Spring Fling: Saturday Afternoon in Salem

Two Salem businesses are hosting a Spring Fling celebration Saturday March 21 from 1:00 to 4:00 at Old Town Hall on the Pedestrian Mall in Salem. Roman attire is encouraged at the event, which is fashioned after the Bacchanalia, a festival honoring the wine god Bacchus, known to the Greeks as Dionysus.

The event is being sponsored by Magic Hat and will feature a tasting of more than 50 wines (from the US, Europe, South Africa, South America, and Australia), international beers, and local beers from Ipswich, Cape Ann, and more.

Food will be served by local restaurants The Old Spot, Finz, Sixty2 on Wharf, Rockafellas, Café Grazziani, The Lobster Shanty, The Upper Crust, Gulu Gulu, A&J King, and more. Art from local artists will be on display.

The hosts are our favorite North Shore homegoods store, Pamplemousse, and craft gallery The Picklepot. See the Pamplemousse site for more information.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They’re available at http://www.localwineevents.com/, Pamplemousse, or by calling (978) 745-2900.

Swampscott Eatery: From Deli to Flatbread?

Taking advantage of the warm weather this weekend, we took a Junior Dish member out biking along Lynn Shore Drive and noticed this sign in the window the Manhattan Sandwich Company’s Swampscott storefront. Their Web site had said that this location was “closed for the season,” but it now looks like they’ve left Swampscott for good.

Thankfully, the Marblehead location remains in business, because we don’t know what we’d do if we couldn’t satisfy our occasional craving for a Mickey’s #7 (Lightly toasted bread with turkey breast, coleslaw, melted Swiss cheese and Russian dressing). And not only does the sandwich shop occupy the old Munchie’s location in the Village Plaza, the Boston Club (A triple decker of roast beef, turkey breast, imported ham, Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing) is quite a respectable replacement for the erstwhile José Jr.

While we do know that a Piadina is an Italian flatbread, we don’t know anything about the incoming restaurant, so we’d love to hear from you if you do. That strip of Humphrey Street can be tough with all the competition, so we wish them luck and look forward to trying a Piadina.

Manhattan Sandwich Company
1 Bessom Street, Marblehead
781-631-0605
http://www.udine4less.com/manhattansandwichcomarblehead/

Craving Coffee and Carbs

A small dog who shall remain nameless woke us up quite early this morning, so Lunch Guy and I made the best of the situation by heading over to Red’s for breakfast. For those not familiar, Red’s is an old-style family restaurant with great food at terrific prices. It’s located on a small side street in Salem, but there’s plenty of parking nearby. Especially at 7:30 in the morning.

Feeling the need for carbs, I ordered blueberry pancakes. The waitress asked if I wanted one, two, or three pancakes, saying they were large. She wasn’t kidding. I ordered two ($5), but since they are as big as a platter, one would have been sufficient. The blueberries were small and tender, and the pancake was fluffy.

Lunch Guy was very pleased with his western omelette ($6), which came with a generous portion of delicious home fries and toast. He enjoyed his side of sausages ($2.50), although they were a bit mild for his taste. The bottomless cup of coffee ($1.75) was topped off so frequently he never came close to reaching the bottom.

That kind of service holds true for lunch, according to Lunch Guy. In fact, the American Chop Suey at Red’s ($6.50) is one of his favorite lunches. Hot, delicious, and served quickly, the portion is so large he often can’t finish it. And there are plenty of other choices on the large and varied lunch menu, all at extremely reasonable prices.

Red’s Sandwich Shop
15 Central Street, Salem
(978) 745-352
www.redssandwichshop.com

Pacific Northwest Wine Dinner at Finz in Salem

On Wednesday March 11 at 6:30, Finz is serving a four-course meal accompanied by wines from the Pacific Northwest. Cost is $50 per person (not including tax and gratuity).

Starter: Oysters on the half shell with yuzo ice and wasabi caviar; Mercer Estate reisling (Washington State)

First course: Venison tartare with rosemary buttermilk biscuit, clementine marmalade, and blackberry juniper vinaigrette; Lange pinot noir (Willamette Valley)

Entree: Cedar plank salmon with smoked salmon gratinee, savory pommery whipped cream, and crisp Okinawan potato; Lange pinot gris (Willamette Valley)

Dessert: Washington apple and wild berry cobbler with black raspberry ice cream; Taylor Fladgate port

Finz
76 Wharf Street, Salem
(978) 744-8485
http://www.hipfinz.com/salem.php