The tastiest week on the calendar boasts some fresh events to tempt diners.
Maine Restaurant Week is best known for a couple of high-profile events that sell out quickly, but some new and lesser-known events are on the table this year, too.
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If you’ve had your fill of breakfast (the incredibly popular “Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off”), you don’t bowl (“Chef-Am Bowling Tournament”) or you can’t drink cocktails on Sunday night (“The Signature Event”) for fear of falling asleep during “Downton Abbey,” these are for you.
The folks at Coffee By Design will offer desserts from Five Fifty-Five, Scratch Baking Co., Walter’s and other restaurants paired with a thoughtfully matched cup of coffee from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the One Diamond Street location in East Bayside. Tickets are $35. Participants will submit their desserts to the staff at Coffee By Design well in advance of the event, so the staff can choose the beans and decide on a brewing method.
“If someone has a dessert that’s very citrusy, obviously that’s going to be very different than a dessert that’s rich and chocolatey,” said Mary Allen Lindemann, co-owner of the business.
Coffee By Design has started hosting occasional food and coffee pairings at the Diamond Street venue and often works with chefs on ways to incorporate coffee into a menu.
Most people think that the best thing to do at the end of a meal is to order decaf and stay away from caffeinated, robust coffees, but the opposite is true, Lindemann said. When your palate has been stimulated by an incredible meal, she said, “you need a bold finish.” Whether it’s with a Chemex or a French press, the brewing method will help bring out different notes and nuances in a coffee, she said.
“The Great Coffee Pairing Event” is a great way for people who don’t drink alcohol to enjoy Maine Restaurant Week, Lindemann said. And who knows, they may just discover a new favorite coffee.
The Camden Harbour Inn also is sponsoring several new events this year. Perhaps the most interesting to people who live in the Portland area is a pop-up dinner on March 5 at Natalie’s, the restaurant inside the inn. The inn owners purchased the Danforth Inn in Portland in last May and plan to open a Southeast Asian restaurant called Tempo Dulu there this spring. Lawrence Klang, who will be executive chef, will offer a five-course tasting menu at Natalie’s to preview his Tempo Dulu menu. The dinner costs $75 per person, not including beverages. Reservations will be accepted from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Camden Harbour Inn also will host five-course menus with cocktail pairings on March 6 and March 7, featuring New York City mixologist Greg Bell, a veteran of The Spotted Pig. Bell and the inn’s bartender, Mac McGaw, will teach a master cocktail class at 2 p.m. on March 7, for $15 per person or free for guests of the inn.
For more information, including details on special Restaurant Week packages available at the inn, go to mainerestaurantweek.com.
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