite Jacqueline has announced another series of movie nights starting this Sunday with a screening of A View to a Kill.

La Delicatesse, Les Diaboliques, Sabrina, Ratatouille and Micmacs are on the schedule for the following five Sundays.

Also, in an unexpected move for a French bistro, Petite Jacqueline plans to start selling $6 brown bag lunches starting this Monday.

The Bangor Daily News has a report on El Rayo’s $5 burrito parking ban promotion.

York Street Mexican restaurant El Rayo Taqueria greets every potentially business-dulling parking ban with a $5 burrito deal, cutting about 50 percent off the average price of its signature orders. On Wednesday, the city called its third parking ban of the season, barring on-street parking citywide overnight to allow plow trucks the space to clear snow after the storm.

 

The Portland Daily Sun has a report on Gelato Fiasco’s work to raise money for heating assistance.

The Opportunity Alliance is working with Gelato Fiasco, on Fore Street, to raise money for the Keep ME Warm fund, a program that provides emergency home heating assistance to Maine residents. The Fore Street gelato shop will donate 100 percent of the pre-tax purchases made Wednesday to the fund as a part of its ongoing Scooping for the Community program.

Tuesday — Local Sprouts is hosting a local foods networking breakfast.

Wednesday — Slow Food Portland’s delegates to Terra Madre will share their experiences at Slow Food’s potluck dinner.

Thursday — there will be a tasting of smoked beers from Germany, Denmark and the US at the Bier Cellar, Vignola is holding an Allagash Beer Dinner, and the Brew Pub Cup is taking place The Great Lost Bear.

Saturday — wine tastings are taking place at Browne Trading and the Rosemont Market, Vignola/Cinque Terre is holding their 6th Annual Beer & Cheese Tasting (30 bbers, 30 cheeses, $30) 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.