The name Maine Restaurant Week seems self-explanatory.

Yet, like your Italian grandmother’s lasagna or a delicate and flaky spanakopita, there are a lot of layers.

The event started in 2009 and this year has more than 60 restaurants involved, mostly in southern and central Maine. But each venue does something different, offering specials or menu items that are unique. There are also a few special events, like a barista challenge and a Southeast Asian cooking class.

So the best way to dig into Maine Restaurant Week is with a nine-course Q&A on the event, including how, when and where you can partake. Maine Restaurant Week runs March 1-12.

How did it start?

Gillian and Jim Britt were doing public relations work for local restaurants in 2008 when they started thinking about ways to help their clients through the slow times of a Maine winter. They had seen their clients cut staff, reduce hours and just try to hang on until spring and summer. The first event was held in March 2009, to hopefully provide a financial boost for restaurants and connect them with Mainers, and has been growing ever since.

Where are the restaurants?

Participating restaurants this year stretch from Kittery and Wells in the south to Auburn, Hallowell and Leeds in central Maine and to Camden and Spruce Head in the Midcoast. Other restaurant locations this year include Brunswick, Old Orchard Beach, Windham, Freeport, Gorham, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Westbrook, Scarborough and Portland.

What are some of the offerings?

Many of the restaurants offer three-course menus for $38, $48 or $58 a person. Some offer other specials. At 555 North in Brunswick, the $58 dining room menu includes a choice of chorizo snails in puff pastry, beet carpaccio or Caesar salad, followed by a choice of steak frites, pan-seared salmon or truffle mac and cheese, with dark chocolate dome, raspberry tiramisu or Inniskillin ice wine for dessert. Benny’s in Portland has a $38 menu that starts with garlic bread or one of several salads, followed by a choice of chicken Parmesan, rigatoni alla vodka or cavatelli with pesto, and cannolis for dessert.

Ocean House Bakery in Cape Elizabeth is offering a whoopie pie and cookie, in a variety of flavors, plus a hot or iced coffee, for $12. Terlingua in Portland will have a curated selection of three international agave pours, for $26. Sea Salt Fry Co. in Wells is offering a two-fer, including two grass-fed smash burgers with cheese, an order of duck fat Belgian fries, two drinks and two chocolate chip cookies, for $48.

Where can I find a list of all the restaurants?

On mainerestaurantweek.com you can see thumbnails of all the restaurants, including where they are and whether they’re offering three-course menus or specials, or both. If you click on the restaurant, you can see the specific menu items, the prices and details, the address, the hours and the restaurant’s website. There’s also a feature that lets you search restaurants by price and city. Ten restaurants in Portland have a $58 three-course menu, for instance: Franciska; Sur Lie; Mr. Tuna; Regards; Douro; The Knotted Apron; Twelve; Bread & Friends; Via Vecchia and Solo Italiano.

What are some restaurants participating for the first time?

Places new to the event this year include Lost Valley Brew Pub in Auburn, Angoor Wine Bar in Portland , The Barkery Dog Bar in South Portland, Mr. Tuna in Portland, Sea Salt Fry Co. in Wells, Douro in Portland and Natalie’s Restaurant at Camden Harbour Inn in Camden.

What do the restaurants think about it?

Ramiz Jasic, executive chef of Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, says restaurant week “reminds us why we love being part of Maine’s restaurant industry” because it celebrates not only Maine fare but the people who bring food to life “with passion” on Maine menus.

Alex Marchesini, owner of Franciska in Portland, says restaurant week gives him and his staff the chance to welcome new guests and “share a style of cooking that’s deeply personal to us,” including a menu rooted in the Argentine bodegon tradition.

Are there any special events?

Natalie’s Restaurant at Camden Harbour Inn is hosting a pop-up version of Tempo Dulu, a popular Southeast Asian restaurant in Portland that closed a few years ago, with a cooking class and a Rijsttafel (rice table) feast. The cooking class will be Saturday at 1 p.m., with chef Alfie Mossadeg giving lessons with flavors inspired by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It’s $87 per person.

The Risjsttafel dinner will be offered Thursday through Sunday and March 12-15 for $74 per person. It includes a long list of small items served with rice, including satay, rendang, gado-gado and sambals. The menu also features krupuk (shrimp crackers), Pastel Goreng (small Indonesian pies filled with chicken and egg), Lumpia (an Indonesian version of a Chinese Lumpia) and Kecang pedis (spicy nuts), plus cocktails and a la carte items.

Is it only about food?

One of Maine Restaurant Week’s events this year is all about coffee, or more specifically, latte. There will be a Latte Art Throw Down at Coffee by Design on Diamond Street in Portland at 7 p.m. March 12. The competition is open to all area baristas, giving them a chance to showcase their skill in the art of pouring a nice latte. The public is invited to cheer on the baristas.

What else should I know?

In years past, the Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off happened as part of restaurant week and drew enthusiastic crowds as local chefs competed for the coveted best breakfast honors. But a variety of logistical challenges caused organizers to put it on pause for this year. Gillian Britt, one of Maine Restaurant Week’s founders, says the plan is to bring the breakfast contest back in 2027.

“The Incredible Breakfast Cook-Off has been incredibly meaningful over the years. This year, however, we were not able to devote the time required to produce it properly, so we’ve made the difficult decision to pause for one year. We look forward to bringing it back next year,” Britt wrote an in email to the Press Herald.