Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram reports on City regulatory enforcement that has ended in-house meat curing programs at Portland restaurants.

Chefs like curing their own meats because it makes their restaurants stand out and attracts customers who like an artisanal approach to food. But Portland chefs appear to have decided that curing food in-house is not worth the paperwork and potential regulatory tangles. No restaurants have plans on file with the city indicating they are using sodium nitrite, also known as “pink salt,” to cure meats such as ham, bacon, brisket or pork belly in-house, according to Michael Russell, director of Portland’s permitting and inspections department. Some have simply taken the meats off their menus, he said, while others “are finding it more convenient just to buy the product.”

The Unicode Consortium has announced plans to add a lobster emoji to their 11.0 release in June, and predict that ” The new emoji typically start showing up on mobile phones in August or September.” Here’s a sample image of the emoji.

Mainebiz reports data that shows Valentine’s Day is the 130th busiest day of the year for Maine restaurants.

If you do go out, the Womply’s breakdown of the stats for Maine restaurants shows there’s a 1% decrease in transaction volume on Valentine’s Day but a 12% lift in revenue compared to an average day. In other words, while fewer people eat out that night, they’re spending more money in the name of love.