December 2016

The Year In Review: Another Stellar 12 Months of Fine Dining In Portland

December 30, 2016 / / Restaurants

It’s that predictable rite of passage when critics at various publications—local and national—compile their year-end lists of the best in film, theater, books, food and dining.  So herewith is my contribution to that formality: what impressed and what didn’t and a stab or two at coming trends in food and dining in Greater Portland.

Evo’s distinctive architectural look

That Portland dining hasn’t taken an evolutionary leap in the past year means that we’ve settled in with what’s here and now–and it all remains very good. The town didn’t get, for instance, a knock-you-down Korean restaurant, all the rage in other (larger) cities. But I’m looking forward to Sichuan Kitchen at 612 Congress St.,  which  is slated to open this weekend; it will be the first restaurant in many years that offers Portlanders the intricate flavors of Szechuan cooking. Though my favorite is still Empire Chinese for its terrific take on Cantonese cuisine.  When I stopped in for lunch the other day (hot and sour soup and spicy pork bao’s) the place had a noontime crush as though it were a Saturday night.

The lunchtime crush at Empire; hot and sour soup with spicy pork bao

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Lusting After Leftovers: That Centerpiece Roast Becomes a Delicious Hash

December 28, 2016 / / Mains, Recipes

All those holiday roasts that we painstakingly prepare and from which we covet each luscious bite sometimes seem destined to be the prize at the end of the road: the leftovers.

The Christmas menu was roast prime rib, thrice baked potatoes and carrot souffle

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Briefly Noted: The Front Room, the first of Harding Lee Smith’s Rooms, Still Does It So Well

December 16, 2016 / / Uncategorized

We wound up for dinner at The Front Room by default.  Our first pick was the convenience of Roustabout, a few minutes from home.  It was closed for a private party.  Second choice, up the hill to Lolita.  And that, too, was closed for a private party.  It was as though we had spiraled into a conspiracy to keep us from enjoying the dinner hour.   But it’s holiday time and many restaurants in Portland are enjoying increased dining traffic with seasonal fetes.

We found a parking space, however, near Lolita—a   near miracle since the arcane parking rules on Munjoy Hill, Portland’s most trendy neighborhood, defy urban ease, probably the most difficult place to park in the city with No Parking signs everywhere.

Then it occurred to us to repair to the Front Room, a few blocks away. As we approached the restaurant it looked dark.  Oh, no.  Closed too?  It was just the angle of light and darkness that gave that impression.  But as soon as we walked in we were so glad.  What a warm and welcoming room, with its beamed ceilings and open kitchen lauding over the room.

The dining room is warm and welcoming

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Saturday Night Baked Beans and Franks: A Tradition Worth Keeping

December 14, 2016 / / Mains, Recipes

Franks and beans are as much of a tradition in New England as attending the Magic of Christmas celebration at Portland’s Merrill Auditorium. I’ve only gone once to that wonderful extravaganza, but baked beans have a much larger meaning for me.  For one I’ve not been a great baked-beans cook.  I usually add too much liquid and over- or under-cook the beans—basically it’s not my culinary métier.  Though I’ve found that the recipe on the back of the State of Maine beans package sold in local supermarkets is a classic, standard recipe that works well.    But this go round last Saturday night, I used a recipe that was one of those wonderful hand-me-down formulas–often the hallmark of great home cooking.  I found it in Linda Greenlaw’s wonderful book, Cooking on a Very Small Island–chockful of regional recipes that are so good.

Baked Bean Supper

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Briefly Noted: Delicious Fare Is On the Menu–The Portland Harbor Hotel’s Eve’s at the Garden Should be on your Dining List

December 9, 2016 / / Uncategorized

It’s about time that Eve’s, the dining room at the Portland Harbor Hotel, has joined the ranks of hotel and independent restaurants to contribute substantively to our dining scene.  Earlier this week I joined a small group put together by the hotel’s marketing team, Gillian and Jim Britt, for a tasting of the new menu that has debuted with some very fine dishes from chef Tim Labonte.

The dining room at Eve’s at the Garden

In the past, I’ve been critical of Eve’s, the dining room and the hotel itself.  But to stay competitive all lodging and dining operations must be top drawer in how they project themselves.  And Eve’s is stepping into the 21st century meaningfully.

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The Perfect Pound Cake Stands Corrected

December 7, 2016 / / Baking & Desserts

When the New York Times food pages ran an article (4/08/15) on the family recipes from poet Tracy K. Smith, it included one for pound cake and another for Alabama Lemon Cheese Cake. I was drawn to the pound cake recipe immediately because it sounded so good and I love pound cake.  The recipe was written with the Times‘ relatively new practice of giving both metric and traditional cup measures. I  made the cake  using the gram measurements.

The cake turned out to be one of the best versions of pound cake.  It was extremely buttery, dense and rich, improving in flavor the more it stayed in a covered cake dome on the counter. I published my version here last year, giving the ingredients in weight  as well as the cup measures.

My original pound cake adaptation using gram measurements

I made the cake many times since. Then I finally noticed a disparity in the Times’ calculation of equivalent measures of cups and grams.  Both the flour and sugar gram/cup equivalents were way wrong.

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Duly Noted: Pizza Awash with Local Fame, Real or Imagined

December 4, 2016 / / Restaurants

In the dim old days of plain old pizza, the typical slice or pie was made with standard-issue canned tomato sauce topped with melted shreds of equally ordinary mozzarella, a few sprinklings of dried oregano and a touch of olive oil. And it was delicious comfort food that was doggedly good. We didn’t veer off that standard much. Perhaps we added sliced pepperoni, some mushrooms or even sausage or a meatball or two. And that was it.  The only other choice was to have it Neapolitan or Sicilian style.  In my dim old days, this slice cost about 95 cents (or less).  If we went to an Italian restaurant where veal parm or chicken cacciatore were standard fare, another choice was a freshly made pie.  Some restaurants did these very well, using their special sauce and cheese and baked in high-heat brick ovens. Nowadays all slices are special especially if you walk into the ubiquitous folds of Otto Pizza, the local chain that populates Greater Portland’s landscape with more stores than Wal-Mart.

The bar and booths at Otto

The bar and booths at Otto

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