Critic's Choice
If you think it’s easy to write about restaurants on a constant basis, let me quash that notion right here and now. After so many dining experiences in so many years every first course is a purgatory of reiterations.
Every main course becomes a bilious chore. How many ways are there to sniff and tell about duck confit or rack of lamb?
The critic runs to a new restaurant as though to leave behind a half century of memories. Finally there’s something new to write about. I suppose it’s critical mass. For me it’s hardly a full time job. In fact it’s not a job at all but something I like to do. I love food, I understand it and I’m an avid cook myself.
In Portland there are only a finite number of opportunities. In all of Maine there are probably only 20 restaurants in the entire state that I’d go to on a regular basis. Occasionally as one travels around you find something new. Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor are becoming restaurant havens. Blue Hill, Deer Isle, Castine, Rockland and Camden are home to some of Maine’s finest restaurants. Southern Maine holds sway with Arrows, MC Bistro, Provence and a few others.
Local, homespun eateries are always enticing to me, too. Several weeks ago I was in Waldoboro and took a detour to Morse’s Sauerkraut where I wanted to stop for lunch. It was closed that day, so I shelved it for another time and thought I’d settle for a counter lunch at Moody’s. But then I remembered a friend’s recommendation of the Damariscotta Grill. It’s just a short detour off Route 1. Alas, it was closed that day. Don’t go restaurant hunting on Tuesdays or Wednesdays in the winter.
I skipped lunch altogether to salvage my appetite in a house of mirth until dinner time, happily enjoyed at home where I dined on my favorite dish--roast chicken flavored with garlic and tarragon. To me it’s a dish of such comfort and joy; I often order chicken when I’m out. Locally Back Bay does the best chicken preparation, which I order each time I’m there.
Our newest restaurants are a welcome breath of fresh air. No doubt we all know about Caiola’s and the Front Room. I go to Caiola’s regularly for two reasons: one it’s my neighborhood place and secondly I enjoy the food there enormously. Becoming a regular at a restaurant is unbeatable, too. You walk in, you’re greeted warmly as though stepping into a friend’s kitchen for a bite to eat, and the experience is utterly satisfying.
This past week I decided that I didn’t want to eat home at all. From Monday to Saturday we went to Fore Street, Five-Fifty-Five, Cinque Terre, Caiola’s (twice) and even the Portland Country Club for prime rib and popovers. Tonight we’re staying home and having, perhaps a few days late, corned beef and cabbage and chocolate pudding for dessert.
What was a revelation to me is the vitality of our restaurants. Each one was filled to capacity. As usual, Fore Street was packed. No matter what you think, it’s a local treasure.
I had just read an essay in the April issue of Down East on this venerable establishment. The article was a behind-the-scenes look at the goings on there--the personalities and the preparation of the food that ultimately make it so fine.
Our meal was fantastic. I had blue fish that was prepared with a very unusual Meyer lemon marmalade. I’m not sure if it was a successful pairing. Both were delicious on their own. I thought the lemon overpowered the fish, and it was served cold, tasting more like a tart filling than a sauce. Still, it was inventive rather than dull and I give it A-plus for its cleverness.
The next night we were at 555. The menu has changed there. The food combinations and presentation are more brilliant than ever. Each dish is arranged artfully on the plate and the flavor pairings are intriguing and ultimately successful. I had the roast chicken, arranged in a fan of thinly sliced breast with a bacon-sweet potato hash and Meyer lemon sauce that was divine. Go there. You’ll see that what was always good and well prepared is better than ever.
What surprised me about our dinner at Back Bay, a weeknight to boot, was the place was jammed. But it was filled with locals. Often Back Bay is a place people go to for celebratory dinning: office parties, birthdays, business meetings and so forth.
That night—a Thursday—seemed like Portland’s night out. I knew many of the people there, friends or acquaintances, as though you should be no where else. The food was first rate as always.
A few lunch experiences that week were hit and miss. We went to Joe’s Boathouse in South Portland. We actually had a very good meal there, but the kitchen was extremely slow. It took 30 minutes for the food to arrive, and the dining room was understaffed, only two waitresses tending to a full house.
Another day I was at the Royal River Grill for lunch. I don’t even remember what I had. So I suppose it was not a memorable meal. Still it’s pleasant, it should be better and I wish it were.
Basically in the last several weeks I’ve been to every restaurant that’s on my restaurant list of favorites, which include besides those already mentioned Oolong, 20 Milk Street, Hugo’s, Uffa and I anxiously await the new Bandol.
Off my list are Street & Co and Mim’s. Why go there? Abby Harmon is no longer at the former and shines at her very own Caiola’s instead; Harding Smith, who was the first chef at Mim’s, holds center stage at his enormously popular Front Room.
There are new, talented chefs just waiting to show off. And if I were a restaurateur I’d be looking for new stars to fill those vacancies.
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