Mediocre Restaurants, Average Shopping

I was invited to a meeting recently to meet Maine's Tourism Director. Everyone in the room represented one thing or another -- the airport, trains, ferries, cruiseships, business districts, hotels, restaurants, etc. Most of us were there to listen. Others were there to be heard. One such guest felt the need to comment on the idea that Portland's culinary buzz could be a tourism catalyst. She bragged to everyone in the room that she had just moved to Portland from the New York City area -- she went on to say "Portland's restaurants are mediocre at best and our shopping here is average." The gasp emitted from right behind me nearly knocked me out of my seat. It came from Freeport's retail association executive director. It's a good thing that there were no chefs in the room. Had there been, I imagine a few James Beard, Gourmet and Food & Wine awards would have been flying.

I am not going to try to convince anyone that Portland has a "better" restaurant scene than New York. It's an impossible debate -- residents: 200M Vs. 8MM, eating establishments: 200 or so Vs. 25K. My take on New York Vs Portland, anyplace Vs Portland, really, is this, there are a few things that set us apart from other cities: where our dining spots are located -- close proximity to one another; the caliber of our chefs -- world class award winners and rising stars; ingredient quality -- none fresher, none better. One other thing we have that other cities and town are misisng is our dining scene's passion for authenticity.

I do love New York. In fact, I was there this weekend (which is what made me think of the comment about our medicore dining scene). We had some delicious fun that I want you to know about. We also had some bad food, which I also want you to know about. Here goes.

Friday afternoon:
Quartino (11 Bleecker St.)
We were invited to Quartino by a friend who works nearby. It is one of her favorites. It was a great choice to start our weekend. This small So Ho eatery serves wonderful Italian. Their use of organics and fresh ingredients was brilliant. My focaccia sandwich was melt in your mouth good. The Moretti was cold and crisp. The setting was perfect -- the heart of the city, quiet tree lined street. An all around fun time.

Dinner
Pegu Club (77 W Houston St.)
We followed the advice of a contact of mine at Food Network and headed to Pegu. This place was exactly what we needed to kick off our night on the town. The bar menu here is inventive, the appetizer choices are delicious and the setting is gorgeous. The drinks were expert and the appetizers were unique and all very tasty.

Pravda (281 Lafayette St.)
After Pegu was headed to an "underground" caviar bar called Pravda. I have to admit, when we approached the unlit entrance with no sign of any kind and an enormous bouncer screening customers I was a little nervous. A little out of my league, I guess. But as soon as we were led down to the entrance and told to enjoy ourselves, I felt "a celebrity rush." Winding down a dark stairway into a dimly lit restaurant was too cool. The drink menu features dozens of Russian vodkas, authentic Russian foods and of course, caviar. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. The people watching alone made the trip to Pravda worthwhile.

Portland needs a Pegu and Pravda.

Saturday morning:
Grand Central Market

Everyone and everything goes through Grand Central - and they have a fabulous market. This is the kind of place that the Portland Public Market dreamed of becoming. The spread here is amazing -- fresh baked everything, freshly picked everything else. We chose some rich coffee and breakfast items and hit the streets. (Why couldn't we make the Portland Public market work -- why couldn't Libra Foundation get their heads out their butts and make it work? You can feel a city's pulse in its indoor markets. They should have tried harder. Another blog for another time.)

Saturday afternoon:
Cafe Opalince
For lunch Saturday we ate at Café Opaline at Dahesh Museum. This place was a favorite of the friends we met that afternoon. I say "was" because Sunday was their last day. The food was, well, mediocre. Maybe it was the lack of spirit because of the looming end of business. Maybe it was the cause of the close. Either way, the food was average -- my crab cakes were burned and frankly missing the crabmeat. The accompanying salad lacked taste on every level. One of our friends sent back part of her meal. Comments from everyone at the table were consistent -- the food was not good.

Saturday evening:
Oyster Bar (Grand Central)
We could have gone lots of places but we thought we would try an institution. Big mistake! More than anything, we were served attitude. The food was slow coming, overpriced, served sloppily, and not that great. Note to all New York visitors -- skip Oyster Bar.

Sunday morning
Eli's Manhattan (1411 Third Avenue)
Our New York pilgrimage was complete -- we made it to Eli Zabar's. What a treat -- Enough to make you want to live in New York. Well, not really. Zabar's is however everything they say it is -- the best of everything supported by a friendly and knowledgeable staff, offered at a fair price. Eli Zabar makes where he lives a better place not by operating a business. He does it by delivering an experience. There is a lesson to be learned by all food industry professionals. We picked up breakfast and lunch at Zabar's and headed into Central Park for a long morning walk. What a treat.

We returned home totally satisfied that yes, New York is a great place filled with limitless food choices. We also returned more confident than ever that our chefs and our friends working at places like Hugo's, Back Bay Grill, Local 188, Eve's, Fore Street and all of the others, are truly first class. The food choices here are second to none. We have the best of everything, including a quality of life that is unmatched. Our restaurants serve some of the best food – and some of the best experiences.

Cheers.