This Week’s Events: CBD, Maine Restaurant Week, Cajun Cookin’, Food History

| Posted in Events

All Week — Maine Restaurant Week continues.

Tuesday — it’s opening day at CBD’s new coffee shop in East Bayside, Gary Libby will be giving a talk about the history of the history of Chinese restaurants in Portland, the 19th Annual WMPG Fat Tuesday Cajun Cookin’ Challenge is taking place, Vinland is hosting a natural wine dinner with importer Zev Rovine, and Maine Restaurant Week is holding a pancake flipping race.

Wednesday — Allagash and Rosemont are collaborating on a beer dinner which will feature unusual beers from Allagash and behind the scenes tour.

Thursday — Food historian Sandy Oliver will be giving a talk at the Maine Historical Society.

Friday — the opening night reception for From Chop Suey to Washington Pie: Maine Menus is taking place.

Saturday — Vena’s Fizz House is teaching a bitters workshop, there will be a wine tasting at Browne Trading and the Winter Farmers Market is taking place at the Urban Farm Fermentory on Anderson Street.

Sunday — The MRW Cocktail and Dessert  Competition 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.

Review of Samuel’s

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Samuel’s.

The quintessential neighborhood bar and grill, Samuel’s is a popular watering hole and casual restaurant serving very decent no-frills pub fare with a super-friendly vibe. They’re famous for the chicken wings and rightly so. Pizzas are good, as are a list of daily lunch and dinner specials. Don’t miss, for instance, the chicken tostada with chili verde – a half-foot-high pile of chips, dips and chicken.

Reviews: Salvage & Zen

| Posted in Reviews

Drink Up and Get Happy has reviewed Zen Chinese Bistro,

Staff were friendly and attentive to our group, joking with us and patiently explaining what each specialty drink was.  It was a great night filled with everything that happy hour should be, delicious beverages, tasty food, and great friends.

and The Golden Dish has revisited and re-reviewed Salvage BBQ.

On the whole, I liked Salvage a lot.  Some of my comments  reflect personal preference perhaps, but the place is great, the ribs were terrific and most everything else was good enough. And for about $20 you can’t beat the price.

Under Construction: Lolita

| Posted in Under Construction

Lolita (facebook, website), the new restaurant that Guy and Stella Hernandez and their business partners have under construction in the East End, has applied for a liquor license.

As usual the application includes a floor plan (shown below) and draft menu (page 39). The owners are aiming to launch Lolita in May and will be open 7 days a week, 11 am to 11 pm. It will be located at 90 Congress Street.

lolita_plan

Reviews of Central Provisions

| Posted in Reviews

Booze, Fish & Coffee has reviewed Central Provisions.

Aside from the forethought about design and flow, we also really, really liked the food. Chef Chris Gould brings some familiar classics, and reimagines them by adding a single unconventional but brilliant ingredient, such as the nutty brussels sprouts with pecorino and pine nuts, but also with a hint of horseradish. The bread and butter is truly transcendent, both for the creamy, slightly salty butter and the genius inclusion of a raw farm egg on the plate. The porchetta board includes not only slices of swine heaven in the porchetta, but also sunchokes, soft rolls, and a tangy apple-dijon mustard sauce that made the dish sing.

Green Crab Invasion & Review of Eventide/Street & Co.

| Posted in Reviews, Fisheries

This week’s Portland Phoenix includes an article about the invasive green crab and the impact its having on the Maine shellfish industry,

They’re green, they’re mean, and they’re endangering not only Maine’s soft-shell clam population, but also oysters, mussels, lobsters, and eelgrass. This menace is known as the green crab (a/k/a carcinus maenas), an invasive, omnivorous species that has been in Maine for 114 years but only recently began affecting the productivity of clam flats in places like Freeport, Brunswick, and on down the coast.

The new issue also includes a review of Eventide and Street & Co.