BRUNSWICK

Nestle’s water operations subject of free film showing

A free screening of “Bottled Life: The Truth about Nestle’s Business with Water” takes place at 3 p.m. Feb. 3 at the Curtis Memorial Library.

The film by Swiss journalist Res Gehringer looks at the corporation that dominates the global business of bottled water. Gehringer explores Nestle’s operations around the globe including in Nigeria, Pakistan and Maine.

Following the film, Chris Buchanan, coordinator of Defending Water for Life in Maine, will lead a discussion about the efforts to protect water in Maine.

The film is co-sponsored by the Bath-Brunswick chapter of Occupy Maine, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom and PeaceWorks. Refreshments will be served.

Curtis Memorial Library is at 23 Pleasant St. For more information, call 725-5242.

DAMARISCOTTA

Food, music, art featured at fundraiser for FARMS

The organic restaurant Savory Maine will hosts a fundraiser for Focus on Agriculture in Rural Maine Schools, or FARMS, on Saturday. The event takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. and features local food, music and art.

Tickets cost $30 for adults, $10 for kids ages 5 to 11 and are free for kids under 5. Savory Maine is at 11 Water St. For more information, call 563-2111 or visit savorymainedining.com.

PORTLAND

Good Eats Boutique closes Deering storefront

After five years in business, Good Eats Boutique has closed its storefront at 463 Stevens Ave. in order to concentrate on its custom cake, cupcake and wedding business.

The business will now be at 60 Dole Drive in North Deering, according to owner Jill Dewitt.

Cakes and cupcakes can still be ordered by calling 773-1000 or emailing goodeatsboutique.jill@yahoo.com.

Buy a $6 taste of France, get lunch in the bargain

How about a sandwich au sac brun for lunch today?

Sorry, that’s not a gourmet meal. (French makes anything sound fancy.) It’s a brown bag sandwich from Petite Jacqueline, the French bistro at 190 State St.

This week, the restaurant began offering a selection of traditional French baguette sandwiches-to-go for $6. The sandwiches will be available Monday through Saturday. Call 553-7044.

PSO wine dinner tickets should go like hotcakes

The Portland Symphony Orchestra will hold its 12th annual wine dinner and auction March 6 at the Harrasseeket Inn in Freeport.

Wines from Wineberry will be featured at the five-course dinner, which will be prepared by some of the area’s top chefs.

Among the chefs participating will be Ilma Lopez, the pastry chef at Grace; Mitchell Kaldrovich from Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea; Eric Flynn from the Harraseeket; and father-and-son chefs Sam Hayward of Fore Street and Ian Hayward of Petite Jacqueline.

Tickets are $200 per person. Tables of 10 are $2,000. The dinner sells out annually, so advance reservations are encouraged.

For reservations, call 773-6128, ext. 318, or email Lindsay Stanley at lstanley@portlandsymphony.
org.

Price $10, place unknown to kick-start new pop-up

The Chinese Laundry, a dim sum pop-up restaurant, will be kick-starting its venture with a Tea & Dumplings fundraiser Feb. 10.

The kick-starter begins at 5:30 at the Speckled Ax, 567 Congress St., and costs $10 for unlimited tea and dumplings. All of the proceeds will go toward the launch of the Chinese Laundry on Feb. 20.

The menu for the launch is being developed – it includes sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf with braised pork belly and “oysters and pearls,” an homage to chef Thomas Keller and the French Laundry – but there’s no location yet.

Follow the restaurant’s launch on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/Xw72Yp or on Twitter at @dimsumpopup207.

Hugo’s prepares to close for ‘grand transformation’

Hugo’s is continuing its tradition of offering two-for-one tasting menus ($45 per person) this winter. But if you want to take advantage of the deal, better find time to go in the next six weeks or so.

Why? The rumors of renovations at this Portland culinary institution are apparently true. Chefs Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor and general manager Arlin Smith announced in their newsletter that the restaurant will be closing in late February to begin “a grand transformation.”

The renovations, they said, “will introduce a luxurious, sprawling tasting bar, overlooking an open kitchen.”

Plush leather booths are also part of the plan.

The owners say the restaurant will re-open sometime “in the spring.” That usually means April or May.

Have an extra $2,000? ‘Lodge’ has a deal for you

What would you do if you had an extra $2,000 floating around?

Andrew Volk, owner of the Portland Hunt and Alpine Club, hopes you’ll spend it on a new “lodge membership” at the cocktail bar, which is slated to open at an undisclosed location this spring.

The $2,000 annual fee buys you a “lodge membership” at the cocktail bar. Most of the money, $1,750 of it, goes toward your bar tab, held on specially designed membership cards.

Lodge members – only 50 people will be allowed to sign up – will be the only guests allowed to make reservations.

Other benefits:

• A personalized cocktail menu and drinks.

• Access to “Hush Hush,” the club’s speakeasy.

• Access to special monthly member events and the annual members-only holiday party.

• Discounts to classes and special events.

• Access to members-only organized trips, tastings and barrel purchases.

Reserve a spot or ask questions about lodge membership at members@huntandalpineclub.com.

Celebrated Portland chef to repeat ‘Chopped’ gig

Portland chef Rob Evans, owner of Duckfat and 2009 recipient of the Best Chef: Northeast award from the James Beard Foundation, is going back for seconds on the popular Food Network show “Chopped.”

Evans originally appeared on the show in October 2011, and came home with the $10,000 prize. Now he’ll compete on “Chopped Champions,” featuring former winners competing for $50,000.

Evans will appear in Round 4, the episode that airs at 10 p.m. on Feb. 5. He’ll be vying for the final spot in the $50,000 grand finale.

‘’Chopped’’ is a cooking competition in which four chefs use ingredients in ‘’mystery baskets’’ to create a three-course meal that is judged by a panel of three experts. After each course, one of the chefs is ‘’chopped’’ from the competition.

According to the Food Network, the mystery ingredients on Evans’ episode will include sour apple martini mix and, for the entree round, “an imposing cut of meat” and sweet wine.

Five Fifty-Five owner puts ooh and aah in O

Steve Corry, chef/owner of Five Fifty-Five and Petite Jacqueline, has an impressive spread of recipes for Valentine’s Day in the February issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

In a short article, author Kate Christensen, who recently moved to Portland, writes about making Valentine’s Day more inclusive by inviting friends and family to dinner. She asked Corry what he would cook for a group of friends, and he designed an entire menu.

It starts with cauliflower soup with creme fraiche, followed by vadouvan curry shrimp. For an entree, there’s salmon in parchment with olive butter. Sides include potato and fennel puree and brussels sprouts with brioche bread crumbs.

For dessert, Corry shares his family recipe for Clementine Pots de Creme.

All of the recipes are included, along with luscious photographs of each dish.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Third store for Five Guys will be near Maine Mall

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has announced it plans to open a third location in Maine, this time in South Portland.

The new location will be at 198 Maine Mall Road, and it will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Maine’s first Five Guys opened in April 2011 at 425 Fore St., in Portland’s Old Port. The Lorton, Va.-based restaurant chain also plans to open a place on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor this spring.

– Compiled by Meredith Goad, Staff Writer