If you haven’t heard from me in a while it’s because I’ve been caught in a culinary ennui, some remnant of conscience looking for inspiration.

The trouble is I’ve been everywhere—not unhappily—in our immediate area and need some new treads, a scarlet foray of food to get me excited.

In most of the established Portland area restaurants I’ve had wonderful meals. Gusts of greatness are fleeting at times, yet the overall dining experience can often rest on a single, beautifully prepared dish.

At 555, for example, the accompanying vegetable served with the hangar steak (skillfully devised) linger on as a great dish. A small new potato was baked, potato flesh removed and mixed with pureed parsnips and stuffed back in, topped with blue cheese. This was really good.

I could go on, naming dish after dish at other eateries, like a mental catalogue of taste or torture. But what comes to mind is that we can flaunt our wings over a span of so many good restaurants in our immediate area, landing here and there as the mood strikes.

But it’s time to travel and try other places, to revel in unmitigated pleasures elsewhere.

Now that the weather is better, the days are longer, the sun is strong and bright I have many reasons to shoot over to the ever charming Pier 77, a glorious establishment blessed with one of the best waterfront settings of any restaurant along the coast.

It hugs the harbor at Cape Porpoise. The food is fabulous, lunch or dinner. The dining room is splendidly attractive and the general feeling is one of calm and caring. I’ll go there for dinner soon and let you know how it is this season.

I can’t wait to get up to Primo in Rockland, or Francine’s in Camden, or that town’s newest entrant, Natalie’s, which I went to for lunch this past winter and liked. Apparently it’s the new Mid Coast darling.

I’m counting the days before I go on my circuit of lobster pounds up and down the coast. They all generally open a week before Memorial Day.

Waterfront dining all over the state is a great warm weather pursuit. Tonight we’re going to the Royal River Grille, in Yarmouth. I’ve always liked the place. And why not? They purloined most of the kitchen staff from Fore Street several years ago.

But I hear that there have been some changes. One report says that at a recent lunch the food was little better than a banal chowder house. Yet another source tells me that they have a new chef and it’s worth trying.

We shall see.

At the very least the view will be excellent.

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