May 2016

First Look: Solo Italiano displays an utter lightness of being with its superb rendering of fine Italian Cuisine

May 27, 2016 / / Restaurants

In the recent surge of new restaurant openings in Portland, Italian cuisine has not been a strong contender.  One exception is the highly regarded Piccolo, with its powerhouse menu of regional Italian cuisine inspired by the cooking of central and southern Italy that chefs and co-owners Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez do so well.  Otherwise, our city has glided past  the great reign of red-sauce houses and trendy trattorias.  That is until now, with the debut of Solo Italiano, in the cavernous space formerly occupied by Ebb and Flow. Here the menu presents Northern Italian cuisine, a broad label that can mean a lot of things.

The entry leads to the great central bar

The entry leads to the great central bar

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An ode to a delicious egg scramble

May 25, 2016 / / Mains, Recipes

Many years ago I lived in Bogotá, Colombia.  And it was there that I learned the secret of how to make these delicious Colombian style scrambled eggs.  My inspiration came from a woman named Ascensión, who was the home chef for my friends in Bogotá.  She was a terrific cook. Even listening to her high, lilting voice was a lyrical sing-song of her well enunciated Spanish. Of course I wish I had watched more of her magic ways in the kitchen, especially her memorable ceviche.  It was made with robalo, whose fillets are similar to paper-white cod. It was cured in Colombian lemons, which have a  flavor profile of lemon and lime.

eggs in bowl

The eggs are simply made by sautéing chopped onions in oil instead of butter and they are generously seasoned with salt.  Once the onions soften in a few minutes, chopped tomatoes are added with a few more generous grindings of salt.

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The Front Room: Still Going Strong with Solid Home-Style Cooking atop Munjoy Hill

May 20, 2016 / / Restaurants

The Front Room was a pioneer in 2008 when it opened on Munjoy Hill as a precursor to surging real estate values that now define this revivified East End neighborhood.  Then, however, neo-millennials packed its space for the modestly priced comfort food that its founding chef Harding Lee Smith did so well.

The busy dining room never stops

The busy dining room never stops

Three rooms later (The Grill Room, The Corner Room and Boone’s  Fish House and Oyster Room) packed with patronage of all ages, the original one is still going strong.  I don’t think I’ve dined there in over a year until this past Wednesday when I dropped in to have dinner at the bar.

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Savoring Asparagus: The first prize of spring especially this wonderful soup puree

May 18, 2016 / / Recipes, Starters

Asparagus is tricking into our markets now and my favorite recipe for them  is an  elegant soup puree. Especially with fresh-picked local asparagus, the flavor is more intense than the store-bought variety. In Maine the season for asparagus is very short, though if we continue to have a cool spring, it will prolong the season somewhat.

Local asparagus

Local asparagus

An asparagus soup puree is a fairly simple dish to make and only requires a few ingredients. The one that I offer here was inspired by Chef Daniel Boulud’s rendition that I had many years ago in his first New York restaurant, Daniel.

I came across the actual recipe in his 1993 book, “Cooking with Daniel Boulud.” I’ve adapted it here for home use.

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Farmers’ Markets: Still too early for local crops, but rhubarb is aplenty and asparagus is starting to trickle in

May 16, 2016 / / Discoveries, Travel

At this time of year, the Portland Farmers’ Market display at both Deering Oaks and Monument Square resembles a flower show rather than the source for locally grown vegetables and foods.  Yes, there’s some local food to buy:  canned food leftover from last year; meats (mostly frozen); cheese; some dairy and the great boon in hoop house greens–an essential for the off season. The rest is the leftover storage crops, many of which are getting long in the tooth: woody carrots, potatoes stubbed with ears and blemishes, pretty dull looking cabbages and old beets that take forever to cook.

Crystal Springs in Brunswick is one of the best markets in Maine

Crystal Springs in Brunswick is one of the best markets in Maine

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Isa Bistro: Its Infinite Charms as a Neighborhood Eatery are So Fine

May 13, 2016 / / Restaurants

The kitchen staff at Isa works meticulously to produce some of the most carefully produced dishes among Portland restaurants.  That it resides in Bayside, still one of the seediest neighborhoods in Portland, is inconsequential.  After all, just a few doors away, its neighbor, the venerable Back Bay Grill, was trail blazer decades ago in a den-of-thieves neighborhood where the term rough and tumble was understatement.

Isa is a welcoming addition to Portland Street on Bayside, having opened a year ago

Isa is a welcoming addition to Portland Street on Bayside, having opened a year ago

While Back Bay is where you go for classic fine dining, Isa’s charms are more relaxed in a thoroughly bistro style setting with a menu that delivers quite well.  Dishes such as the lobster taco or the eggplant lasagna are beautifully made and remain mainstays on the menu. And the classic grilled pork chop over lentils (not on the menu at the moment) is another great dish enjoyed on past occasions.

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Strawberry-Rhubarb: The Best Spring-Summer Pie

May 11, 2016 / / Baking & Desserts, Recipes

I found one of the first crops of  rhubarb at the farmer’s market last week at the Crystal Springs stand of Six River Farm of Bowdoinham.  I asked how they were able to harvest it so early and the answer was that it was grown on raised beds under cover and an early season for this popular spring fruit sprang forth.

Rhubarb stores well refrigerated, but I couldn’t resist making a pie with these precious stalks right away.  I had frozen strawberries from last year’s crop and easily put together a classic strawberry rhubarb pie.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER: THE DANFORTH FÊTES Lifeflight with Fabulous Dinner prepared by Chefs Chris Long and Shelby Stevens

May 6, 2016 / / Uncategorized

The evening was another Danforth Inn gala.  And the food was nothing short of revelatory at the LifeFlight dinner held at Tempo Dulu, a performance orchestrated by chefs Shelby Stevens and Chris long, whose regular beat is at the Danforth’s sister establishments, the Camden Harbour Inn and Natalie’s Restaurant.

life wine

The reason for this celebration was to thank LifeFlight, a nonprofit organization that takes to the air to transport patients in need of critical care. Hoteliers Oscar Verest and Raymond Brunyanszki were thanking them for taking care of their chef Chris Long when he had an accident last year that was life threatening and needed to be transported to Maine Medical from Camden for immediate care.

Fine wines served at the dinner in one of three dining rooms at Tempo Dulu at the Danforth

Fine wines served at the dinner in one of three dining rooms at Tempo Dulu at the Danforth

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Home Cooking: Salisbury Steak Dinner, a Retro Classic

May 4, 2016 / / Uncategorized

Is there a revival of Salisbury steak going on in American kitchens?  The dish might not be high on the list of recipe revivalists who savor the nostalgia of old-school American cooking, but it’s been a quiet staple in home kitchens for years.

And there it was in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal’s “Off-Duty” section published on Saturdays.  The food pages–along with the stories on $20,000 watches, $10,000 men’s blazers and other rigors of the serious sybarite—hold a lot of interest for food ideas.  One weekly column that I look at always is “Slow Food Fast,” a feature that focuses on recipes from restaurant chefs around the country.

Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy

Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy

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Chipotle Portland: Or the Demise of the Taco and other midemeanors of Mexican Fast Food

May 2, 2016 / / Restaurants

Portland now has its very own Chipotle.  It opened last week at the old Century Tire lot that is now a strip mall of low-slung glass and steel trimmed buildings fronting Marginal Way. In earlier plans Dunkin Donuts was slated to be the other anchor tenant at Century Plaza, but there’s been no confirmation—or sign–that it’s happening. What a shame.   A T-Mobile franchise is going in instead.

Chipotle Portland front and rear views

Chipotle Portland front and rear views

Almost anything could have been plopped down there: a 10 story apartment building, a mall of high-end retailers, a supermarket like Market Basket, a mid-priced hotel and so much more.  But here we have it: a fast food chain of middling Mexican junk food, which anchors the hodgepodge of development along this meandering boulevard.

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