BRUNSWICK

Wine pairing dinner celebrates Robert Burns

The Tavern at the Inn at Brunswick Station, 4 Noble St., is hosting a wine pairing dinner Jan. 25 in honor of poet Robert Burns’ birthday.

The dinner will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. featuring traditional Scotch eggs. There will be a recitation of “The Ode to the Haggis,” complete with bagpipes and ceremonial sword slicing. The menu will include cock-a-leekie soup (chicken soup), bubbly-jock (turkey and trimmings), tipsy laird (trifle) and more, concluding with cheese an’ bisquits.

The Tavern has a single malts menu, and will feature stout specials for this dinner as well.

The dinner costs $35 per person, excluding beverages (with the exception of the Scotch toast to the haggis), tax and gratuity. Call 837-6565 for reservations.

FALMOUTH

Cooperative Extension offers beekeeping courses

In case you haven’t heard, bees are the new backyard chickens.

If you’re interested in learning all about beekeeping, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer two beekeeping courses this winter, one for beginners and one for intermediate-level beekeepers.

The beginner course begins Jan. 18 and will run for five consecutive Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The class will be taught by two experienced beekeepers, Geoff MacLean and Jack Hildreth. The fee of $80 covers the cost of the textbook, a bee disease publication and the beekeepers reference book.

The beginner course will be held in Room 303, Payson Smith Hall, 96 Falmouth St., on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus.

The intermediate course will run for six consecutive Mondays from
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 6, and will be taught by master beekeeper Erin Forbes. The fee is $130 per person. These classes will be held at the University of Maine Learning Center, 75 Clearwater Drive, Suite 104, Falmouth.

To request a registration form for either class, or to register over the phone with a credit card, call 781-6099 or (800) 287-1471.

PEAKS ISLAND

Gastro Society to hold second gathering Saturday

The Peaks Island Gastro Society will hold its second gathering at 6 p.m. Saturday at the home of Jeff Kingman, a former professional chef who started the private dining event as a way to bring people together for good food and conversation.

This month, there will be a northern Italian menu that uses ingredients such as imported Italian black truffles, Maine chef-raised goose, seafood from Harbor Fish, New Hampshire farm-raised red deer venison and sea salt handmade by Kingman.

The six-course dinner will begin with an appetizer buffet, then continue with courses of lemon sole, fettucini carbonara with truffles, poached Atlantic salmon stuffed squid, venison osso bucco “fire pit” with truffles, roast garlic spinach martini and bacon-wrapped sabayon souffle.
Two professional wait staff will be on hand to serve.

The cost is $100 per person in advance, and reservations are required. The dinners are typically limited to eight to 10 people. Email jeff@digitalcoco.com to make a reservation and get directions.

PORTLAND

Otto Pizza now offering pies-to-go delivery service

Otto Pizza is launching a delivery service called “Otto to Go” out of a space at Washington and Congress streets, across the street from its existing pizzeria at 225 Congress St.

Pizzas will be delivered using custom bicycles specially constructed to handle the delivery loads. Deliveries initially will be limited to the Portland peninsula, but the owners said the delivery area will likely be increased in the future.

To have a pizza delivered, call 358-7551.

Ariel’s Hummus on hiatus, but pita making continues

Ariel’s Hummus has put its hummus making on hold until spring while it searches for a larger space.
Ariel Glazer said he expects to be moved by May. Meanwhile, Glazer is still making his popular pita bread, and delivered his first whole wheat pita bread on Monday.

Glazer is increasing the number of days he makes and delivers fresh pita because in the Middle East, he said, “there’s no such thing as two- or more day-old pita. Pita is best fresh within one to two days of baking, or when it’s popped in the freezer until you’re hungry again.”

Ariel’s Hummus is also using this time to develop a few new products, Glazer said.

Jan. 25 cooking class on pairing pinot noir and pork

The Chadwick Bed & Breakfast, 140 Chadwick St., is teaming up with Newfangled Eats and Wine Wise for a Jan. 25 cooking and wine class on pairing pinot noir with pork.

The class will include helping to prepare the food as well as instruction on how to pair it with wines.
The class costs $75 per person or $125 per couple. Call 775-5141 to reserve a spot.

Annual stoutfest begins Thursday at Novare Res

Novare Res Bier Cafe, 4 Canal Plaza, will begin its fourth annual stoutfest, “12 Stouts After Christmas,” from 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday.

The stout showcase will feature 12 different stouts.

Dobra Tea to host traditional Japanese tea ceremony

Dobra Tea, 151 Middle St., will hold a traditional Japanese tea ceremony from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Hiroko Fogarty, a Portland resident, will lead the choreographed ritual of preparing and serving the matcha, a powdered Japanese tea. For more information, call 210-6566.
Portland Harbor Hotel’s annual ice bar opens Jan. 26

The Portland Harbor Hotel’s annual ice bar will open on Jan. 26 and run through Jan. 28. Tickets are $15 to $21 per person.

This year’s bar will feature two martini bars pouring specialty cocktails made with Smirnoff vodka’s fluffed marshmallow and whipped cream. Shipyard Brewery will have beer available at the outdoor ice bar.
The bar will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. each day.

Tickets are for sale at brownpapertickets.com, and will not be available at the door.

NEWRY

Ride the Chondola and dine in style at Sunday River

Sunday River has released the 2012 schedule for its Dining at the Peak program.
The dinners range from $65 to $85 per person, and include a round-trip Chondola ride up to the restaurant.

This is the first year Sunday River has invited guest chefs from outside restaurants to participate. Two Portland restaurants, Vignola and Cinque Terre, will be featured at this Saturday’s dinner, on the weekend celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. The cost of that dinner is $65.

On Jan. 21, there will be a Goslings Rum dinner. Guests will receive samplings of Goslings Black Seal Rum, Goslings Gold Rum and the rare Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum. The dinner will be a three-course meal prepared with rum, and signature Goslings Rum cocktails will be available.

On Jan. 28, there will be a Fess Parker wine dinner.

Feb. 4 will be a Shipyard Beer dinner, and Feb. 25 will feature a French wine dinner.

Reservations for each dinner are required. Call 824-5076. Seatings are between 7 and 8:30 p.m., and the restaurant is open until 10 p.m.

For more information on the menus, go to sundayriver.com.

SCARBOROUGH

Toast on the Coast to raise funds for Easter Seals Maine

Toast on the Coast, a Feb. 2 event that will benefit Easter Seals Maine, will feature more than 100 wines and food from Maine restaurants.

The event will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Landing at Pine Point, 353 Pine Point Road.

Grand tasting tickets are $40 per person, and allow access to more than 100 wines and the food.

Guests with private tasting tickets, which cost $50 each, will be among 50 people allowed in the private tasting room.

The private tasting will include high-end wines from around the globe.

Order tickets online at eastersealsme.org or call 828-0754.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Bathras Market to close, citing difficult economy

Bathras Market, a family-run neighborhood store that opened just last April, is already closing.

The Bathras family announced the closure on their website, citing an inability to compete with larger stores and the seasonal nature of their location at 412 Preble St.
The store will close its doors on Jan. 20.

Bathras carries only organic, local foods with no artificial colors, flavors or MSG; no antibiotics or artificial growth hormones; no high-fructose corn syrup; no trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils; and no chemical fragrances or cleaning agents.

In a letter to their customers, the family said, “We have tried our best to have a unique mix of quality products with fair pricing, but it has become clear that we do not have the buying power to compete with prices at larger stores, which greatly impacts our ability to generate sales during these difficult economic times.”

To read the entire letter, go to www.bathrasmarket.com.

YORK

Dine like a colonial on Jan. 20 at Jefferds Tavern

Ever wonder how your colonial ancestors ate?

The Museums of Old York will host a traditional hearth-cooked dinner in an authentic colonial tavern atmosphere on Jan. 20.

The dinner will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Jefferds Tavern, 3 Lindsay Road. The cost is $30 for members and $35 for non-members, and reservations are required.

The menu will include peasant bread, apple slices and herbed oil, borscht with sour cream, fig- and orange-glazed ham with potatoes au gratin, green beans and carrots sauteed in butter and garlic, and a dessert of apple pear ginger crisp. Bring your own beverage.

To reserve a spot, email education@oldyork.org or call 363-4974, Ext. 12.

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