{"id":10449,"date":"2015-02-13T11:20:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T16:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=10449"},"modified":"2015-02-18T15:04:57","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T20:04:57","slug":"delicious-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/delicious-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Delicious Risks"},"content":{"rendered":"

February\/March 2015 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Chefs let their imaginations run wild as Maine Restaurant Week<\/strong>
\nstretches to two weeks<\/i>\u2013March 1 to 14.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Claire Z. Cramer<\/p>\n

\"Hungry-Eye-Delicious-Risks\"<\/a>“Weekends are absolutely when you see more customers coming out,\u201d says Shanna O\u2019Hea of Academe Restaurant in the Kennebunk Inn, where she\u2019s co-owner and co-chef with her husband Brian. \u201cSo the two-week Maine Restaurant Week [MRW] this year is great\u2013because we can package attractions together. The town of Kennebunk has built an ice rink next door; why not a dine, skate, and stay package?\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspirations like this are labors of love on the eve of Restaurant Week. \u201cBrian and I open a bottle of wine, sit in front of our fireplace, and menu-plan together.\u201d Such brainstorming yields tasty little masterpieces like \u201cBrian\u2019s lobster, corn, and cheese empanadas\u201d paired with \u201cchipotle braised beef stew over smoked celeriac puree\u201d as a surf-and turf-entree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been flirting with a Chicken Waldorf ravioli, with a Gorgonzola cream sauce, raisin jam, toasted walnuts, and fresh petite grapes and pickled celery. After our trip to Greece, we returned with an idea for Lobster Gyros on homemade pita, with tomato, shallots, avocado tzatziki<\/i>, and spiced fried potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is not to say they neglect their greatest hits, like their award-winning Maine Lobster Pot Pie. \u201cWe offer it as a mini during Restaurant Week, so you can try our signature dish but also try new items we\u2019re excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such as something daringly sophisticated Brian is playing with: \u2018savory cotton candy\u2019 informed by Worcestershire sauce, paired with a smoked strip steak.<\/p>\n

\u201cDining out should be fun\u2013revisit your childhood memories\u201d but more thoughtfully, \u201cwith adult tastebuds.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Popular Demand<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be sure to include are our beloved shaved Brussels sprouts salad [with] dried cranberries, toasted pecans, bacon, and shaved manchego cheese with a champagne mustard vinaigrette,\u201d says Lisa Kostopoulos, who\u2019s owned The Good Table<\/b> in Cape Elizabeth with her father Tony since 1986. Deeper and darker, there\u2019s \u201cour chef Ryan Weeks\u2019s Pork Schnitzel and Spaetlze\u2013he makes the best\u2013a pounded thin pork chop with a grain mustard and mushroom sauce topped with a roasted apple, bacon, and arugula salad and served with grain-mustard spaetzle. For dessert, we could never leave out the Eskimo Pie\u2013house-made brownie crusts and vanilla ice cream with caramel dipping sauce.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? Restaurant Week is<\/i> a lot of work,\u201d where the Good Table has excelled for years. \u201cAnd we love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the legendary \u201cIncredible Breakfast\u201d competition, which the Good Table dominated for years with their cr<\/i>\u00e8me brul\u00e9e<\/i> Belgian waffles until Eve\u2019s at the Garden unseated them last year with a pork-belly waffle?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be there,\u201d says Kostopoulos.<\/p>\n

Uptown down-home<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, bacon-wrapped meatloaf went over big,\u201d says Alec Sabina, co-owner with his brother Moses at Hot Suppa. \u201cAnd a pork chop with grits.\u201d So why not dare to change?\u00a0 \u201cThis year, we\u2019re working on butter-poached wolf fish on lentils with a fennel salad. And a cherry and chestnut stuffed quail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity to welcome new guests and possibly make it onto their short list of favorite places. In the past we\u2019ve chosen the $25 price point. Most of our [regular menu] entrees are $13 to $21, so we try to stay true to the Hot Suppa dining experience\u2026encouraging the value of our RW menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he loved the \u201curgency\u201d of the one-week format, there\u2019ll still be $1 oysters at Happy Hour during the two-week stretch, Alec says. \u201cWhile they last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choices, Choices\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very successful for us, in what is normally a quiet time of year,\u201d says Michelle Corry, co-owner with chef\/husband Steve of restaurant 555<\/b> and adjacent Point Five Lounge<\/b> on Congress Street and the bistro Petite Jacqueline<\/b> on State Street. \u201cThe prix-fixe<\/i> format is appealing to people because it feels like a deal\u2013a special occasion. Customers get really excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have separate Restaurant Week menus for both the lounge and the restaurant, and we use these to offer our signature items in a less expensive format.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, 555 has prix-fixe menus at $35, $45, and $55. The three-course bar menu is no less tempting. You might start with house-made p\u00e2t\u00e9 or their delicate grilled caesar salad with white anchovies, follow it with gnocchi with duck confit or mussels and fries, and finish with a dessert assortment of \u201cpetit-five\u201d sweet treats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have customers who come one night for the bar menu and the next for the dining room.\u201d They\u2019ve found that showcasing bar favorites like steak and fries in the three-course format refreshes their charm and even \u201cwins over some new regulars,\u201d says Michelle.<\/p>\n

First time\u2019s a charm<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re new in town, like sleek Sur Lie<\/b> on Free Street, all<\/i> your dishes are creative and new. \u201cThe sweet pea hummus, the Chicken Biscuit, and the Brussels sprouts with lardons and marcona almonds are shoe-ins,\u201d says chef Emil Rivera, who learned and earned his restaurant kitchen chops in Puerto Rico and Naples, Florida. \u201cWe try to keep it seasonally relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take Your Pick<\/h3>\n

Maine Restaurant Week is March 1 – 14<\/h3>\n

1912 Cafe, Freeport<\/p>\n

3 Crow Restaurant & Bar, Rockland<\/p>\n

40 Paper, Camden<\/p>\n

Academe Brasserie, Kennebunk<\/p>\n

Azure Cafe, Freeport<\/p>\n

Back Bay Grill, Portland<\/p>\n

Bayside Bowl, Portland<\/p>\n

Bonobo Wood Fire Pizza, Portland<\/p>\n

The Broad Arrow Tavern, Freeport<\/p>\n

The Brunswick Hotel and Tavern, Brunswick<\/p>\n

Bucks Naked BBQ & Steakhouse, Portland<\/p>\n

Bueno Loco, Falmouth<\/p>\n

Cappys Chowder House & Harbor View, Camden<\/p>\n

Casa Novello, Westbrook<\/p>\n

Congress Squared Restaurant, Portland<\/p>\n

Cumberland Club, Portland<\/p>\n

David\u2019s, Portland<\/p>\n

David\u2019s 388, South Portland<\/p>\n

David\u2019s Opus Ten, Portland<\/p>\n

DaVinci\u2019s Eatery, Lewiston<\/p>\n

DiMillo\u2019s On the Water, Portland<\/p>\n

Dockside Grill, Falmouth<\/p>\n

El El Frijoles, Sargentville<\/p>\n

El Rayo, Portland and Scarborough<\/p>\n

Eve’s at the Garden, Portland<\/p>\n

Federal Jacks, Kennebunkport<\/p>\n

Fish Bones American Grill, Lewiston<\/p>\n

Five Fifty-Five, Portland<\/p>\n

Flatbread Co., Portland<\/p>\n

Forks in the Air Mountain Bistro, Rangeley<\/p>\n

Fuel Restaurant, Lewiston<\/p>\n

The Garden Grille & Bar, Auburn<\/p>\n

The Good Table Restaurant, Cape Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Hartstone Inn, Camden<\/p>\n

Hot Suppa, Portland<\/p>\n

Hugs Italian Restaurant, Falmouth<\/p>\n

Le Garage, Wiscasset<\/p>\n

Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen, Freeport<\/p>\n

Local 188, Portland<\/p>\n

Lolita, Portland<\/p>\n

Mac\u2019s Grill, Auburn<\/p>\n

Marche Kitchen & Wine Bar, Lewiston<\/p>\n

Natalie\u2019s at Camden Harbour Inn, Camden<\/p>\n

Outliers Eatery, Portland<\/p>\n

Petite Jacqueline, Portland<\/p>\n

Point 5 Lounge, Portland<\/p>\n

Portland Pie Co., Portland<\/p>\n

Portland Pie Co., Scarborough<\/p>\n

Portland Pie Co., Westbrook<\/p>\n

Ribollita, Portland<\/p>\n

Royal River Grillhouse, Yarmouth<\/p>\n

Saltwater Grille, South Portland<\/p>\n

Salvage BBQ, Portland<\/p>\n

Sea Dog Brewing Company, Topsham<\/p>\n

Sea Dog Brewing Company, Bangor<\/p>\n

Sea Dog Brewing Company, South Portland<\/p>\n

Sea Glass Restaurant, Cape Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Shipyard Brew Pub, Eliot<\/p>\n

Slate’s, Hallowell<\/p>\n

Sonny\u2019s, Portland<\/p>\n

Sur Lie, Portland<\/p>\n

Thistles Restaurant, Bangor<\/p>\n

Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie, Portland<\/p>\n

TIQA, Portland<\/p>\n

Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro, Freeport<\/p>\n

Twenty Milk Street, Portland<\/p>\n

Vignola Cinque Terre, Portland<\/p>\n

Vinland, Portland<\/p>\n

Walter\u2019s, Portland<\/p>\n

White Cap Grille, Portland<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February\/March 2015
\nChefs let their imaginations run wild as Maine Restaurant Week stretches to two weeks\u2013March 1 to 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-10449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-februarymarch-2015"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10449"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10481,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10449\/revisions\/10481"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}