restaurants – Page 5 – Salem Main Streets

Best Chef: Salem, We’re Cooking Up Another Must See Event

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Nov 052015

Blending food, competition and a fundraising event, the Salem YMCA and Creative Salem have partnered to host the 2nd annual Salem’s Best Chef competition, Nov. 7th from 6:30 – 9:30pm at Ames Hall within the Y building.

You are invited to be on hand to observe local Salem chefs facing off to see who reigns supreme.

“Salem is a force in the culinary scene,” explains John Andrews of Creative Salem. “The one constant we have all year long (through Haunted Happenings, the Maritime Festival, cultural happenings, growth in the city, etc.) is an ever growing and changing culinary scene.”

He continues “With those plethora of events throughout the year, the ever expanding culinary scene and the popularity of cooking competitions, it was a unique but logical choice to not only highlight some awesome local chefs but to give a little sample to people to try out some of the offerings in Salem.”

Adding to the local theme, each chef will create three dishes utilizing ingredients from local vendors that participate in the Salem Farmers Market!

Also included in the Best Chef event will be a “Taste of Salem” featuring local restaurants, brewers, and cider masters offering samples to attendees. These include:

Far From the Tree Cider
AMano Italian Kitchen
Ken Rothwell Catering
In A Pig’s Eye
The Lobster Shanty
Opus
The Cheese Shop of Salem
Deacon Giles Distillery
KOTO

This event supports the Salem YMCA and its Annual Campaign which helps fund community initiatives in the areas of the achievement gap, teens, aging population and childhood obesity. It also supports greater access to Y programs in health and wellness, aquatics, camp, child care and in the areas of arts and theater through scholarships and financial assistance.

Guest judges include: the 2014 winner Antonio Bettencourt; 2014 Businesswoman of the year Brandi Dion, owner of B&S Fitness; and the creator of Nosh Northshore and Dinner Dealer Jessica Brand Alves.

Andrews points out that last year’s event revealed that “Putting the focus on the chefs in a city where we don’t really do the ‘celebrity chef’ thing didn’t involve some of the ego that can usually go into these events.”

In fact, it was just the opposite, providing a chance for the locals to really see who is cooking for them in their favorite local restaurants.

Andrews, a former chef himself reveals, “One of the wonderful things about the culinary scene in this city is that a lot of the staff that work in these places frequent each others establishments so there is a real wonderful sense of camaraderie at events like this.”

Additional entertainment at Best Chef will be provided by DJ Noel Snow and a fun-filled photo booth.

Andrews adds, “With Mayoral visions of a shared kitchen incubator space.. An exciting artisanal beer, cider and spirit scene… A vibrant and thriving Farmers Market…The potential turning of the page on the possibility of food trucks… and some really wonderful new options for people to dine… we need residents & visitors to support all these initiatives and new businesses; hopefully events like this and the upcoming Salem Restaurant week will encourage people all over the region to start seeing Salem as the culinary destination that it is.”

Tickets are $35 or $50 for VIP access! (VIP access includes a drink ticket and balcony seating!)
Call 978-740-9622 for more info.

(Photos courtesy of Social Palates Photography)

And Now for Something Completely Different in Salem MA

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Oct 282015

What isn’t different in Salem MA during Halloween what with all the witch-stuff, ghostbusters, zombie nurses, etc.? How about these two alternative events for Friday Oct. 30th evening: the First Annual Spice Eating Challenge at Artists’ Row and the Salem Classical production Songs of the Supernatural, produced with support from Salem Main Streets and Creative Salem.

Deborah Greel, Public Art Planner for the City of Salem (Department of Planning and Community Development) describes both events as having an “appeal to tourists but definitely geared for locals too.”

The Heat is ON

Step up to the 1st Annual #Salem MA Wicked Hot Spice Tasting Challenge!!! It will be conveniently located in one of our hottest creative spaces, Artists’ Row, and hosted by Karen Scalia of Salem Food Tours (which is itself located at Artists’ Row). The Challenge will run from 6-7pm, rain or shine. Sign up sheet to be a taster available night of the event.

“The tastings will be four types of mashed chili peppers,” explains Scalia. “Four levels of hot fun – from mild, medium, hot, and SUPER HOT!”

Too afraid to try the heat??? Then just come on down to cheer the poor souls on!! Bwahahahahahaha

The chilis are being supplied by Salem Spice, which also will have them for sale during the event.

“We are thrilled to stage this free community event,” states Scalia. “It’s a fun and exciting way to start Halloween weekend in Salem, a fantastic way to celebrate Artists’ Row, and a great way to support our local fire department.”

Salem Fire Department Local 172 will be in attendance selling tee shirts to raise money for local fire station amenities (which are usually paid for out of pocket by fire-fighters).

As for just what makes chili peppers such a hot deal? According to the website chilipeppermadness.com, “That spiciness we all love and crave comes from a compound called capsaicin that is found in all hot peppers. Interestingly enough, capsaicin is found in no other plant than the chili pepper. A single drop of this substance combined with 100,000 parts water is still noticeably spicy.”

As for advice when the heat is too much to beat? The website advises “Don’t Drink The Water! Pure capsaicin is soluble in alcohol but not soluble in cold water. Hence, instead of dousing the raging flame on your tongue, the water will only spread the spices around in your mouth and make the situation worse. Instead, try sugar or milk to curb that luscious heat.”

For more info, check out the Challenge website.

And if you DARE for more, The Lobster Shanty (also on Artists’ Row) will be serving some delicious spicy HOT specials to get your taste buds roaring.

Coldly Haunting Classical

A siren haunts a rock on the river Rhine.
A princess, locked away in a Bronze Room.
A charlatan conducts sham séances.
A teenage girl, driven to suicide by cruel fate…

The Salem Witch Trials are not the only persecutions fixated on the supernatural. Explore dark magic and tragic heroines, set to hauntingly gorgeous music by Schubert, Berlioz, Liszt, Menotti, Lees, and Rorem, when Salem Main Streets and Salem Classical present the Salem debut of Songs of the Supernatural at the First Church in Salem (316 Essex Street) at 8pm.

Kate Kostopoulos will be the performing soprano; she is from Boston and has been pursing vocal performance for the past six years and simultaneously maintaining a career in Arts Administration.

She is a recent graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music where she received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. Earlier this year Kostopoulos was a Young Artist at the Atlantic Music Festival performing opera and art song repertoire.

Brendon Shapiro will be her pianist; he is a vocal coach, musical director, and conductor based in Boston. Currently serving as a staff pianist at Boston University and organist for First Parish in Arlington, MA, he has additionally been hired by numerous opera companies, recitalists, choral ensembles, and religious organizations in the area.

He also is on faculty as a vocal coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Shapiro holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano Performance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Ithaca College School of Music where he won the Mary Hayes North Piano Competition Award.

Salem Classical is the home of classical music located in the heart of the pedestrian zone of historic downtown Salem. The mission of Salem Classical is to remove the boundary between the public and performers, bringing some of the greatest music ever composed to Salem. Audiences are invited to frequent concerts as a compliment to the overall cultural experience in the city of Salem that includes dozens of restaurants, shops, and museums. And witches, ghostbusters, etc., etc.

For more info go to the Classical Salem website.

This upcoming Friday night is the “calm before the storm,” so why not venture out for chili and classical? Only in Salem MA would saying that make any sense.

Anime Comes Alive at Flying Saucer Restaurant

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Aug 232015

Remember Pokemon from your childhood? Or perhaps you are actively involved with some form of anime now? The videos and card games are still going strong. As is a much more grown-up and tightly written anime called Attack on Titan. Both of those as well as three other forms of anime will each have a day of exposure during the Flying Saucer Pizza Company special Anime Week, Aug. 24-28.

Explains Nicole Spirito, General Manager of Flying Saucer, “This is the first EVER Anime Week at Flying Saucer in our three years of being in business. We are well known for our creative intertwining of delicious pizza and good nerdy fun, and I decided that it was time for the anime/manga crowd to have a fun week just for them!”

Harrison’s Comics & Pop Culture in Salem is co-sponsoring the week long event and is supplying raffle prizes. It also holds Pokemon sessions & tournaments on Sunday afternoons.

She adds, “Harrison’s Comics has always been a loyal friend and partner with us as business owners in Salem, and we saw this as the perfect opportunity to have our worlds collide, so to speak. Many of our staff and customers are avid anime enthusiasts, and we all enjoyed collaborating on ideas to make this week fantastic.”

The night returns some fan pizza favorites, including the BULBASAUR and VEGETA – as well as introducing some lively cocktails. You are invited to wear your finest merch to receive some “awesome” Saucer freebies.

For those of you that don’t know about this art form, the word anime is a shortened version of animēshon and can be characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastical themes.

According to Wikipedia, “The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates to 1917, and production of anime works in Japan has since continued to increase steadily. The characteristic anime art style emerged in the 1960s with the works of Osamu Tezuka and spread internationally in the late twentieth century, developing a large domestic and international audience. Anime is distributed theatrically, by television broadcasts, directly to home media, and over the internet. It is classified into numerous genres targeting diverse broad and niche audiences.”

In other words, anime is everywhere and enjoyed by males & females of all ages and nationalities.

The schedule (at posting time):

Monday – Pokemon
Tuesday – Naruto
Wednesday – Dragon Ball Z with a special screening of Resurrection F at 8pm
Thursday – Inuyasha
Friday – Attack on Titan with a late night screening from 11pm-1am

And, don’t forget, adds Nicole, “We’ll be raffling off killer memorabilia provided by Harrison’s Comics each night!”

Flying Saucer is located at 118 Washington St, in Salem MA. And Harrison’s is across the street from Flying Saucer at 252 Essex Street.

Time Well Spent, Mayor’s Night Out with Kimberley Driscoll

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Aug 132015

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Mayor’s Night Out 2014 – Photo Credit Social Palates

Let’s face it, our Mayor, Kimberley Driscoll, is a popular political figure. She is outspoken when need be. She listens to people in the community. And she is accessible. Point in fact, the annual event called Mayor’s Night Out, which takes place this year on Monday, Aug. 17th from 5-7pm.

And… YOU have the select opportunity to join Salem Main Streets and Mayor Kimberley Driscoll during this special tour of three of downtown Salem’s hot dining spots, this year with a focus on restaurants that feature products from the Salem Farmers’ Market!

“This is really such a great event, and I’m very excited this year that we’re highlighting restaurants who regularly source ingredients from the Farmers’ Market,” says Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets. “We see so many of our local chefs down at the Market every week shopping for their menus that it was hard to pick just three for this year – that said, I think we’ve selected a killer lineup!”

And that lineup is…

5:00 – 5:30 – Firenze Trattoria
5:45 – 6:15 – The Naumkeag Ordinary
6:30 – 7:00 – Opus

Mayor’s Night Out is a unique opportunity to spend time with Mayor Driscoll, ask questions, offer comments, ask her to pass a napkin or if she’d like a refill on her beverage, etc. Low key, but lively, the walking tour of three dining establishments offers a fun time for those who reserve a spot quickly.

Tickets are $25 to participate with passed hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at each stop. Tickets MUST be reserved in advance by emailing kylie@salemmainstreets.org, calling 978-744-0004 x15, or purchasing in person at our office 265 Essex Street, Suite 101.

Proceeds from Mayor’s Night Out support the efforts of Salem Main Streets. Our mission is the continued revitalization of downtown Salem as a vibrant, year-round, retail, dining and cultural destination through business retention, recruitment, and the promotion of the downtown district. Other SMS events include the Salem Farmers’ Market, Salem Arts Festival, Salem’s So Sweet, and the Ice Scream Bowl.

Shopping In Style This Weekend in Salem

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Aug 052015

Bargains will fill the shelves, counters and floors of stores this weekend as Heritage Days closes out the weekend with the Essex Street Fair, and Pickering Wharf presents the next installment of First Friday.

First Friday is a stand-alone monthly activity by the good folks at Pickering Wharf, but this month it happens to fall during Heritage Days, so why not make it part of your Heritage Days celebration when you’re in town that day?

You will most definitely Shop, Dine and Unwind at Pickering Wharf where you will find exclusive specials, events and treats from over 20 unique shops and six fabulous restaurants.

First Friday festivities begin at 5pm with most stores remaining open until 9pm.

Participating restaurants will offer, at a minimum, 10% off with a receipt from a Pickering Wharf shop, as well as in-house specials. Some merchants will also have entertainment, refreshments, and some give-aways.

Bargains & free “stuff” make First Fridays at Pickering Wharf a must see event.

Then over the weekend, more than 50 vendors will participate in the Heritage Days festivities at the Salem Chamber of Commerce Essex Street Fair. The Essex Street Fair is an annual two-day event; this year it is to be held on August 8 & 9, 2015 from 10am – 6pm.

Along the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall artisans, craftors, and food vendors from in and around Salem join local merchants to sell their merchandise along the length of Essex St., from the Daniel Low Building to the Hawthorne Hotel.

Bring your friends and family to this street festival to browse through jewelry, crafts, paintings, and other unique items! Face painters and musicians will be strolling around to entertain the crowd.

For more information regarding the Essex Street Fair, contact the Salem Chamber of Commerce at 978-744-0004.

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