Category: General

Saturday – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market. It will once again be located at 631 Stevens Ave, and will run from Dec 7th through Apr 12, 2025. Leisure Time Cocktail is hosting a pop-up with Slab Pizza and the Sauce & Destroy pasta sauce company. As you may recall Slab closed their Preble Street restaurant in early October.

December 13 – Hanukkah Mexicana is taking place in Bath. The event will include food inspired by the Mexican Jewish cookbook, Sabor Judio, and a talk by authors Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle.

December 14 – Natalie’s at the Camden Harbor Inn will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner  in collaboration with Browne Trading Company and Barton Seaver.

December 15 – A gingerbread house decoration event is taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is a fundraiser for Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.

December 16 – Bissell Brothers will be holding a (sold out) Feast of the Seven Fishes.

December 18 – Sacred Profane will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes at their location in Biddeford.

December 24 – Via Vecchia is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

December 31 – It’s New Year’s Eve. We’ll be building a list of NYE special dinners and food/drink events here.

• Elk’s Lodge 188 is holding a Vegas-themed New Year’s Eve party; $80 per person.
• Nina June (Camden) is serving a prix fixe for $120 per person.

February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

May 17 – The Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene. 25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store.

The 4th Biennial Maine Apple Camp is taking place Labor Day weekend in Hope, Maine.

Experts from across the country will deliver presentations and participate panel discussions about orcharding, cidermaking, foraging, and apple breeding and genetics. Maine Apple Camp will also have arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and communal meals and cider shares and tastings.

The 3-day event is open to everyone “from the apple-curious to the pome-obsessed.” Maine Apple Camp is being organized by the Maine Heritage Orchard and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. It will be taking place at Camp Bishopswood in Hope, Maine August 30 and 31 and September 1st.

More information and the full schedule are available on the MOFGA site, and you can register for Maine Apple Camp online.

A new business called Luna Shawarma and Falafel is now open on the second floor of the Public Market House in Monument Square.

Owner Eve Alrashidi and her team are serving a menu (see below) that includes shawarma (beef or chicken), falafel sandwiches, cheeseburgers, hummus plates, salads and hot dogs. Luna will be open daily 11 am to 8 pm.

---

Monday – an all-star line-up of female chefs from Maine are collaborating on a multi-course Fabulous Femmes dinner to benefit MOFGA and to highlight Maine women in farming. Chefs Ashleigh Shanti from Good Hot Fish in Ashville and Jordan Rubin from Mr. Tuna are collaborating on a 6-course dinner at Bar Futo. Little Brother is serving a pop-up dinner at Hunt & Alpine. Nina June is serving a (sold out) dinner at the Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

Wednesday – Peng’s Pizza Pies (website, instagram) is opening for business. See this article for more information on Peng’s.

Friday-Sunday – The Common Ground Country Fair is taking place in Unity.

Saturday – the Latino Food Festival is taking place.

Sunday – The Saltyard is holding a cocktail brunch at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

September 24-30 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place.

September 30 – Tender Table is holding their 3rd annual food and art fair in Congress Square Park, and Biddeford is holding an Oktoberfest celebration. The Maine Needham Festival is taking place in Wiscasset.

October 4 – MOFGA is holding an apple tasting at the Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity.

October 5 – Inside Wayside, a fundraising food event for the Wayside Food Programs is taking place.

October 7 – Oxbow is holding their annual Goods from the Woods event in Newcastle.

October 8 – Dandelion Spring Farms is holding a Harvest Dinner, and Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

October 15 – Twelve is holding a Harvest Party. Tickets go on sale on September 15th.

October 20 – Evo is serving a dinner at the Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

October 25-28 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.

November 5 – Chaval is holding a late harvest dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

December 7 – Secret Supper is holding a (sold out) holiday dinner in the Portland area.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a four star review of Papi.

The first thing you notice when you walk into Papi on Exchange Street is the sensational design of the space, which went from plain white box to ravishing tropical maximalist fantasy, with 42 seats and a craft cocktail menu designed by co-founder LyAnna Sanabria. It’s hard to go wrong with any of her beverage offerings, but if you want something boozy, the Sadie Pop is a tart, East Village-meets-Vieques winner…The true measure of the restaurant’s creativity, though, is the savory-sweet Manchego flan with oil-tossed green olives and a cracker crumb topping. It’s a modern, cocktail-friendly iteration of traditional Puerto Rican flavors. Come to think of it, that’s also a good way to describe Papi itself.

Monday – Little Pig (website, instagram) is transitioning from pop-up mode to being fully open Monday through Saturday, noon – 8 pm.

Tuesday – Little Brother and Smalls are collaborating on a pop-up dinner with a menu that includes Dan-dan Noodles (pork or vegan options), Chicken Spring Rolls, a summery Celery Salad (v), and Chili Crisp Sundaes.

Wednesday – it’s the Frying Dutchman’s last day in business.

Thursday – Absolem Cider in Winthrop will be hosting chef Justin Smillie for a pizza pop-up called Slow Fires. Absolem will be serving a special line-up of cider, cocktail, and wine for the night and the crew from Table Bar is DJing the event. Petite Jacqueline will be serving 7-course chef’s tasting menu.

Thursday-Saturday – The Kneading Conference and Maine Artisan Bread Fair will be taking place in Skowhegan.

Saturday – The Festival of Nations is taking place in Deering Oaks Park, and the East Bayside Block Party is taking place.

August 3-5 – the Wavy Days beer festival and associated events are taking place. The beer festival itself will feature beers from 55 breweries and take place on Thompson’s Point.

August 5/6 – Wild Blueberry Weekend is taking place—visit a wild blueberry farm is a county near you.

August 6/7 – Chef Amy Kayne from 2Gether is serving a pair of candlelight dinners on House Island in Casco Bay.

August 7 – Ramona’s will be hosting Liberty Kitchen (instagram) from Philadelphia for a BYOB pop-up dinner.

August 12/13 – The Saint Peter’s Italian Bazaar is taking place.

August 23 – An Outstanding in the Field dinner is taking place at Dandelion Spring Farm with guest chef Neil Zabriskie from Regards.

August 25-27 – chefs Sam Hayward, Evan Mallett and others will be leading Take a Bite out of Appledore: An Eco-Culinary Island Retreat.

September 10 – the Maine Cheese Festival is taking place.

September 24 – The Saltyard is holding a cocktail brunch at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

September 30 – Tender Table is holding their 3rd annual food and art fair in Congress Square Park.

October 8 – Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

November 5 – Chaval is holding a late harvest dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

Portland city councilor and the former co-owner of the Little Woodford coffee shop, Andrew Zarro, has announced he’ll be running to become the mayor of Portland.

For additional reporting see articles in the Portland Phoenix, Press Herald, and Bangor Daily News.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Dok Mali.

…But this Thai comfort-food restaurant, a first Portland restaurant for long-time local Nonglack Thanephonesy, deserves attention mostly for the quality of its cooking, especially classic noodle dishes like Pad See Ew and a funky, Laotian-style Mali pad thai. Moreover, the restaurant’s more unexpected dishes are terrific, plates like grilled okra skewers, salmon “salad” with chili and watercress, and a Massaman short rib curry that tastes so French, it ought to take a 23andMe…

The Food & Dining section in today’s paper also includes articles about: Coletti’s Pizza Factory in Biddeford, efforts to address meat inspection capacity constraints, and the growing Maine seaweed industry.

Today’s Press Herald looks at the increasing interest and supply of low alcohol beers in Maine.

And customers are drinking it up, especially this month. Whether it’s to reset after a holiday season of overindulgence or a pause for the “sober curious” to explore their relationship with alcohol, Dry January has become a busy month for brewers and the stores that offer non-alcoholic options.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 4½ star review of Cafe Louis.

The food: Exceptional. Chef/owner Evan Richardson, whose restaurant Eaux closed during the pandemic, moved across the bridge to South Portland, gutting the former RJ’s Pub and transforming it into a restaurant that deserves national attention. Nearly everything I ate on a recent visit was memorable, from mussels in coconut green curry and stewed yuca, to cheesecake-like rhubarb-rosewater flan, to an insanely inexpensive and insanely tasty cabbage salad topped with puffed wild rice and pineapple vinaigrette ($5).