February/March 2015 | view this story as a .pdf

Chefs let their imaginations run wild as Maine Restaurant Week
stretches to two weeks–March 1 to 14.

By Claire Z. Cramer

“Weekends are absolutely when you see more customers coming out,” says Shanna O’Hea of Academe Restaurant in the Kennebunk Inn, where she’s co-owner and co-chef with her husband Brian. “So the two-week Maine Restaurant Week [MRW] this year is great–because we can package attractions together. The town of Kennebunk has built an ice rink next door; why not a dine, skate, and stay package?”

Inspirations like this are labors of love on the eve of Restaurant Week. “Brian and I open a bottle of wine, sit in front of our fireplace, and menu-plan together.” Such brainstorming yields tasty little masterpieces like “Brian’s lobster, corn, and cheese empanadas” paired with “chipotle braised beef stew over smoked celeriac puree” as a surf-and turf-entree.

“We’ve 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, and spiced fried potatoes.”

Which is not to say they neglect their greatest hits, like their award-winning Maine Lobster Pot Pie. “We offer it as a mini during Restaurant Week, so you can try our signature dish but also try new items we’re excited about.”

Such as something daringly sophisticated Brian is playing with: ‘savory cotton candy’ informed by Worcestershire sauce, paired with a smoked strip steak.

“Dining out should be fun–revisit your childhood memories” but more thoughtfully, “with adult tastebuds.”

By Popular Demand

“We’ll 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,” says Lisa Kostopoulos, who’s owned The Good Table in Cape Elizabeth with her father Tony since 1986. Deeper and darker, there’s “our chef Ryan Weeks’s Pork Schnitzel and Spaetlze–he makes the best–a 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–house-made brownie crusts and vanilla ice cream with caramel dipping sauce.

“You know what? Restaurant Week is a lot of work,” where the Good Table has excelled for years. “And we love it.”

What about the legendary “Incredible Breakfast” competition, which the Good Table dominated for years with their crème brulée Belgian waffles until Eve’s at the Garden unseated them last year with a pork-belly waffle?

“We’ll be there,” says Kostopoulos.

Uptown down-home

“Last year, bacon-wrapped meatloaf went over big,” says Alec Sabina, co-owner with his brother Moses at Hot Suppa. “And a pork chop with grits.” So why not dare to change?  “This year, we’re working on butter-poached wolf fish on lentils with a fennel salad. And a cherry and chestnut stuffed quail.”

“It’s a great opportunity to welcome new guests and possibly make it onto their short list of favorite places. In the past we’ve 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…encouraging the value of our RW menu.”

While he loved the “urgency” of the one-week format, there’ll still be $1 oysters at Happy Hour during the two-week stretch, Alec says. “While they last.”

Choices, Choices…

“It’s been very successful for us, in what is normally a quiet time of year,” says Michelle Corry, co-owner with chef/husband Steve of restaurant 555 and adjacent Point Five Lounge on Congress Street and the bistro Petite Jacqueline on State Street. “The prix-fixe format is appealing to people because it feels like a deal–a special occasion. Customers get really excited.

“We 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.”

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 pâté 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 “petit-five” sweet treats.

“We have customers who come one night for the bar menu and the next for the dining room.” They’ve found that showcasing bar favorites like steak and fries in the three-course format refreshes their charm and even “wins over some new regulars,” says Michelle.

First time’s a charm

When you’re new in town, like sleek Sur Lie on Free Street, all your dishes are creative and new. “The sweet pea hummus, the Chicken Biscuit, and the Brussels sprouts with lardons and marcona almonds are shoe-ins,” says chef Emil Rivera, who learned and earned his restaurant kitchen chops in Puerto Rico and Naples, Florida. “We try to keep it seasonally relevant.”

Take Your Pick

Maine Restaurant Week is March 1 – 14

1912 Cafe, Freeport

3 Crow Restaurant & Bar, Rockland

40 Paper, Camden

Academe Brasserie, Kennebunk

Azure Cafe, Freeport

Back Bay Grill, Portland

Bayside Bowl, Portland

Bonobo Wood Fire Pizza, Portland

The Broad Arrow Tavern, Freeport

The Brunswick Hotel and Tavern, Brunswick

Bucks Naked BBQ & Steakhouse, Portland

Bueno Loco, Falmouth

Cappys Chowder House & Harbor View, Camden

Casa Novello, Westbrook

Congress Squared Restaurant, Portland

Cumberland Club, Portland

David’s, Portland

David’s 388, South Portland

David’s Opus Ten, Portland

DaVinci’s Eatery, Lewiston

DiMillo’s On the Water, Portland

Dockside Grill, Falmouth

El El Frijoles, Sargentville

El Rayo, Portland and Scarborough

Eve’s at the Garden, Portland

Federal Jacks, Kennebunkport

Fish Bones American Grill, Lewiston

Five Fifty-Five, Portland

Flatbread Co., Portland

Forks in the Air Mountain Bistro, Rangeley

Fuel Restaurant, Lewiston

The Garden Grille & Bar, Auburn

The Good Table Restaurant, Cape Elizabeth

Hartstone Inn, Camden

Hot Suppa, Portland

Hugs Italian Restaurant, Falmouth

Le Garage, Wiscasset

Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen, Freeport

Local 188, Portland

Lolita, Portland

Mac’s Grill, Auburn

Marche Kitchen & Wine Bar, Lewiston

Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn, Camden

Outliers Eatery, Portland

Petite Jacqueline, Portland

Point 5 Lounge, Portland

Portland Pie Co., Portland

Portland Pie Co., Scarborough

Portland Pie Co., Westbrook

Ribollita, Portland

Royal River Grillhouse, Yarmouth

Saltwater Grille, South Portland

Salvage BBQ, Portland

Sea Dog Brewing Company, Topsham

Sea Dog Brewing Company, Bangor

Sea Dog Brewing Company, South Portland

Sea Glass Restaurant, Cape Elizabeth

Shipyard Brew Pub, Eliot

Slate’s, Hallowell

Sonny’s, Portland

Sur Lie, Portland

Thistles Restaurant, Bangor

Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie, Portland

TIQA, Portland

Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro, Freeport

Twenty Milk Street, Portland

Vignola Cinque Terre, Portland

Vinland, Portland

Walter’s, Portland

White Cap Grille, Portland