This Week’s Events: Cajun Cookin’ Challenge, Slow Food Writers Night, Etouffee-Off, Maine Restaurant Week

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Monday — The 3rd Annual Maine Restaurant Week continues through the rest of the week.

Tuesday — WMPG is hosting the 16th Annual Fat Tuesday Cajun Cookin’ Challenge; last year’s competition resulted in a tie between Silly’s and Bayou Kitchen. Old Port Wine Merchants is holding a (wine tasting and) Etouffee-Off between OPWM owner Jacques de Villier and Doug Watts from SoPo Wine. Here’s the latest from the OPWM Facebook wall, “Make sure you come by and watch the debacle as Doug from SoPO learns that like his ponytail his Ettouffe is old and long gone and while talk is cheap it takes money to buy land and he’s broke.”

Wednesday — there will be a wine tasting at RSVP.

Thursday — The 6th Annual Slow Food Portland Writers Night is taking place at SPACE Gallery. Speakers include Melissa Coleman, author of This Life Is In Your Hands, One Dream, Sixty Acres and a Family Undone; John Mariani, author of How Italian Food Conquered the World; and Manny Howard, author of My Empire of Dirt. There will be a cupcake baking demonstration at LeRoux Kitchen and Th Great Lost Bear is showcasing beers from Victory Brewing.

Saturday — the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Irish Heritage Center.

WSET Wine Class — The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, will be offering their Intermediate Level 2 certificate class in Portland March 26-27. The class is being taught by Adam Chase from Grape Experience. The program is aimed at anyone “who works in wine, wants a career in the wine industry or has a serious interest in the subject”. See the WSET website for a more detailed explanation of what the course covers. For more information contact Adam Chase at adam@grapeexperience.com or Marc Doiron the bar manager at Street & Co.

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.

Cuban Sandwich Smackdown

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Nosh beat out 158 Pickett Street Cafe, District, Duckfat, East Ender, El Rayo, Havana South, Sonny’s, and The Cheese Iron to win the Cuban Sandwich Smackdown held Sunday afternoon. This is the first of what Cheese Iron co-owner and Smackdown organizer Vincent Maniaci (shown above) hopes to be a regular monthly event. Next month the Smackdown participants will convene at Nosh to determine who can gets to take home the trophy for the best Taco.

First Review of Aroma

| Posted in Reviews

The new South Indian restaurant in South Portland, Aroma, has received 4 stars from the Taste & Tell review in the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Wonderful spices cloak the tender lamb, chicken, fresh shrimp and delectable eggplant on the fascinating menu at Aroma; with its tender fresh bread and perfect desserts, this is a restaurant worth trying again and again.

While it’s the first review for Aroma it’s the last one from Nancy English. English has been writing restaurant reviews for the Maine Sunday Telegram since 2005. Her predecessor was C.Z. Kramer. According to the article, Nancy Heiser will be taking on responsibilities as the Sunday Telegram restaurant critic moving forward.

There are so many things I learned writing this column, as I chose menu items I’d never heard of and never tasted. Since the kitchens of Maine are inventing new things all the time, we all can encounter new things worth tasting. We are so lucky.

My readers’ curiosity has inspired me, and their expectations have kept me on my toes. Thank you all so much for reading about so many of the meals I have eaten since 2005.

Red’s Opening Day

| Posted in Openings

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the opening day of Red’s Dairy Freeze in South Portland. Red’s was originally opened in 1952 by Leonard “Red” Bolling as a Tastee Freeze franchise and in 1965 he went independent and changed the name to Red’s Dairy Freeze. The business has been offline since last May when a fire severely damaged the building.

First in line at the walk-up window was South Portland firefighter Chris Swenson. On the morning of the fire, he and firefighter Josh Perry broke in the back door of Red’s and entered the hot, dark and smoky space.

On Friday, Swenson ordered a triple-chocolate Boston, one of Red’s signature shakes topped with ice cream and sauce.

Red’s Dairy Freeze Reopening

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The Forecaster reports that Red’s Dairy Freeze will reopen soon.

Laura Bolling, the owner’s daughter, is coy about a specific date. Rather than dishing out the information, Bolling this week offered nuggets, like the little pieces of candy in Red’s’ tasty Nor’easters.

The countdown can be measured in days, not weeks, she said. And, the total number of days is less than seven.

…and according to an article in the Friday Press Herald, Red’s will open at noon today.

The family that owns Red’s Dairy Freeze confirmed late Thursday night that it will begin serving soft-serve ice cream at noon today.

WSET Wine Course

| Posted in Events

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, will be offering their Intermediate Level 2 certificate class in Portland March 26-27. The class is being taught by Adam Chase from Grape Experience. The program is aimed at anyone “who works in wine, wants a career in the wine industry or has a serious interest in the subject”. See the WSET website for a more detailed explanation of what the course covers.

For more information contact Adam Chase at adam@grapeexperience.com or Marc Doiron the bar manager at Street & Co.

Review of Boda

| Posted in Reviews

The Golden Dish has published a review of Boda.

What Boda offers—beautifully—is very authentic street-vendor food, satays being one of their specialties, and typical dishes of home-style cooking. If this is considered their everyday fare, then take me to the haute cuisine table too!

Review of Colucci’s

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From Away has published a review of the Ham Italian at Colucci’s.

Colucci’s layers on slightly more ham than some other places, but it doesn’t overpower the long slices of pickle, onion, and green pepper, who all do their part to lend crunch and freshness to the sandwich, with the olives kicking in a slight bitterness, right when you need them. The tomatoes could have been better, but that may just be the time of year. Best of all, Colucci’s isn’t shy with the salt and pepper shaker, which goes even further to amp up the habit-forming qualities of this sandwich.