Maine Restaurant Week (MRW), held March 1-10, 2013, is celebrating five years of Maine’s culinary skill and creativity. For the fifth year in a row, Maine Restaurant Week is inviting diners to sample pre-fixe menus from restaurants across the state at a time of year when business is traditionally slow.

Each year, chefs create three-course menus that showcase their restaurants’ unique and flavorful cuisine at special prices ($15 lunches, $22, $32 or $42 dinners). In addition, the culinary cook-offs are not to be missed! Attendees can watch as Maine’s best bartenders and breakfast and pastry chefs will get into the action during MRW’s two special culinary competitions. Watch chefs battle over breakfast at the Incredible Breakfast Cook-off, scheduled Friday, March 1 at 7 a.m. at the Sea Dog Brewing Co. in South Portland or experience Maine’s best dessert and cocktail makers at the 2013 Signature Event, Bartender and Dessert Competition, Sunday, March 10 at 4:30 p.m. at the Prime Mercedes-Benz in Scarborough.