PORTLAND

Eastern Mediterranean restaurant planned for Hyatt Place Hotel

After sitting empty with nothing but a gravel floor for months after the opening of the Hyatt Place Hotel last May, the glass-walled space on the ground floor of the hotel on the corner of Fore and Temple streets is being outfitted as a restaurant named Evo. According to the liquor license application, “Evo will be a 50-seat, full- service restaurant serving eastern Mediterranean cuisine.”

Evo’s owners are members of the Prentice family – siblings Casey and Caitlin and their father, Richard – who also own the Chebeague Island Inn and the former Portland Co. property. The family operated Diamond’s Edge Restaurant & Marina on Great Diamond Island in 2011 and 2012; they also own the four Five Guys Burgers & Fries franchises in Maine.

According to the application, Evo will be open every day from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Renderings on the restaurant’s Facebook page show a central open kitchen and dining bar with mezzanine seating above it, and tables lining the floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. With all that glass, it should be spectacular for people watching.

Old favorites return as Walter’s celebrates its 10th anniversary

Remember the popular Asian raviolis at Walter’s, back when the restaurant lived on Exchange Street?

They’re back for a limited time as the restaurant, now located at 2 Portland Square, celebrates its 10th anniversary during the second week of Maine Restaurant Week, Sunday to March 14. Other old favorites that will be reprised include the “untraditional” salad, linguine Milano, haddock with crab croquettes and vanilla bean crème brûlée.

ROCKLAND

March 5 Seafood Celebration includes famous chefs and lots of fresh seafood

If you love seafood, this year’s Seafood Celebration at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum is a can’t-miss event.

The March 5 celebration begins with a noon to 4 p.m. education/entertainment event featuring all-star chefs who will share their seafood tips. This seafood immersion experience is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are encouraged. To attend, email maineseafood101@gmail.com.

Chefs who will be attending include James Beard Award winner and cookbook author Dave Pasternack of Esca Restaurant in New York City; Barton Seaver of Freeport, a chef, author and ocean conservationist; James Beard semi-finalist Brian Hill of Francine Bistro in Camden; and “Beat Bobby Flay” winner Lynn Archer of the Brass Compass in Rockland.

The forum’s famous seafood reception follows from 5 to 7 p.m. and includes a raw bar, iced tables filled with chilled lobster, shrimp and crab and lots of hot preparations. Reception tickets cost $25 and can be purchased in advance through the email address above.

— From staff reports

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