Piccolo

Originally Published in Portland Press Herald around 2010 from past premiere of blog, Food for Thought, C 2002 or Thereabouts

December 16, 2021 / / Restaurants

Originally “Food for Thought” was created as a food diary–a blog with daily entries about my personal focus on local food, farms and restaurants in Portland when the term locavore was new to the lexicon and blogging was a quirky endeavor. It first appeared online at Downeast Magazine in around 2001 and later commissioned by an enterprising editor at the Portland Press Herald where it ran for years until it morphed into the Golden Dish.

For better or worse, the space quickly became focused on restaurant reviews, a shaky moment for some or a stellar  time for others.

It was exciting to eat my way through Portland’s restaurant renaissance.  Suddenly it was no longer just Back Bay Grill and Fore Street as keepers of the flame but rather newcomers like Five Fifty Five, Bandol, Caiola’s, Hugo’s, Cinque Terre, Vignola and Duck Fat joined the group if only to make the old guard strive to be better.

Below are some photos from the past of dining in Portland, most around 2015-2016, as far back as my current Photoshop catalogue goes.

Five-fifty Five back in the day 2015 and much earlier in the early aughts

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First Look: Don’t Walk But Run Right Over to Chaval, the new West Ender That’s Divine

July 16, 2017 / / Restaurants

Rarely does a new restaurant get it so right at the gate.  But then when you have two pros—a highly acclaimed chef and pastry chef, in this case husband and wife who are the owners of the new establishment, Chaval, then the level of success is nearly assured. With Chaval’s opening this week after a renovation of the former Caiola’s in which it’s housed, this duo has brought to Portland one of the most exciting restaurants in the city set to pamper those who cross its threshold.

Devotees of Caiola’s were mostly West Enders who called this place their own like a private dining club when it opened  in 2005. It fit into the fabric of the West End like a a brick townhouse wrapped up in an  old comfy sweater.  The interiors were plain and woody; the food from chef Abby Harmon was deliciously inventive—always something unusually devised with ingredients that you’d never dream of pairing.  Who could not love her savory puddings filled with lobster or crab meat swathed in an elegant cream sauce, for instance, or grilled pork chops with caramelized onions; Johnny cakes with fried chicken and maple syrup or crab cakes under a dome of beet puree–homespun but inventive fare highly tasteful and bathed with flavor.

The space at Chaval is open,, larger and very comfortable

So, when Damian Sansonetti and Ilma Lopez bought Caiola’s—both the real estate and the restaurant–we all kind of rolled our eyes that seemed to say, Wow this will be a hard act to follow to please die-hard Harmon fans stumbling out of their brick manses to revel in her cooking.

When they took over the restaurant they kept the Caiola’s menu.  Though many of us thought, it’s not the same.  Good but not remarkable.  Hmmm.  Where is that famous Sansonetti touch who installed himself fresh from New York of Daniel Boulud fame where he was executive chef at Bar Boulud into his divine Piccolo, their heavenly dining aerie in the footsteps of Bresca and its former owner, Kristen Dejarlais, another star chef?

Bar dining is already in high demand

Fast forward: After a few months Sansonetti and Lopez closed the Caiola space and the undertaking of a total rehab ensued:  not just the space but the kitchen, menu and staff.

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Something old, Something New–That’s Caiola’s now that Damian Sansonetti and Illma Lopez Make it their Own

July 12, 2016 / / Restaurants

The most significant, obvious differences in the newly acquired Caiola’s are two-fold: Its long-running chef and owner, Abby Harmon, who has been considered one of Portland’s most creative chefs, has departed the scene—temporarily, probably—selling the restaurant to one of Portland’s most accomplished chefs, Damian Sansonetti and his wife, pastry chef Ilma Lopez , who are stepping into Caiola’s spotlight while maintaining their fabulous Piccolo.

Brunch specials of the old Caiola's: Clockwise: pancakes, Hot Brown, Bird's Nest, special French Toast

Brunch specials of the old Caiola’s: Clockwise: pancakes, Hot Brown, Bird’s Nest, special French Toast

What they do and how they do it will be closely watched.

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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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The Brunch Report: And the winner is . . .

February 22, 2016 / / Uncategorized

Of all the great brunches that I’ve featured in The Brunch report, my latest foray tipped the scales.  And if there were any contest at all The Winner Is . . .Caiola’s.  Perhaps it’s especially so with the kitchen being manned by its new sous chef, Matt Seitz, who took over Nick Ryder’s reign when he moved to Colorado late last year.  Of course chef supreme and co-owner Abby Harmon still leads the team with her inimitable flair for flavor and texture in each dish.

I’m hesitant to proclaim one restaurant’s superiority over the other.  Caiola’s, however, has consistently come up with different brunch specials every week, creating dishes that are novel and ultimately lip-smacking good, the sort of restorative food that you want for that first meal on a Sunday.

Brunch lineup: baked eggs with roasted tomatoes, ham and white bean stew' perfect bloody Mary and maple bacon added to the dish

Brunch lineup: baked eggs with roasted tomatoes, ham and white bean stew; perfect bloody Mary and maple bacon added to the dish

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Bruno’s: one of the last bastions in Portland for Italian-American Cooking done with abundant style

November 27, 2015 / / Discoveries, Restaurants

Red sauce and mozzarella?  Is that how we riff on Italian-American cooking where Sunday iceberg salads and “parms” of every stripe are  part of the all-star lineup? Or is it more to do with our preoccupation of kvelling over the gestalt  of comfort food  and the lack thereof when pointing to Portland restaurants that cater to this class of Italian cuisine?

Well wouldn’t you know I finally found it at a long-time Portland favorite road house where traditional Italian-American fare is served in abundance and style.  Enter Bruno’s, owned by Bob Napolitano and aided by his son Dan.  Dad started it all in the back of Micucci’s in the early 80s, moved around the Old Port as the brand grew and by 1999 found his way to the colonial looking structure in the bowels of Allen Avenue.

Bruno's restaurant and tavern

Bruno’s restaurant and tavern

Certainly it’s a stretch for peninsula purists to venture out there for lunch crawling along the Forest Avenue log jam.  But come dinnertime, it’s easy sailing to Allen Avenue, about 2 1/2 miles from downtown Portland.

Bruno's main dining room, top and bar/tavern, below

Bruno’s main dining room, top and bar/tavern, below

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Two very unusual cookbooks on the shelves now, and a third, Rachel Ray’s latest (her 22nd book) merits attention

November 4, 2015 / / Discoveries, Recipes

Two totally different cookbooks are worth looking at because the collections are so unusual. The first is from southern chef John Currence, a James Beard winner and his book. Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey.  He owns several restaurants in the south, most notably his City Grocery in Oxford, Mississippi. He grew up in New Orleans, but his ideologies span the culinary globe.  Consider this bon mot: ‘Where there is rosemary…let there be lemon.”

Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey by John Currence

Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey by John Currence (photo of book cover)

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Preview Popup: High expectations at Roustabout

October 2, 2015 / / Restaurants

The chatter on Roustabout–set to open sometime this fall along Washington Avenue (East Bayside’s  neo-hipster iteration of Middle Street’s  restaurant row)–is that it will feature Italian-American cuisine or, as later amended, a modern-day version thereof.  I’ve been looking forward to getting carefully crafted veal Parm, lasagna, spaghetti with Sunday sauce and meatballs.  But now I’m not so sure if that’s what the place will deliver. (Early menus posted on Instagram several months ago showed a menu of rustic Italian dishes.)

Instead, if it’s any indication, the extraordinary meal I had at this fledgling’s latest collaborative popup dinner on Tuesday night at Piccolo (what a collaboration!), veal Parm, et al, may  wait in the wings.

The avid dining scene at the Roustabout popup held at Piccolo; bottom right, co-paprtner Kip Paschal

The avid dining scene at the Roustabout popup held at Piccolo; bottom right, co-partner Kip Paschal

Admittedly it’s untimely to review a restaurant before its front doors have opened for business.  But in the case of Roustabout, they’ve made their proverbial splash already after two popup dinners.  The first was at Tandem Bakery (menu: lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic bread, and tiramisu) which I did not attend, and now the second unwrapping at Piccolo, which I attended.

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Brunch that gratifies: new, novel and/or noteworthy

September 21, 2015 / / Restaurants, Uncategorized

French toast made with corn bread?  A new twist on eggs Benedict as though an old faithful really needs twisting and shaking? Sometimes it’s the tried and true that is the most satisfying.  Then, again, when you experience a dish that’s truly novel  that’s cause for culinary celebration, too.

I made the happy error of mixing up my brunch dates thinking that yesterday—Sunday—was the date for a brunch I was invited to.  I looked up the email invitation and saw that it was for next Sunday.

Piccolo's charmingly rustic dining room

Piccolo’s  dining bar and  wine rack

But I was all psyched for brunch without a destination.  Though my favorite spots like Caiola’s or Sur-Lie beckoned  I decided to go to someplace I’d not been to in a while.

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Weekend brunch, Portland: Are you still standing on line to get in?

September 14, 2015 / / Restaurants

From the divine dining annals of  Middle Street (Eventide, Duckfat, East Ender,  et al) to the proprietors on the four corners of Longfellow Square,  the legion of brunch buckaroos waiting on line to get into Portland’s trendiest eateries has spiraled to new highs.  All that craving rush for variations on eggs Benedict or the latest take on tater tots define this culinary madness.

The hot spots, Local 188, Eventide, East Ender and Duckfat

The hot spots, Local 188, Eventide, East Ender and Duckfat

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