Showtime and dinnertime worked out nearly perfectly last night in the city of Portland.

We went to the opening of the new Tom Veilleux Gallery last night, an extraordinary if not overly ambitious calling for Portland’s art scene. It’s a showcase of major art offerings that were stunning. The show offered a breathtaking array of American artists of the 20th century including featured artist Will Barnet and other names like Rockwell Kent, Zorach, Homer, et al. It was quite sensational and a must-see for any art lover, whether you can afford the prices or not.

Afterwards, we stood on the street corner of Market and Middle wondering where to eat. It wasn’t hard to decide on Natasha’s—right in front of us across the street.

I've been to a lot of new restaurants this month and will report on them soon. But let me give you this quick flash impression. Last night we went to the Back Bay Grill for dinner and it's as good as ever.

Even the air conditioning levels were quite comfortable. But aside from that, this is Portland dining at its best.

From the comfortable banquette seating to the excellent service and general good cheer throughout and chef/propeitor Larry Matthews' ongoing expertise in his kitchen, Back Bay continues to deliver excellence beyond compare.

I had an luxurious first course of lobster sauteed in butter and served with beautifully fresh Jestar tomato wedges. This is a great dish. My dinner companion had a bibb lettuce salad. The greens are from Jordan Farm and the dressing is a tantalizing blue cheese vinaigrette. The local tomatoes were fabulous, red and yellow heirloom varieties that don't get much better.

Most everything on the menu is based on local produce, meats, fish and poultry.

My main course was roast chicken. I always seem to have chicken when I go to Back Bay because, I think, it's so well prepared. It's served with a fabulous potato gratin and summer squash.

My dinner mate had the salmon that was served with an intriguing mix of local summer vegetables and highly flavored papardelle.

The dessert menu is newly devised too--and I'll leave that as a surprise to discover on your own. If you haven't been for a while, it's worth going for their great summer menu.

New restaurants come and go, but when you think about the variety of fine eateries available to us in Portland it's truly a wonderful selection; and throughout the state there are more and more good dining establishments that are offering really top quality cooking.

Farther afield, new experiences have included a visit to the Lookout Inn Restaurant in Brooklin, Bagaduce Lunch in Brooksville, the dining room at the Goose Cove Lodge in Deer Isle and Solo Bistro in Bath. I will report on these soon.

To those who maintain that we have only 3 or 4 uncomfortable days in the summer, I beg to differ.

So far this summer it seems like 30 or 40 have been hot and sweaty. Let’s face it, ladies and gentlemen, city life in Maine’s largest metropolis, such as it is, has much of the fun and foibles that larger cities endure. And the heat has not bypassed our peninsula city, which we like to think is normally cooled by the ocean breezes.

Other cities like San Francisco, Seattle and the “other” Portland have not traditionally needed air conditioning in public places like restaurants. But they too have been under the siege of heat waves and are pondering what to do.