Few restaurants in Portland have achieved the level of luxury and style shown by Tempo Dulu, a dazzlingly beautiful dining establishment housed in the equally glamorous Danforth Inn. That and the level of cuisine offered is unparalleled in its unique presentation of Southeast Asian cuisine.
Notables from Maine’s media and food tribes assembled in the great hall at the Danforth Inn
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.
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
Another foray into Boston dining led me to Banyan Bar and Refuge, which bills itself as a modern Asian gastropub. I read about it in Boston Magazine where it was given top billing on two lists: The best 25 restaurants of 2015 and the 50 best restaurants in Boston 2016.
The bartender at the hotel where I was staying couldn’t warble higher and louder to sing its praises. There were other restaurants on the lists that sounded just as intriguing such as O Ya, Shojo—you can see I was attracted to Asian restaurants—or more traditional haunts like Barbara Lynch’s Menton or the very avant garde Tasting Counter in Somerville.
The bar and dining room at Banyan
Interestingly the night before my trip to Boston, I went to Evo in Portland where we had an extraordinary impromptu dinner that had so much style and taste—a hard act to follow anywhere and at one of out city’s best restaurants. And it was still on my mind when I began my dinner at Banyan.
The Sunday dinner menu at Bao Bao was not, as I thought, a more varied affair with bigger multi-course offerings going beyond the restaurant’s signature dumplings. I was, I admit, wrong to assume otherwise since nowhere on its website did it give that impression. Yet differentiating it from its regular menu as “Sunday dinner” implied a broader range of dishes.
It didn’t. And our table of four, however, was hardly disappointed with what we ate, though we all expected it to be, well, fuller.
The dining room and bar at Bao Bao
Chef Cara Stadler’s Bao Bao is a dumpling house in the strictest sense. (Interestingly the kitchen does not prepare—as the restaurant’s name suggests—the typical Chinese buns known as cha sui bao or pork buns; yet “bao” literally means wrapped treasure and not necessarily referring to buns.)
It’s been another banner year in 2015 for Portland area restaurants, with the best and brightest showing remarkable menus and innovative cooking, giving the birth of cool cuisine vitality.
Lobster tartine at The Honey Paw
While last year was all about small plates, 2015 mixed it up with both small and large plate menus in the mix. Of the 20 or so new establishments in our region, only 10 really made the grade as being special. Union, Isa, East Ender, Tiqa, Roustabout, Evo, Tempo Dulu, Terlingua, The Honey Paw and even Cape Elizabeth chimed in with Rudy’s in the heart of that coastal suburb.
The spectacular space at Evo serves divine Mediterranean/Middle Eastern fare with chef Matt Ginn at the helm
What was distinctive about these newcomers was the Big Money spent on décor, creating unique, often luxurious interiors beyond the traditional post and beam and brick confines that Maine restaurants favor.
Portland’s formidable charms don’t otherwise compel restaurateurs to bring luxe into our dining world. Instead we have some of the most well-designed but down-to-earth restaurants in the country, the kind that earn James Beard awards and accolades in the national media regularly. They are the kind that highlight our prowess as practitioners of the much vaunted vanities of farm-to-table.
That all changes, however, when you enter the überstylish digs of the Danforth Inn and have reserved to dine at its restaurant, Tempo Dulu. And of all the times I’ve been to this marvelous retreat to relish the haute cuisine of Southeast Asia that’s prepared by executive chef Lawrence Klang, his team pulled out all the stops for the special Singapore Sling dinner that occurred last Friday and Saturday nights.
Clockwise: guest convene in the main salon; advertising honcho, Brenda Garrand; diners at the bar; the gracious gallery and part of the trio in charge (r.to l.) Alfie Mossadeg, Raymond Brunyanszki and Trevin Hutchins
Not every restaurant has to be cutting-edge to satisfy. But what makes a restaurant a “Stone Cold Stunner” was my first thought when I read a recent Eater Maine post featuring the best restaurants of 2015 in various categories? The way it works is that Eater selects the nominees and then asks readers to rate their picks. Other categories include Hottest Restaurant, Best Chef, etcetera and etcetera.
In the category Stone Cold Stunner a very curious entry caught my attention. “Eating at the Treehouse really does feel like dining inside a giant, magical treehouse,” it said.
The bar room at The Treehouse
Huh? What’s the Treehouse? I must have missed this one in our great world of fine dining in Portland. After looking at some of the posted photos I realized this was the former Pat’s Café, the local favorite and long-running eatery ( though intermittently closing and reopening numerous times) along the little food world of Steven’s Avenue (Siano’s Pizzeria and Pat’s Meat Market) otherwise dominated by Deering High School and the Sisters of Mercy convent.
Still, there are so many new restaurants that are now part of our dining universe that could have—and should have–been nominated. The rarefied rooms of Tempo Dulu come to mind as does the swath of urbane sizzle perfected by Union at The Press Hotel. At least Evo—truly a stone cold stunner—is at this writing the front runner.
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-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.
Deep down in its warped well of vocabulary wisdom the Urban Dictionary defines foodie as “a douchebag who likes food.” If that’s the case then Portland’s streets are teeming with them, and the general wisdom is for us locals to stay away from our most formidable dining haunts until the turistas all leave in the next 30 to 60 days. In fact, one local savant confided that he won’t step foot into a place like the revered Central Provisions until the masses go home. Indeed, it may be that of all the new restaurants in our dining world, the one that lives up so supremely to its accolades is the venerable Central Provisions.
The serious look of diners at Central Provisions seated at the dining bar facing the open kitchen; lower right, chef Chris Gould
I wasn’t planning to visit there until the fall, but destiny prevailed as a parking spot opened up a few doors away while cruising down Fore Street during the lunch hour earlier this week. I took this as my cue to enter this bastion of gastronomy for a bite of lunch.
After a scintillating dinner at Tempo Dulu Saturday night, one of nearly bacchanalian proportions, everywhere else I ate last week was so tame (though pretty good) by comparison. (Shown on the intro page is mixologist’s Trevin Hutchins Wayang Cocktail)
A trio of desserts at Tempo Dulu
Last night’s options, however, were a mixed bag of where to eat since many favorite places are closed on Sundays, a mistake perhaps if restaurateurs are looking for the big dollars from the brigade of tourists now everywhere in Portland.
I considered going to Sur-Lie, but they close down for Sunday dinner after serving their very popular brunch earlier in the day.
Chef Matt Ginn’s terrific lamp preparation at Evo enjoyed on earlier occasionis
Ebb and Flow, on teeming Commercial Street, is also closed on Sundays and I haven’t been there in a long while. Same for Tiqa. Keeping with the growing Mediterranean theme gaining popularity, I considered stopping at Evo but parking anywhere in the congested Old Port that night was difficult.
