The Golden Dish has published the third and final installment in its series on lunch.
This Week’s Events: New Year’s Eve, Paella Fest, Winter Market
Monday/New Year’s Eve
Here’s a list of restaurants that will be open on New Year’s Eve. Many are planning special prix fixe dinners and a few will be open with their standard menu.
- Back Bay Grill, $88 4-course dinner
- Bar Lola, $55 5-course dinner
- Bibo’s Madd Apple Cafe, $50 4-course dinner
- Bresca, $85 5-course Venetian-inspired meal with optional wine pairings for $35
- Carmen at the Danforth will offer 2 seatings. The early seating is $80 for a 4-course dinner, the later seating is $125 for a 5-course dinner with live music.
- East Ender, $58 for a 4-course dinner
- Five Fifty-Five, 1920s prohibition theme $75 3-course dinner in the bar, $100 5-course dinner in the restaurant
- Grace will be serving their regular dinner menu. A cover charge of $10 will get you into the late night party which comes with complementary champagne toast at midnight.
- Hugo’s, $80 7-course dinner
- Local Sprouts will be open until midnight serving their standard menu
- Maria’s, $45, 3-course dinner
- Nosh Kitchen Bar, tickets are $20
- Old Port Tavern is serving a special New Year’s Eve menu
- Pai Men Miyake will be offering a special New Year’s Eve menu and cocktail list
- Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea, $75 4-course menu, $100 with wine pairings
- Sebago Brewing is serving dinner with a special New Year’s Eve menu
- Petite Jacqueline, $60 4-course dinner
- The Good Table, will be serving a special New Year’s Eve menu
- The Frog and Turtle, $45 for a 3-courses early seating, $65 for 5-course plus extras later seating
- The Salt Exchange is serving a special menu for New Year’s Eve
- Vignola will be serving a speecial NYE menu, details are still TBD
- Walter’s is serving their full menu and a pair of specials
- Zackery’s, has a New Year’s Eve menu
- Zapoteca, $55 5-course dinner.
Tuesday — Paella Fest at Local 188.
Thursday — The Great Lost Bear will be showcasing brown ales.
Friday — Wine Wise is leading a class on Sangiovese, and there will be a wine tasting at the West End Deli.
Saturday — a wine tasting is taking place at Browne Trading, 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.
Review of Buck’s Naked BBQ
The Blueberry Files has published a review of Buck’s Naked BBQ.
Being no expert in barbecue, I can’t begin to wade into whether this is authentic or how it rate compared to other regions. I can only tell you what I like, and I won’t order the pulled pork here again (one of my favorite pit sandwiches), but enjoyed the ribs…The roadhouse vibe isn’t as pervasive as it is in other Buck’s locations, and with plenty of seating in the bar, I’m sure I’ll find myself visiting again to try their wings and order some drinks (sans the rib topper though).
More Accolades for Eventide
Delights & Prejudices, the in-house blog of the James Beard Foundation, has included Eventide’s Cucumber-Cured Arctic Char with Melon, Mint, and Kasha on the list of their favorite dishes of 2012.
Our favorite dish during an excellent lunch was this Arctic char crudo, which was joined by an unexpected but memorable scattering of toasty kasha and soft pieces of melon, made honey-sweet from the warmth of a fleeting Maine summer.
Food & Wine: Eventide & Petite Jacqueline
Food & Wine Executive Editor Dana Cowin has named both Eventide and Petite Jacqueline to her list of the Best Restaurants of 2012.
She praises PJ for their “Pitch-perfect bistro with magnificent renditions of classics” and calls Eventide a “supercute oyster bar with a great local selection and some Asian-accented dishes, like the lightly grilled Gloucester surf clam with daikon and nam prik.”
Cowin was in Portland for a visit in early August.
2013 Food Calendar
Portland magazine has published a calendar of 2013 food events from across the state, from National Pie Day on January 23 through to the Feast of the Seven Fishes on December 24.
Top 10 Most Ridiculous Tips
Portland Daily Sun columnist Natalie Ladd has assembled a list of her Top Ten Most Ridiculous Tips of 2012.
1) $10 Gift Card to Pizza Hut. Um, I’d rather have been left a crispy Hamilton IF the tab had been $50, but it was $87 and in addition to the competitors’ gift card, I got a little love note about how great the service was. Call me ungrateful here (and in the following gratuities), but these people peeled out of the parking lot in a new Audi convertible.
Favorite Dishes
John Golden has published a listof his favorite dishes of 2012.
At this time of year, dining critics often proclaim their picks for best restaurants of the year. Instead I’m offering my picks for the best dishes I’ve had at area restaurants. From the archetypal hamburger to more exalted choices, herewith are the dishes that made the grade.
Maine Food Law Colloquiem
The Maine Law Review has published A program for the Maine Food Law Colloquiem which is taking place this February in Portland.
The colloquiem is billed as “a chance to hear scholars, policymakers, farmers, and community members discuss and debate the challenges confronting food initiatives in an era of globalized food production.”
Reviews of Scratch Baking & Old Port Tavern
The Press Herald has published a review of Scratch Baking Company,
But it was love at first sight when I saw the list of sandwiches (all $7.95), and this was followed by further infatuation when I sunk my enthusiastic teeth into the pulled pork. It’s described as “slow braised pork shoulder, house-made pickles and slaw on a house roll with tangy sauce.”
I describe it as zippy and delicious sandwich perfection. The pork melted on my tongue, and the coleslaw, pickles and sauce held a flavorful dance party in my mouth.
and a bar review of the Old Port Tavern.
As someone who has ended many a night at Old Port Tavern, I can tell you — don’t let the quaint tavern charm fool you. Sunday through Thursday, the tavern features karaoke, and on Friday and Saturday nights, tables and chairs are moved aside for a dance floor, disco lights and a DJ. The tavern quickly becomes a nightclub with $2 Jell-O shots and all your favorite alcohols to mix any cocktail under the sun.