{"id":11365,"date":"2016-02-11T12:39:55","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T17:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=11365"},"modified":"2016-02-11T12:39:55","modified_gmt":"2016-02-11T17:39:55","slug":"eat-drink-restaurant-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/eat-drink-restaurant-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Eat, Drink, Restaurant Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

February\/March 2016 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s the official sign that winter is over.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"FM16-Hungry-Eye\"Say what you will, Maine Restaurant Week <\/strong>buzzes when the calendar flips to March. It catches you when you may be hibernating just a little too much, hooks you with prix-fixe<\/em> menus that surprise with fabulous meals in restaurants you might not otherwise consider. It\u2019s a chance for dinner at Tempo Dulu<\/strong> or Back Bay Grill<\/strong> for $45. <\/span><\/p>\n

Or how about a southern-style feast starting with shrimp and grits followed by tenderloin tips with mashed potatoes and gravy, finished off with apple cobbler for $25 at Hot Suppa<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Maine Restaurant Week (MRW) is March 1 to 12, with additional ticketed events taking place just before and after those dates. Dozens of restaurants will offer three-course dinners for $25, $35, $45, or $55, some with additional lunch specials. It\u2019s not just for Portland\u2013Fishbones American Grill<\/strong> and Fuel<\/strong> in Lewiston are regular participants, and so are 40 Paper<\/strong>, Natalie\u2019s<\/strong>, and the Hartstone Inn<\/strong> in Camden, to name a few out of town.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we hear over and over,\u201d says Jim Britt of G Britt PR, the founders (in 2009) and curators of MRW, \u201cis that Maine Restaurant Week is different from other cities. It\u2019s a celebrate<\/em> event, not a deal<\/em> event. We don\u2019t require just one price for a three-course dinner. It\u2019s four-tiered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To participate, a restaurant pays a registration fee ($495) in exchange for a (self-managed) page on the MRW website to display the menu(s), hours, and prices; color posters; color cards to include in guest checks; and inclusion in MRW promotions including social media and a phone app. The fee also contributes to MRW\u2019s social conscience: \u201cTo date, MRW has donated more than $60,000 to Preble Street, United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine, and others,\u201d according to the website.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perceptions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRestaurant Week has always been a great value for us,\u201d says Josh Hixson, who co-owns, with Tara Barker, the restaurants 3 Crow<\/strong> in Rockland and 40 Paper<\/strong> in Camden. \u201cWe see our business more than double during it, and it\u2019s an opportunity for guests to visit us and get a great three-course dinner for phenomenal value. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also really difficult for us to advertise as broadly and effectively as MRW is able to do. I\u2019ve seen coverage for Restaurant Week on TV, radio, print, and internet. The Rock Coast (what we call Rockland, Rockport, and Camden) has so many great restaurants (92 at last count) that I would love to see more local participation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Although Portland has many eager participants, a good number of which sign up every year, there are others who apparently aren\u2019t inclined. Only one of Zagat\u2019s supposed top 10 restaurants in Portland this year\u2013Timber<\/strong>\u2013had signed up for MRW at press time. It would be hard to make a case that Zagat\u2019s analysis matters, though, considering that MRW has some of Portland\u2019s most successful restaurateurs signed up as repeat participants: Harding Lee Smith with all three of his Rooms restaurants plus Boone\u2019s; Jay Villani is in again with Sonny\u2019s, Salvage BBQ, and Local 188; and Michelle and Steve Corry have signed up 555 and Point 5 Lounge. <\/span><\/p>\n

So is MRW a must\u2013or not?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it may be a little bit of both,\u201d says chef Peter Sueltenfuss, who has cooked locally at Miyake and Fore Street, and was executive chef at Grace before opening his gourmet Otherside Deli on Veranda Street last year. \u201cFrom an owner\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s a pretty hefty entrance fee, and then you\u2019re obliged to offer a discounted three-course menu on top of it. It\u2019s very well promoted, and I realize promotion does cost money\u201d and that the arrangement can be beneficial.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely brings people out, no question,\u201d he says. \u201cBut a lot of the people, you may only ever see once. At Grace, we didn\u2019t participate in the official restaurant week, but we ran a special menu then, and the owner set aside a percentage of profits and donated it to No Kid Hungry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re Everywhere<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There are restaurant weeks in every major city and quite a few non-major ones, too, like Savannah, Annapolis, Indianapolis, Hoboken, and Raleigh. <\/span><\/p>\n

The concept was invented in New York City in 1992, where it\u2019s a much larger and more regimented affair. There are now two restaurant weeks there per year\u2013one each in winter and summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis winter, we have 372 restaurants participating, serving 34 cuisines in 41 neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs,\u201d says committee chairman Tracy Nieporent. He and his brother Drew<\/span> Nieporent are legendary restaurateurs in New York\u2019s competitive dining scene, and seats at their Nobu, Tribeca Grill, and Batard restaurants are in hot demand year-round. <\/span><\/p>\n

In New York, restaurants don\u2019t just sign up the way they do here\u2013they have to apply and undergo rigorous screening. \u201cThere are 14 criteria\u201d to be met for a restaurant to be accepted on their restaurant week roster, \u201cwhich include Zagat and other culinary ratings, critical press\/reviews, critically acclaimed chef\/owner, and notable affiliations.\u201d Nieporent declined to disclose the registration fee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The set three-course meal prices are surprisingly modest for New York\u2013$38 for dinner, $25 for lunch\u2013which is lower than some of the MRW menus here. <\/span><\/p>\n

The prices, says Nieporent, represent \u201ca genuine value. At the best of times, restaurants hope to make a dime on the dollar\u2013that\u2019s not much, but if you attract a healthy volume of guests, you have a lot of dimes. After every Restaurant Week, we do a thorough review of the results.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Maybe so, but a 35-year resident of New York\u2019s Soho neighborhood who dines out at every winter NYC Restaurant Week says, \u201cI often feel anger and apathy from the kitchen. Last year we went to Lafayette, and I thought the food was cookie-cutter prepped, with uninspired, skimpy portions. And the wait staff is barely able to suppress annoyance because most of the RW customers are bottom-feeder bargain hunters, and lousy tippers on top of an already reduced price bill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Maine chef reports a similar experience at Boston\u2019s version, too. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to Boston\u2019s restaurant week,\u201d says Shanna O\u2019Hea, co-owner and co-chef at Academe Brasserie<\/strong> at the Kennebunk Inn. \u201cI went to L\u2019Espalier for lunch, which was very good. I think what\u2019s good is that it gets people to try restaurants when they feel like they\u2019re getting a deal. However, I think the experience may be very different when it\u2019s not a busy \u2018turn & burn\u2019 week. I could tell from watching the waiter at this fine-dining establishment that the more affordable menu changed his service standard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that Maine\u2019s Restaurant Week doesn\u2019t inspire such complaints about the food or service. And that Academe is itself an enthusiastic repeat MRW participant. (O\u2019Hea and her husband are to be forgiven for having \u201chad to pass this year,\u201d though, in order to be \u201cguest chefs on a Holland America cruise.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Southern Style<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If the New York restaurant week model sounds too structured for Maine, Charleston\u2019s restaurant week is by contrast very laid back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of restaurants\u2013and we\u2019ve got a lot<\/em> of foodies,\u201d says Kathy Britzius, executive director of the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association. Holding restaurant week in winter (this year January 6 to 17) \u201creally helps a slow time of year.\u201d There is a second restaurant week in the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Membership in the GCRA is $300 per year; participation in the January week is an additional $300, plus $250 worth of gift cards for the association to hand out as promotion for the week. \u201cWe have about 140 restaurants participating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charleston\u2019s bit of learned wisdom: \u201cIn the beginning, we structured the meal prices, but now we let each place do its own thing. This works so much better.\u201d As a result, you might have a two-course lunch for $12 at the Lowcountry Bistro, $15 cocktail\/food pairings at The Gin Joint, or a three-course dinner at Circa 1886 for $45.<\/span><\/p>\n

Back Home<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Tiqa<\/strong> had only been open a few weeks when it signed up for its first restaurant week in 2015. \u201cWe had a great time,\u201d says general manager Patrick Morang. This year, they\u2019re signed up for lunch and dinner, and dinner means an exotic three-course Mediterranean feast for $35.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was at David\u2019s<\/strong> for nine years before I came to Tiqa, so I\u2019ve been in [MRW] from the get-go.\u201d Morang is a fan. He\u2019s got Tiqa signed up for \u201call three special events this year.\u201d There\u2019s the extremely popular breakfast cook-off event at Seadog Brewing Co.<\/strong> in South Portland on February 28, which serves as the official kick-off of the week; a coffee-and-dessert-pairing event at Coffee By Design<\/strong>\u2019s Diamond Street headquarters on March 13; and a new \u201cSpirit Quest\u201d\u2013a \u201cwandering\u201d tasting tour in the Old Port on Sunday, February 28. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Quest is going to be really fun,\u201d says Morang. \u201cYou get a map when you buy a [$35] ticket, and you\u2019ll go to participating restaurants for a cocktail and food pairing. At the designated time, everyone meets at the concluding place to vote and the winner will be announced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of the Quest is to bring the \u2018signature event\u2019 we\u2019d been holding at a single venue back to having it take place in<\/em> the restaurants,\u201d says Jim Britt. \u201cParticipants can roam around on their own once they have the list of participating places.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, aren\u2019t we all ready for a little fun right now? And isn\u2019t restaurant week a pretty good excuse to emerge from hibernation?<\/p>\n

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