Put it in a larger city—say New York, Chicago, LA or even along the cobblestones of haute dining in Boston—Portland’s Cheevitdee (which means “good life”) could easily qualify as a trophy-food restaurant. But in Portland, where such matters are (relatively speaking) more down to earth, ingrained as farm-to-table panache–seven of us descended upon this Old Port newbie unprepared for a lunch that was ineradicably memorable. This is Thai cooking that’s sensual and elegant.
To chronicle—not to review—how a restaurant can maintain its favorable standing in Portland’s restaurant community, one has only to look at Empire Chinese as a paradigm of consistency. Since opening in the fall of 2013, they have maintained a standard rarely achieved by restaurants in Greater Portland over so long a period. Most places have their ups and downs; even our best Eurocentric restaurants can have a bad night. But in my countless visits to Empire since Day One, I’ve yet to have a meal that wasn’t superb.
What’s often referred to as Old-Fashioned Southern Tea Cakes is a reference that I’ve seen many times in my collection of southern cookbooks. They never interested me since they seemed like such old-lady cookies, the kind perched on the edge of a cup and saucer of tea. I’m not a tea drinker, though I realize that pairing the cookie with it is more a state of mind than a definitive combination.
Not surprisingly I’ve gained a few pounds after attending the Maine Beer Company dinner held Wednesday evening at Union at the Press Hotel, that bastion for Portland cosmopolites. But the pairing of beer and wonderful dishes prepared by the restaurant’s chef, Josh Berry, made it all worthwhile. It was a masterful menu, each dish beautifully conceived.
A sure sign of spring, with summer to come, is the opening of Portland’s Deering Oaks outdoor farmers market. It’s a sigh of relief that the glories of Maine summer weather are in the wings. Still, at this time of year the park is barely greening up, with the trees struggling to leaf out and the grass panting to become a rich green.