Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: MARKET ON MAIN, ROCKLAND, MAINE
John Chuckman
The section of brick buildings along Main Street in Rockland is arguably the handsomest urban landscape in Maine. Its several blocks of graceful late 19th - and early 20th - century stores and office buildings gently curve along a street with plantings and fine, stately street lights. The entire stretch deserves protection as a national historic site.
For some years past the street suffered economic decline, but, project by project, new life has blossomed. Oddly, the Farnsworth Museum's brutalist façade was once the ugliest thing to be seen, but a sensitive and thoughtful reconstruction, including antique-looking bricks, has now fit the Museum perfectly into the street. The graceful building of Coffin's department store, closed not very long ago, is now preserved as the Island Institute. A number of charming new stores and restaurants have opened in the last few years, and one of these is Market on Main.
The first thing that strikes you on entering Market on Main is what an urban feeling it has. This is a restaurant that would fit comfortably into Portland or even Boston. It has wood floors, one brick wall, small galvanized steel-topped tables, comfortable wooden chairs with striped cushions, a cabinet of wines, some framed floral prints, a community bulletin board, and a little vase with a flower on each table.
Most beautiful of all is a huge showcase window looking out onto Main Street. The window is outlined with little Italian lights and features seasonal decorations, pumpkins and corn stalks now.
The back of the restaurant is a fine food shop selling many of the items featured on the menu plus baked goods, cheeses, olive oils, jams, teas, and refrigerated specialties like sauces, pancetta, and venison. The sights and smells give clues that these are people who appreciate good food.
The menu does not change for lunch or dinner, although there are daily specials. It reflects influences of the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Mexico, and even a touch of the Orient mixed with some traditional American deli favorites. Talk about globalization - all this in one restaurant in a small city in Maine. There is a fine selection of gourmet sandwiches, salads, and entrees that feature fish, pasta, and beans. There are no steaks or chops, but some fancy burgers are served on foccacia.
Market on Maine has a pleasant little wine list with most selections around $17, and only one reaching $20. Every wine but the sparkling ones is available by the glass. So it is quite economical to enjoy watching the world go by through that beautiful window accompanied by the chatter and clatter of the dining room. We tried glasses of an Australian we had not tasted, Tyrell's Long Flat Red ($3.75), a very decent blended wine. Wine is served in water glasses in keeping with the informality of the place.
My initial reaction to this kind of eclectic menu is culinary skepticism, particularly in places away from a big city where cosmopolitan influences are common and more widely tested in cooking. But the displays in the shop were very reassuring about food knowledge. A fried Szechwan dumpling appetizer ($6) was the perfect test of Market on Main's skill at its cosmopolitan approach. The plate had fresh greens - and I do mean fresh - drizzled with a dressing whose deliciously pungent ingredients are apparent immediately and five sautéed dumplings on top. The dumplings are stuffed with pork and Napa cabbage; the dressing is reminiscent of Thailand (rather than Szechwan) with cilantro, chili, lime, and ginger; and the whole combination is just delicious.
Our "Eye-talian" salad ($6.50) had the same fresh greens plus artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and sizable lumps of genuinely fresh mozzarella cheese all dressed with a vinaigrette flavored with basil and garlic - a very fine salad.
Without having already tested M.O.M.'s (that is the acronym they use) skills, I think I would be reluctant to order an entrée with a name like "Go Greek." ($8). This proved to be a kind of Eastern Mediterranean macaroni and cheese with fusilli (the spiral pasta) baked in creamy feta cheese, tomato bits, and a large slice of roasted eggplant with a crumb topping. It was very enjoyable, and the serving was generous. My small criticism is that it might have had more eggplant, perhaps another layer in the middle rather than just on top, but it is a small criticism, for this is an attractive, tasty, and satisfying dish.
Market on Main's plate of fish cakes ($8) is one the finest values, considering both quality and price, you will find anywhere. And I emphasize quality since inexpensive food that is poorly prepared is not good value.
This is a very pretty dish with two beautifully sautéed, golden fish cakes on a ragu of white beans and more of those fresh greens on the side. It has the simple elegance of a plate you might get at a fine café in Boston for nearly twice the price. The fish cakes are made from haddock, laced with spinach; the ragu has white beans, tomato bits, and onions; the greens are dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. The colors are appealing, the taste is excellent, the nutrition is unbeatable, and the price is amazing.
There are no desserts on the menu, but M.O.M.'s offers several each day. Our slice of chocolate bunt cake ($4) came drizzled with chocolate sauce and topped with a lump of house-made whipped cream. The cake had the proper moist, dense texture of a bunt cake, and the chocolate flavoring was pleasingly on the slightly bitter side. It is remarkable that a small, informal restaurant like this prepares real whipped cream rather than using squirt cans of sugary stuff. The result is of course delightful.
M.O.M.'s apple crisp with ice cream ($4.25) comes baked in a crockery bowl with a crumble topping as good as I've had on this traditional dessert. The apples are not cooked to a pulp, nor are they sugared to the state of jam. It is altogether an excellent dessert.
Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, but she was alone on this particular evening so that service was a bit slow.
Our bill was $54.30. Market on Main is a small culinary gem with some remarkable values. While the menu doesn't change regularly and prices are modest, there is no sense of formula or assembly-line or stinting on quality in their food. This is excellent, honest cooking. And if Market on Maine were in Portland, it's just the kind of place I would consider a favorite local restaurant.
Market on Main
International Deli & Café
315 Main Street
Rockland
594-0015
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 3 1/2
Dinner hours: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday with same menu for lunch
and dinner; 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday for brunch only
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard
Price range: entrees $7.50 to $9.50
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: accepted
Bar: wine and beer
Wheelchair access: yes
The bottom line: Excellent cooking in the kind of comfortable place every
neighborhood should have
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: CLAY HILL FARM, CAPE NEDDICK, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: CLAY HILL FARM, CAPE NEDDICK, MAINE
John Chuckman
"Turn at the flashing yellow light and drive 2 1/2 miles into the woods. We're on your right," said the helpful woman giving me directions on the phone. Well, Clay Hill Farm is definitely in the woods - a gently winding, rural road thick with mature forest and, as you get closer, a lot of granite outcroppings. The farm property is quite beautiful with manicured gardens and a rambling, terraced white building reflecting various additions and changes over time - all surrounded by tall, dark forest.
Inside, Clay Hill Farm feels a great deal like a luxurious golf club, a number of different rooms and areas decorated and furnished in varying styles and a great many windows onto gardens and woods. It has rooms and terrace upstairs, but horizontal lines dominate like the interior of a prairie-style mansion.
I was a little disappointed we were not able to sit in the first of the windowed rooms near the front with its wood paneling and lush green view. Our room was further back, but we couldn't have asked for a better table, in a corner next to a bay window looking out on a lighted terrace with gardens beyond.
This room's decoration, despite its handsome views, took some adjustment. The chairs are covered in tufted, burgundy-red velvet, the carpet too is burgundy-red, and the tables have a cloth of that color with another, pale pink, on top. It all made a first impression somewhere between Victorian parlor and 1960's steakhouse. Our chairs had tall plush backs, armrests, and swiveled around - quite unlike anything I've seen in a restaurant before. After our first giggles over these Victorian-lounge chair hybrids, we agreed they were extremely comfortable.
Clay Hill has a portfolio-size wine list representing many points on the world's wine map. There is a page of by-the-glass selections. Our Macon Lugny Pinot Chardonnay, a French Burgundy ($4.50), and Bernardus California Chardonnay ($7) were both satisfying, the California Chardonnay especially so with robust Chardonnay characteristics.
The appetizers that nicely complemented our wine were a bowl of lobster bisque ($7.50) and a plate of artichoke dip with broiled pita ($6.25). The bisque is a very good soup, and would be an excellent one but for excess salt in the stock detracting from its smooth, creamy base and fresh chunks of lobster.
The pita plate was beautifully done. The pita wedges were nicely flecked with brown from the broiler, lightly oiled and salted. These were quite tasty on their own, but even better coated with the baked artichoke dip that was one of the richest I have tasted - sinfully rich, I'm sure it was half mayonnaise.
Our salads were garden tomatoes and Caesar (each $5.50). The garden tomato plate was not nearly so attractive as the pita appetizer, the tomato slices being a little pale and the serving of spinach rather small. The tomatoes, despite their appearance, proved very flavorful, the spinach was all tender baby leaves, and the blue cheese vinaigrette was tangy without drowning the flavor of either vegetable.
The Caesar was not so successful. Having confirmed with our helpful waiter that the dressing contained anchovy, a sine qua non for lovers of classic Caesar, I happily received a plate whose crisp leaves also contained a nice serving of whole anchovies. But the basic dressing, which is the very essence of this salad, was a disappointment. Some years ago, I was given one of the world's great recipes for this dressing, and I have only once, in Toronto as it happens, tasted its equal, so I necessarily have a high standard here. But this one doesn't come close. The dressing, having failed to be beaten into mayonnaise-consistency, missed the full richness of egg yolks, lacked some lemon-and-wine-vinegar tang and enough fresh garlic.
Despite one disappointing salad, we looked forward to our entrees, delicious-sounding as they were, sauteed lobster with sun-dried tomato sauce over a puff pastry ($26) and a potato pancake covered with roasted vegetables and aïoli ($18.50). The sauteed lobster was beautiful, a luxurious gourmet twist on lobster pie, and it was excellent. The plate included a serving of fragrant Basmati rice and some steamed broccoli. The broccoli was the only discordant note, for although this is a delicious vegetable, a simple lump of it steamed on an otherwise elegant plate looks rather sad. Something a bit more imaginative was definitely called for.
It is not often I order a vegetarian plate, but the menu made this one sound delicious. And its appearance when served was just as appealing as its description. The edge of a golden potato pancake just showed under a colorful melange of roast vegetables, drizzled with creamy aïoli (heavily flavored mayonnaise, usually lemon-garlic, but here horseradish) and topped with a mass of the most beautiful twig-like golden brown, sweet-potato fries. The vegetables included zucchini, summer squash, red pepper, and onion. My first bite was wonderfully enjoyable, but two things prevented this dish from being the truly excellent one it potentially is. The potato pancake was rather soggy towards the middle. The roasted vegetables, while good, lacked the suety-sweet flavor that comes with longer roasting to a crisped-edge state. Longer roasting also would reduce the vegetables' moisture, which undoubtedly had contributed to the soggy pancake. Still, this was a good plate for vegetable lovers, and the tiny sweet-potato fries are heavenly.
Our desserts were lemon, cream-cheese flan ($6.25) and blueberry pie à la mode ($6). The flan is light, creamy, heavily flavored with lemon - a kind of gourmet cheesecake without any cake - and highly recommended. The blueberry pie did not rise much above the ordinary - a good berry taste, not heavily sugared, but, as is so often the case, too much pasty filler and too few berries. The crust, while not heavy or cakey, was not the thin one of a fine blueberry pie.
Our bill came to $109.15. After dinner, we strolled the grounds a bit. The lights from windows, light fixtures on terraces, and little Italian lights in some spots make it a charming place in the twilight. We had mentioned to our waiter that the window views must be very beautiful in winter. He advised that on the forested side of our room, people often saw deer come out of the woods in winter - something to keep in mind for a special winter occasion.
Clay Hill Farm
220 Clay Hill Road
Cape Neddick (York)
361-2272
www.clayhillfarm.com/
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 3 1/2
Dinner hours: 5:30 to 8:30 Sunday through Thursday
5:30 to 9:00 Friday and Saturday
Lunch hours: none
All major cards
Price range: entrees $16 to $26
Vegetarian dishes: one
Reservations: accepted
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: throughout main floor - portable ramp for front stair
Fine dining in a pleasant, elegant environment
RESTAURANT REVIEW: CLAY HILL FARM, CAPE NEDDICK, MAINE
John Chuckman
"Turn at the flashing yellow light and drive 2 1/2 miles into the woods. We're on your right," said the helpful woman giving me directions on the phone. Well, Clay Hill Farm is definitely in the woods - a gently winding, rural road thick with mature forest and, as you get closer, a lot of granite outcroppings. The farm property is quite beautiful with manicured gardens and a rambling, terraced white building reflecting various additions and changes over time - all surrounded by tall, dark forest.
Inside, Clay Hill Farm feels a great deal like a luxurious golf club, a number of different rooms and areas decorated and furnished in varying styles and a great many windows onto gardens and woods. It has rooms and terrace upstairs, but horizontal lines dominate like the interior of a prairie-style mansion.
I was a little disappointed we were not able to sit in the first of the windowed rooms near the front with its wood paneling and lush green view. Our room was further back, but we couldn't have asked for a better table, in a corner next to a bay window looking out on a lighted terrace with gardens beyond.
This room's decoration, despite its handsome views, took some adjustment. The chairs are covered in tufted, burgundy-red velvet, the carpet too is burgundy-red, and the tables have a cloth of that color with another, pale pink, on top. It all made a first impression somewhere between Victorian parlor and 1960's steakhouse. Our chairs had tall plush backs, armrests, and swiveled around - quite unlike anything I've seen in a restaurant before. After our first giggles over these Victorian-lounge chair hybrids, we agreed they were extremely comfortable.
Clay Hill has a portfolio-size wine list representing many points on the world's wine map. There is a page of by-the-glass selections. Our Macon Lugny Pinot Chardonnay, a French Burgundy ($4.50), and Bernardus California Chardonnay ($7) were both satisfying, the California Chardonnay especially so with robust Chardonnay characteristics.
The appetizers that nicely complemented our wine were a bowl of lobster bisque ($7.50) and a plate of artichoke dip with broiled pita ($6.25). The bisque is a very good soup, and would be an excellent one but for excess salt in the stock detracting from its smooth, creamy base and fresh chunks of lobster.
The pita plate was beautifully done. The pita wedges were nicely flecked with brown from the broiler, lightly oiled and salted. These were quite tasty on their own, but even better coated with the baked artichoke dip that was one of the richest I have tasted - sinfully rich, I'm sure it was half mayonnaise.
Our salads were garden tomatoes and Caesar (each $5.50). The garden tomato plate was not nearly so attractive as the pita appetizer, the tomato slices being a little pale and the serving of spinach rather small. The tomatoes, despite their appearance, proved very flavorful, the spinach was all tender baby leaves, and the blue cheese vinaigrette was tangy without drowning the flavor of either vegetable.
The Caesar was not so successful. Having confirmed with our helpful waiter that the dressing contained anchovy, a sine qua non for lovers of classic Caesar, I happily received a plate whose crisp leaves also contained a nice serving of whole anchovies. But the basic dressing, which is the very essence of this salad, was a disappointment. Some years ago, I was given one of the world's great recipes for this dressing, and I have only once, in Toronto as it happens, tasted its equal, so I necessarily have a high standard here. But this one doesn't come close. The dressing, having failed to be beaten into mayonnaise-consistency, missed the full richness of egg yolks, lacked some lemon-and-wine-vinegar tang and enough fresh garlic.
Despite one disappointing salad, we looked forward to our entrees, delicious-sounding as they were, sauteed lobster with sun-dried tomato sauce over a puff pastry ($26) and a potato pancake covered with roasted vegetables and aïoli ($18.50). The sauteed lobster was beautiful, a luxurious gourmet twist on lobster pie, and it was excellent. The plate included a serving of fragrant Basmati rice and some steamed broccoli. The broccoli was the only discordant note, for although this is a delicious vegetable, a simple lump of it steamed on an otherwise elegant plate looks rather sad. Something a bit more imaginative was definitely called for.
It is not often I order a vegetarian plate, but the menu made this one sound delicious. And its appearance when served was just as appealing as its description. The edge of a golden potato pancake just showed under a colorful melange of roast vegetables, drizzled with creamy aïoli (heavily flavored mayonnaise, usually lemon-garlic, but here horseradish) and topped with a mass of the most beautiful twig-like golden brown, sweet-potato fries. The vegetables included zucchini, summer squash, red pepper, and onion. My first bite was wonderfully enjoyable, but two things prevented this dish from being the truly excellent one it potentially is. The potato pancake was rather soggy towards the middle. The roasted vegetables, while good, lacked the suety-sweet flavor that comes with longer roasting to a crisped-edge state. Longer roasting also would reduce the vegetables' moisture, which undoubtedly had contributed to the soggy pancake. Still, this was a good plate for vegetable lovers, and the tiny sweet-potato fries are heavenly.
Our desserts were lemon, cream-cheese flan ($6.25) and blueberry pie à la mode ($6). The flan is light, creamy, heavily flavored with lemon - a kind of gourmet cheesecake without any cake - and highly recommended. The blueberry pie did not rise much above the ordinary - a good berry taste, not heavily sugared, but, as is so often the case, too much pasty filler and too few berries. The crust, while not heavy or cakey, was not the thin one of a fine blueberry pie.
Our bill came to $109.15. After dinner, we strolled the grounds a bit. The lights from windows, light fixtures on terraces, and little Italian lights in some spots make it a charming place in the twilight. We had mentioned to our waiter that the window views must be very beautiful in winter. He advised that on the forested side of our room, people often saw deer come out of the woods in winter - something to keep in mind for a special winter occasion.
Clay Hill Farm
220 Clay Hill Road
Cape Neddick (York)
361-2272
www.clayhillfarm.com/
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 3 1/2
Dinner hours: 5:30 to 8:30 Sunday through Thursday
5:30 to 9:00 Friday and Saturday
Lunch hours: none
All major cards
Price range: entrees $16 to $26
Vegetarian dishes: one
Reservations: accepted
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: throughout main floor - portable ramp for front stair
Fine dining in a pleasant, elegant environment
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: AUDUBON ROOM, INN BY THE SEA, CAPE ELIZABETH, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: AUDUBON ROOM, INN BY THE SEA, CAPE ELIZABETH, MAINE
John Chuckman
The lobby to the Inn by the Sea is not large, but it is very pleasant with its inviting plush couches and fireplace. After inquiring at the desk about our reservation, we were asked to sit while the restaurant was advised that guests had arrived. Very shortly, a waiter appeared and offered drinks. Well, what could be more delightful just in from the cold than a perfectly made Manhattan ($7), especially under the spell of an artfully frosted Christmas tree and quiet gas fireplace?
The waiter returned in a few minutes to show us to our table. What an elegant, intimate room, as softly shadowed and warmly highlighted as a Rembrandt interior with candles flickering under shades on tables of white linen and fresh flowers. There are windows on three sides, many looking towards the sea, although, without moonlight on the water, you would not be aware of this. Recorded music of the Johnny Mathis-Bing Crosby type may not be to all tastes, but it was played as softly as the candles flickered.
The wine list has about sixty selections with about half a dozen available by the glass. A modest number of bottles are priced under $35, but many are well above this. There are, pleasantly, half a dozen excellent half bottles. Only something a little special seemed right for the atmosphere - the complex, smooth, but slightly peppery taste of Mont Redon Chateauneuf Du Pape (1997 - half bottle $25) matched the glow of the room.
In such a room and with a menu printed on fine moiré-patterned paper, one naturally expects understatement in all things, so an announcement that the lobster bisque ($10.95) had been voted "Maine's best" naturally aroused my interest. While the soup was thoroughly enjoyable, I found it short of top marks. It was a little on the thin side, and while delicately flavored with sherry and basil, the broth in the soup base was less flavorful than others in my memory. Still, this was a fine, enjoyable bowl of soup, even if a little over-hyped on the menu.
The Audubon winter salad ($7.95) with mixed greens, chevre cheese, and dried cherries in a mild balsamic vinaigrette was good. But the salad also included what the menu called "caramelized walnuts," and these proved to be small chunks of a walnut brittle, just too candy-like for such a salad. Simple roasted walnuts would have been far more suitable.
Considering an appetizer list that included half-shell oysters, crab cakes, and mixed grill - all fine things but none of them appearing to offer the promise of fresh treatment - wild mushroom turnovers ($7.95) stood out. I began fantasizing about delicate slices of wild mushrooms, a savory mushroom-infused sauce, and a perfect pastry.
But my fantasy was brought up short by two little triangles of folded phyllo pastry, clearly, even in soft light, not cooked to ideal delicate crispness. The fantasy faded altogether with the first bite of a filling something closer to a chopped and rather pasty mushroom stuffing, no more distinguished than streams of canapés served at countless cocktail parties. The marinated tomato slices with fresh basil served along side were excellent.
The broth of our cultivated Maine mussels ($8.95), steamed in "local ale," onions, garlic, and herbs, was tasty with very little salt, and the mussels would have been excellent except that they contained enough sandy grit to make your next appointment for a cleaning at the dentist unnecessary. This marked the only time I have been served mussels in this condition. Clearly, the kitchen had not sampled before putting them on the evening's menu, always the appropriate procedure for foods prone to such uncorrectable faults.
My indispensable research assistant does not put complaints quite so bluntly, so our waiter was artfully advised that the mussels were gritty. He whisked them away and very smoothly offered the chef's apologies and said they would of course not be reflected in the bill - another mark for excellent service, but definitely one down for the kitchen's attention to detail.
The entrée menu was not large and struck me as a little dull, including as it does mostly standards such as steamed lobster, rib-eye steak, sautéed sea food, and rack of lamb. Again, there was little indication on the menu of anything new or exciting being done with them.
I actually was a bit stuck making a choice, being mindful of my journalistic obligation to highlight anything special about a restaurant's offerings. There was one item that in all my travels and decades of cooking I had somehow managed never to try, pheasant. Perhaps this lapse is because the name is so thoroughly associated with the strictly posh, a bit like the fine swans eaten on the best tables in Elizabethan times. Pheasant also has some reputation for being dry. But when our excellent waiter advised that these birds were fresh from a local farm and very flavorful, it did seem the right time to try it.
The pheasant ($26.95) made a handsome plate with a generous serving of golden-skinned, slices of breast, a small fruit compote, some mixed wild rice, and beautifully steamed slices of zucchini, carrot, and thin asparagus spears. One could see the flesh of the slices was moist and not overcooked even before tasting. It had a substantial, meaty texture, and a refined, rather than gamy, flavor (but, of course, its being farm-raised may account for this). The compote with its dried fruit ingredient was a less successful accompaniment than had it been based solely on juicy fruit. The steamed vegetables were perfect with a touch of butter, wine, salt and pepper. The rice was very good.
Our other choice was pan-seared tournedos of beef ($26.95). The tournedos (a French designation for a tenderloin cut of less-than-filet quality) plate was handsome, with three beautifully rare pieces of meat topped with some boursin cheese flavored with artichoke hearts. But it had exactly the same rice and the same vegetables as the pheasant. While these were excellent, I do like to see more variety on the plates of fine restaurants. No matter how well done, this repetition communicates some sense of assembly line, rather than each plate being an individual creation.
There were four choices for dessert, all of them in the cake category - carrot cake, a flavored cheese cake, a torte-style tiramisu, and a chocolate cake. The choice again struck me as rather unimaginative for a fine restaurant, all clearly qualifying, no matter how well made, under the category of "dessert war-horses." The choice also reflected poor menu planning. Some pleasantly light or fruity offerings were clearly called for in view of the substantial and meaty entrees.
The carrot cake ($6.95) was tall, thickly coated with cream cheese-based frosting, and had a batter rich with walnuts. The chocolate cake ($6.95) was layered, served with some fresh (very woody) strawberries and the plate was laced with chocolate and strawberry syrups. Both cakes were very good, but we had to have doggy bags for most of them.
Our bill came to $141.94. The Audubon Room is a beautiful place with some very fine service - indeed, on that night at that table, I have to call the service exceptional. While cooking is sometimes excellent, quality is surprisingly inconsistent, and the menu lacks innovative or exciting choices. Attention to detail seems at times absent from the kitchen, as with the gritty mussels and the poorly suited selection of desserts.
The Audubon Room
Inn by the Sea
40 Bowery Beach Road (Route 77)
Cape Elizabeth
767-0888
http://www.innbythesea.com/
Food: 3 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 5
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Lunch hours: 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $21.95 to $27.95 plus three "priced daily"
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: yes
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: full
The bottom line: Beautiful room, fine service - some excellence and
inconsistency with less-than-imaginative menu
RESTAURANT REVIEW: AUDUBON ROOM, INN BY THE SEA, CAPE ELIZABETH, MAINE
John Chuckman
The lobby to the Inn by the Sea is not large, but it is very pleasant with its inviting plush couches and fireplace. After inquiring at the desk about our reservation, we were asked to sit while the restaurant was advised that guests had arrived. Very shortly, a waiter appeared and offered drinks. Well, what could be more delightful just in from the cold than a perfectly made Manhattan ($7), especially under the spell of an artfully frosted Christmas tree and quiet gas fireplace?
The waiter returned in a few minutes to show us to our table. What an elegant, intimate room, as softly shadowed and warmly highlighted as a Rembrandt interior with candles flickering under shades on tables of white linen and fresh flowers. There are windows on three sides, many looking towards the sea, although, without moonlight on the water, you would not be aware of this. Recorded music of the Johnny Mathis-Bing Crosby type may not be to all tastes, but it was played as softly as the candles flickered.
The wine list has about sixty selections with about half a dozen available by the glass. A modest number of bottles are priced under $35, but many are well above this. There are, pleasantly, half a dozen excellent half bottles. Only something a little special seemed right for the atmosphere - the complex, smooth, but slightly peppery taste of Mont Redon Chateauneuf Du Pape (1997 - half bottle $25) matched the glow of the room.
In such a room and with a menu printed on fine moiré-patterned paper, one naturally expects understatement in all things, so an announcement that the lobster bisque ($10.95) had been voted "Maine's best" naturally aroused my interest. While the soup was thoroughly enjoyable, I found it short of top marks. It was a little on the thin side, and while delicately flavored with sherry and basil, the broth in the soup base was less flavorful than others in my memory. Still, this was a fine, enjoyable bowl of soup, even if a little over-hyped on the menu.
The Audubon winter salad ($7.95) with mixed greens, chevre cheese, and dried cherries in a mild balsamic vinaigrette was good. But the salad also included what the menu called "caramelized walnuts," and these proved to be small chunks of a walnut brittle, just too candy-like for such a salad. Simple roasted walnuts would have been far more suitable.
Considering an appetizer list that included half-shell oysters, crab cakes, and mixed grill - all fine things but none of them appearing to offer the promise of fresh treatment - wild mushroom turnovers ($7.95) stood out. I began fantasizing about delicate slices of wild mushrooms, a savory mushroom-infused sauce, and a perfect pastry.
But my fantasy was brought up short by two little triangles of folded phyllo pastry, clearly, even in soft light, not cooked to ideal delicate crispness. The fantasy faded altogether with the first bite of a filling something closer to a chopped and rather pasty mushroom stuffing, no more distinguished than streams of canapés served at countless cocktail parties. The marinated tomato slices with fresh basil served along side were excellent.
The broth of our cultivated Maine mussels ($8.95), steamed in "local ale," onions, garlic, and herbs, was tasty with very little salt, and the mussels would have been excellent except that they contained enough sandy grit to make your next appointment for a cleaning at the dentist unnecessary. This marked the only time I have been served mussels in this condition. Clearly, the kitchen had not sampled before putting them on the evening's menu, always the appropriate procedure for foods prone to such uncorrectable faults.
My indispensable research assistant does not put complaints quite so bluntly, so our waiter was artfully advised that the mussels were gritty. He whisked them away and very smoothly offered the chef's apologies and said they would of course not be reflected in the bill - another mark for excellent service, but definitely one down for the kitchen's attention to detail.
The entrée menu was not large and struck me as a little dull, including as it does mostly standards such as steamed lobster, rib-eye steak, sautéed sea food, and rack of lamb. Again, there was little indication on the menu of anything new or exciting being done with them.
I actually was a bit stuck making a choice, being mindful of my journalistic obligation to highlight anything special about a restaurant's offerings. There was one item that in all my travels and decades of cooking I had somehow managed never to try, pheasant. Perhaps this lapse is because the name is so thoroughly associated with the strictly posh, a bit like the fine swans eaten on the best tables in Elizabethan times. Pheasant also has some reputation for being dry. But when our excellent waiter advised that these birds were fresh from a local farm and very flavorful, it did seem the right time to try it.
The pheasant ($26.95) made a handsome plate with a generous serving of golden-skinned, slices of breast, a small fruit compote, some mixed wild rice, and beautifully steamed slices of zucchini, carrot, and thin asparagus spears. One could see the flesh of the slices was moist and not overcooked even before tasting. It had a substantial, meaty texture, and a refined, rather than gamy, flavor (but, of course, its being farm-raised may account for this). The compote with its dried fruit ingredient was a less successful accompaniment than had it been based solely on juicy fruit. The steamed vegetables were perfect with a touch of butter, wine, salt and pepper. The rice was very good.
Our other choice was pan-seared tournedos of beef ($26.95). The tournedos (a French designation for a tenderloin cut of less-than-filet quality) plate was handsome, with three beautifully rare pieces of meat topped with some boursin cheese flavored with artichoke hearts. But it had exactly the same rice and the same vegetables as the pheasant. While these were excellent, I do like to see more variety on the plates of fine restaurants. No matter how well done, this repetition communicates some sense of assembly line, rather than each plate being an individual creation.
There were four choices for dessert, all of them in the cake category - carrot cake, a flavored cheese cake, a torte-style tiramisu, and a chocolate cake. The choice again struck me as rather unimaginative for a fine restaurant, all clearly qualifying, no matter how well made, under the category of "dessert war-horses." The choice also reflected poor menu planning. Some pleasantly light or fruity offerings were clearly called for in view of the substantial and meaty entrees.
The carrot cake ($6.95) was tall, thickly coated with cream cheese-based frosting, and had a batter rich with walnuts. The chocolate cake ($6.95) was layered, served with some fresh (very woody) strawberries and the plate was laced with chocolate and strawberry syrups. Both cakes were very good, but we had to have doggy bags for most of them.
Our bill came to $141.94. The Audubon Room is a beautiful place with some very fine service - indeed, on that night at that table, I have to call the service exceptional. While cooking is sometimes excellent, quality is surprisingly inconsistent, and the menu lacks innovative or exciting choices. Attention to detail seems at times absent from the kitchen, as with the gritty mussels and the poorly suited selection of desserts.
The Audubon Room
Inn by the Sea
40 Bowery Beach Road (Route 77)
Cape Elizabeth
767-0888
http://www.innbythesea.com/
Food: 3 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 5
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Lunch hours: 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $21.95 to $27.95 plus three "priced daily"
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: yes
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: full
The bottom line: Beautiful room, fine service - some excellence and
inconsistency with less-than-imaginative menu
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: AMALFI, ROCKLAND, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date
RESTAURANT REVIEW: AMALFI, ROCKLAND, MAINE
John Chuckman
If you weren't paying attention, you might easily walk right by Amalfi, for despite its handsome overhead sign, it is a modest place - essentially, two bay windows with café curtains separated by a door.
Inside, every bit of space is used by a vestibule, a tiny European bar, and two small dining areas of mixed tables, booths, and cushioned-bench seating. Egg-yolk wood trim, violet tablecloths, raspberry napkins, purple café curtains, and a large painting of vineyards, all set in contrast to raw brick walls, reinforce Amalfi's Mediterranean theme.
Amafi has a wine list of about 25 selections, most priced at under $25 and nearly half available by the glass. We settled in to our cozy table with Secco Bertani Valpolicella ($5), a fruity wine whose beautiful name always adds to my enjoyment of it.
Amalfi serves a complimentary amuse-gueule (a savory or hors d'oeuvre traditionally served with an aperitif or before-dinner drink), a pleasant practice that is all too uncommon. Ours was eggplant crostini with a small bowl of Niçoise olives - very nice.
Soon we received a pretty breadbasket with a slice of a foccacio, a slice of baguette, a hard brown breadstick, and a slice of "red bread" (crusty bread whose top is soaked with diluted tomato puree) for each of us. Delicious olive oil was provided for dipping.
Well, all this came before we had our appetizers and provided a good insight into Amalfi's food philosophy which may best be described as delicious generosity.
I was intrigued by a special appetizer, butternut-squash ravioli in a brown sugar sauce ($6.50). These were absolutely delicious, very fresh-tasting ravioli drizzled with a buttery, herbed, sweet sauce that was not just a syrup, a happy match for the squash filling.
Our other appetizer, again intriguing, was seafood sausage ($5.95). The sausage is house-made from haddock, scallops, and shrimp, and it is served with two flavored mayonnaise dips plus some fresh greens with a smooth balsamic vinaigrette. It was just as good as it sounds.
And we had an unusual salad, roasted beet and arugula ($5.95), only our friendly, helpful waiter advised that the kitchen wasn't happy with the arugula that day and had substituted baby spinach. This made a very tasty, refreshing salad with its blood-orange dressing and crumbled ricotta. My only complaint is that it was quite huge, more beets than I'm capable of eating at a sitting.
Tomato and fresh mozzarella salad ($6.25) is very familiar, but this was an excellent version including red, juicy tomatoes and the smooth taste of a very old balsamic vinegar.
Entrees included steak, lamb, chicken, seafood, and a Spanish paella available in several flavor combinations. I was tempted by the paella, but with a bouillabaisse ($17.95) on the menu and having established already that Amalfi seemed likely to do it justice, my choice was virtually predetermined. Our other choice was a special of phyllo-encrusted salmon with a rosemary filling ($15.25).
The bouillabaisse looked sumptuous, its tomato sauce thick with bits of fennel and chunks of seafood, including the beautiful shells of opened mussels. The traditional taste of saffron was there, although I failed to detect the contribution of wine, which also is traditional. Still, this was a fine bowl of stew that should satisfy all lovers of seafood.
The phyllo on the salmon was golden, yet visibly moist with steam and juices. It nicely preserved the moisture of the flesh, making this one of the most satisfying servings of salmon I have enjoyed - melt-in-your-mouth tender, infused with the flavor of its rosemary filling. The bounteous plate included a serving of rice with wheat berries, winter vegetables, and mushrooms, and while these were all good, they were not at the same superb level as the salmon itself. The plate had enough food to fill a hungry woodsman who hadn't eaten for two days.
I truly did not want dessert after this substantial, delicious meal, but, being dazzled by the sound of the offerings that evening, I relented, comforting myself that I was doing my journalistic duty.
The first of these was a Belgian chocolate soup with caramelized bananas ($5). This is a shallow bowl of delicious, bittersweet chocolate syrup with a huge island of fresh whipped cream, a logjam of two banana halves (surface caramelized with a blow torch in the traditional fashion of créme brûlée), and - yes, there was still more - fresh pistachios and almonds scattered over it. We finished the whole thing.
The other dessert, equally impressive and delicious, consisted of slices of house-made hazelnut, yogurt cake topped with a serving of chocolate mousse and fresh whipped cream on a plate glazed with caramel sauce ($5). Were Amalfi located in Portland, the after-theater crowd would be rushing over there just for the desserts.
The goodies kept coming - we received two buttery biscotti with our bill, which was $97.21.
We left Amalfi's warmth and walked along Main Street's beautiful brick facades in a gently falling snow. The store windows, many of them decorated for Christmas, made the light coat of snow glow for the length of the street. A group of carolers with candles passed on the opposite side. This was truly "It's a Wonderful Life."
Amalfi is my favorite kind of restaurant - cozy, personal, and with excellent, unpretentiously sophisticated cooking. It is a culinary gem. Some dishes or parts of dishes rise to the superb, and a few don't quite reach excellent, but everything is enjoyable. The menu and specials offer imaginative selections. For hearty eaters who also care about quality, there is no more highly recommended place in my experience.
Amalfi Mediterranean Restaurant
421 Main Street
Rockland
596-0012
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $12.95 to $25.00
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: recommended
Bar: wine and beer
Wheelchair access: yes
The bottom line: A charming place with excellent, interesting cooking
RESTAURANT REVIEW: AMALFI, ROCKLAND, MAINE
John Chuckman
If you weren't paying attention, you might easily walk right by Amalfi, for despite its handsome overhead sign, it is a modest place - essentially, two bay windows with café curtains separated by a door.
Inside, every bit of space is used by a vestibule, a tiny European bar, and two small dining areas of mixed tables, booths, and cushioned-bench seating. Egg-yolk wood trim, violet tablecloths, raspberry napkins, purple café curtains, and a large painting of vineyards, all set in contrast to raw brick walls, reinforce Amalfi's Mediterranean theme.
Amafi has a wine list of about 25 selections, most priced at under $25 and nearly half available by the glass. We settled in to our cozy table with Secco Bertani Valpolicella ($5), a fruity wine whose beautiful name always adds to my enjoyment of it.
Amalfi serves a complimentary amuse-gueule (a savory or hors d'oeuvre traditionally served with an aperitif or before-dinner drink), a pleasant practice that is all too uncommon. Ours was eggplant crostini with a small bowl of Niçoise olives - very nice.
Soon we received a pretty breadbasket with a slice of a foccacio, a slice of baguette, a hard brown breadstick, and a slice of "red bread" (crusty bread whose top is soaked with diluted tomato puree) for each of us. Delicious olive oil was provided for dipping.
Well, all this came before we had our appetizers and provided a good insight into Amalfi's food philosophy which may best be described as delicious generosity.
I was intrigued by a special appetizer, butternut-squash ravioli in a brown sugar sauce ($6.50). These were absolutely delicious, very fresh-tasting ravioli drizzled with a buttery, herbed, sweet sauce that was not just a syrup, a happy match for the squash filling.
Our other appetizer, again intriguing, was seafood sausage ($5.95). The sausage is house-made from haddock, scallops, and shrimp, and it is served with two flavored mayonnaise dips plus some fresh greens with a smooth balsamic vinaigrette. It was just as good as it sounds.
And we had an unusual salad, roasted beet and arugula ($5.95), only our friendly, helpful waiter advised that the kitchen wasn't happy with the arugula that day and had substituted baby spinach. This made a very tasty, refreshing salad with its blood-orange dressing and crumbled ricotta. My only complaint is that it was quite huge, more beets than I'm capable of eating at a sitting.
Tomato and fresh mozzarella salad ($6.25) is very familiar, but this was an excellent version including red, juicy tomatoes and the smooth taste of a very old balsamic vinegar.
Entrees included steak, lamb, chicken, seafood, and a Spanish paella available in several flavor combinations. I was tempted by the paella, but with a bouillabaisse ($17.95) on the menu and having established already that Amalfi seemed likely to do it justice, my choice was virtually predetermined. Our other choice was a special of phyllo-encrusted salmon with a rosemary filling ($15.25).
The bouillabaisse looked sumptuous, its tomato sauce thick with bits of fennel and chunks of seafood, including the beautiful shells of opened mussels. The traditional taste of saffron was there, although I failed to detect the contribution of wine, which also is traditional. Still, this was a fine bowl of stew that should satisfy all lovers of seafood.
The phyllo on the salmon was golden, yet visibly moist with steam and juices. It nicely preserved the moisture of the flesh, making this one of the most satisfying servings of salmon I have enjoyed - melt-in-your-mouth tender, infused with the flavor of its rosemary filling. The bounteous plate included a serving of rice with wheat berries, winter vegetables, and mushrooms, and while these were all good, they were not at the same superb level as the salmon itself. The plate had enough food to fill a hungry woodsman who hadn't eaten for two days.
I truly did not want dessert after this substantial, delicious meal, but, being dazzled by the sound of the offerings that evening, I relented, comforting myself that I was doing my journalistic duty.
The first of these was a Belgian chocolate soup with caramelized bananas ($5). This is a shallow bowl of delicious, bittersweet chocolate syrup with a huge island of fresh whipped cream, a logjam of two banana halves (surface caramelized with a blow torch in the traditional fashion of créme brûlée), and - yes, there was still more - fresh pistachios and almonds scattered over it. We finished the whole thing.
The other dessert, equally impressive and delicious, consisted of slices of house-made hazelnut, yogurt cake topped with a serving of chocolate mousse and fresh whipped cream on a plate glazed with caramel sauce ($5). Were Amalfi located in Portland, the after-theater crowd would be rushing over there just for the desserts.
The goodies kept coming - we received two buttery biscotti with our bill, which was $97.21.
We left Amalfi's warmth and walked along Main Street's beautiful brick facades in a gently falling snow. The store windows, many of them decorated for Christmas, made the light coat of snow glow for the length of the street. A group of carolers with candles passed on the opposite side. This was truly "It's a Wonderful Life."
Amalfi is my favorite kind of restaurant - cozy, personal, and with excellent, unpretentiously sophisticated cooking. It is a culinary gem. Some dishes or parts of dishes rise to the superb, and a few don't quite reach excellent, but everything is enjoyable. The menu and specials offer imaginative selections. For hearty eaters who also care about quality, there is no more highly recommended place in my experience.
Amalfi Mediterranean Restaurant
421 Main Street
Rockland
596-0012
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $12.95 to $25.00
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: recommended
Bar: wine and beer
Wheelchair access: yes
The bottom line: A charming place with excellent, interesting cooking
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: MARQUIS AT THE BELMONT, CAMDEN, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: MARQUIS AT THE BELMONT, CAMDEN, MAINE
John Chuckman
The restaurant-review business does take some unexpected twists and turns. An interesting little restaurant in Rockland I had planned to review could not accept a reservation for the night I would be there. They were sold out. A second, back-up candidate also was sold out. Now, historically, this kind of thing just doesn't happen in Rockland. And while I was happy for their success and for what it represents in the city's renaissance, I needed a restaurant in the area to review. So, we went searching. What we found made a wonderful thing of adversity.
Marquis at the Belmont shares space with a beautiful bed-and-breakfast on a quiet residential street that many tourists or visitors to Camden possibly never see.
You enter into a living room complete with velvety sofas, antique furniture, and stylish, puffy window treatments - the kind of decorating found in House Beautiful, considerably too frou-frou for my tastes, but well done and gracious in feeling. This room serves as a lobby and waiting room. We were quickly shown to our table by a very personable hostess (who turned out to be co-proprietor and chief baker).
Apart from the living room, the restaurant has two rooms and a long, windowed porch. The porch is especially pretty, having a look I might describe as Laura Ashley or subdued frou-frou. The dining rooms are less overpoweringly decorated than the living room. Woodwork - and there are lots of nice moldings - is all done in a warm off-white, and the widows are all beautiful old mullioned types. There are oak strip floors and warm-colored carpets. One room has wallpaper, and the other has a remarkably well done trompe l'oeil finish in green, gold, and ivory. Tables are set with white linen, handsome older silverware, small candle holders, and a flower. Some charming floral prints are hung in key spots. Tables are not crowded together, and the entire atmosphere is pleasant and comfortable.
Marquis has a two-page wine list with a nice selection, most of them vintages, from many origins, California predominating. There are some fine labels, but the list has been carefully selected for value, and there is a higher proportion of interesting selections in the $18-$25 range than in many restaurants of Marquis's quality. More than half are available by the glass.
Our Cotes du Rhone, Dom d'Andezon, 1999, ($6.50) and Honig Sauvignon Reserve, 1998, ($7) provided a pleasant way to settle in and study a menu of moderate size but considerable culinary complexity. Indeed, I have to say, on first reading the menu, we experienced a hint of doubt. It has both a good deal of fusion cooking and a slight tendency towards the chi-chi - both potentially risky territories.
But when we received our appetizers, the work of genuine culinary imagination supported by high-order skills was obvious.
Our smoked duck breast tart ($9.50), a special that evening, had a perfect, flaky pastry shell containing succulent slices of rare breast, savory with smoke, with prosciutto bits and a herbed-cream sauce, accompanied by a small serving of only the most tender baby spinach leaves on the side. I sent compliments to the kitchen for one of the finest appetizers I've eaten, and when the chef and co-proprietor, a former cook at the well regarded Fore Street in Portland, was introduced after dinner (readers should know that owners and employees are never told who I am and that my visits are never anticipated), he told me this special would be added to the regular menu. I simply cannot praise this dish too highly. It was exquisite.
Very little short of this glimpse of culinary heaven was our other appetizer of asparagus, goat cheese, and phyllo crisps ($8). This consisted of a large dollop of delicious herbed Appleton goat cheese (the restaurant likes to use local produce where possible) surrounded by grilled asparagus and grilled cherry tomatoes flavored with lemon thyme plus large flaky crisps of phyllo for dipping - a very fine plate.
All entrees at Marquis come with a salad, something not often found in fine-dining restaurants. The chef's salad is fresh mixed greens plus baby spinach and grated carrot, dressed with a soy sauce-flavored, cream dressing. I found it delicious, but my expert Special Consultant in All Things Culinary thought the dressing a bit strong on the soy.
The other salad choice is a Caesar ($1 extra). This had fresh, crisp Romaine, nice croutons, and lots of shaved Asiago cheese. The dressing was good, but was extremely thinly applied, my preference being a very creamy treatment for this salad. Still, no one is likely to send this one back to the kitchen.
In view of the excellence of what we had tasted, I picked about as exotic an entrée as was on offer. Udon noodles with gingered curry and coconut sauce ($16) plus grilled jumbo shrimp ($5 extra) is a North American conception with Japanese noodles and Thai- or Cambodian-influenced sauce. And what a beautiful plate it proved to be. An elegant pile of sauced noodles, thick with Juienned peppers, red onion, zucchini, snow peas, and shitake mushrooms, and a half-dozen plump, lightly grilled shrimp - all the vegetables holding their beautiful coloring and everything richly smelling of ginger (I'm hungry again just writing this.).
Our other entrée was grilled beef tenderloin with roasted pistachio-blue cheese "butter", demi-glace, and mashed potatoes flavored with rosemary and roasted garlic ($22). Blue cheese on beef is an old idea, but this delectable spread tastes only mildly of the cheese. The flavor of pistachio-paste dominates, and it is a beautiful, if potentially heart-stopping, match. The meat was juicy, about as nicely done as the method permits. Some perfectly steamed, young carrots were included.
The menu tells us that desserts "change according to Rebecca's whim." Her whims that evening included a triple-ginger pound cake with blueberry sauce and a tart of chocolate ganache with macadamia nuts and caramel sauce (both $7).
The pound cake was delicious, the blueberry sauce good enough to make an excellent pie filling, and it was all topped off with fresh whipped cream.
The tart was a magnificent piece of gourmet goop - the shell the same perfect one used for the duck appetizer, the chocolate filling thick and rich and not too sweet like the center of a good truffle, and the caramel sauce creamy smooth. If you like chocolate, you cannot do much better than this.
Service overall was excellent and friendly, but there was one oversight of a missing utensil.
Our bill came to $110.74. This restaurant has been open for less than a year, and it sets a very high standard for innovative recipes, exceptional culinary skills, and a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Marquis at the Belmont
6 Belmont Avenue
Camden
230-1226/ 888-270-5118
http://www.marquisatthebelmont.com/
Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to Saturday
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Price range: entrees $14 to $24
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: accepted
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: front step with staff assistance
The bottom line: Excellent, innovative cuisine in a pleasant, relaxed setting
RESTAURANT REVIEW: MARQUIS AT THE BELMONT, CAMDEN, MAINE
John Chuckman
The restaurant-review business does take some unexpected twists and turns. An interesting little restaurant in Rockland I had planned to review could not accept a reservation for the night I would be there. They were sold out. A second, back-up candidate also was sold out. Now, historically, this kind of thing just doesn't happen in Rockland. And while I was happy for their success and for what it represents in the city's renaissance, I needed a restaurant in the area to review. So, we went searching. What we found made a wonderful thing of adversity.
Marquis at the Belmont shares space with a beautiful bed-and-breakfast on a quiet residential street that many tourists or visitors to Camden possibly never see.
You enter into a living room complete with velvety sofas, antique furniture, and stylish, puffy window treatments - the kind of decorating found in House Beautiful, considerably too frou-frou for my tastes, but well done and gracious in feeling. This room serves as a lobby and waiting room. We were quickly shown to our table by a very personable hostess (who turned out to be co-proprietor and chief baker).
Apart from the living room, the restaurant has two rooms and a long, windowed porch. The porch is especially pretty, having a look I might describe as Laura Ashley or subdued frou-frou. The dining rooms are less overpoweringly decorated than the living room. Woodwork - and there are lots of nice moldings - is all done in a warm off-white, and the widows are all beautiful old mullioned types. There are oak strip floors and warm-colored carpets. One room has wallpaper, and the other has a remarkably well done trompe l'oeil finish in green, gold, and ivory. Tables are set with white linen, handsome older silverware, small candle holders, and a flower. Some charming floral prints are hung in key spots. Tables are not crowded together, and the entire atmosphere is pleasant and comfortable.
Marquis has a two-page wine list with a nice selection, most of them vintages, from many origins, California predominating. There are some fine labels, but the list has been carefully selected for value, and there is a higher proportion of interesting selections in the $18-$25 range than in many restaurants of Marquis's quality. More than half are available by the glass.
Our Cotes du Rhone, Dom d'Andezon, 1999, ($6.50) and Honig Sauvignon Reserve, 1998, ($7) provided a pleasant way to settle in and study a menu of moderate size but considerable culinary complexity. Indeed, I have to say, on first reading the menu, we experienced a hint of doubt. It has both a good deal of fusion cooking and a slight tendency towards the chi-chi - both potentially risky territories.
But when we received our appetizers, the work of genuine culinary imagination supported by high-order skills was obvious.
Our smoked duck breast tart ($9.50), a special that evening, had a perfect, flaky pastry shell containing succulent slices of rare breast, savory with smoke, with prosciutto bits and a herbed-cream sauce, accompanied by a small serving of only the most tender baby spinach leaves on the side. I sent compliments to the kitchen for one of the finest appetizers I've eaten, and when the chef and co-proprietor, a former cook at the well regarded Fore Street in Portland, was introduced after dinner (readers should know that owners and employees are never told who I am and that my visits are never anticipated), he told me this special would be added to the regular menu. I simply cannot praise this dish too highly. It was exquisite.
Very little short of this glimpse of culinary heaven was our other appetizer of asparagus, goat cheese, and phyllo crisps ($8). This consisted of a large dollop of delicious herbed Appleton goat cheese (the restaurant likes to use local produce where possible) surrounded by grilled asparagus and grilled cherry tomatoes flavored with lemon thyme plus large flaky crisps of phyllo for dipping - a very fine plate.
All entrees at Marquis come with a salad, something not often found in fine-dining restaurants. The chef's salad is fresh mixed greens plus baby spinach and grated carrot, dressed with a soy sauce-flavored, cream dressing. I found it delicious, but my expert Special Consultant in All Things Culinary thought the dressing a bit strong on the soy.
The other salad choice is a Caesar ($1 extra). This had fresh, crisp Romaine, nice croutons, and lots of shaved Asiago cheese. The dressing was good, but was extremely thinly applied, my preference being a very creamy treatment for this salad. Still, no one is likely to send this one back to the kitchen.
In view of the excellence of what we had tasted, I picked about as exotic an entrée as was on offer. Udon noodles with gingered curry and coconut sauce ($16) plus grilled jumbo shrimp ($5 extra) is a North American conception with Japanese noodles and Thai- or Cambodian-influenced sauce. And what a beautiful plate it proved to be. An elegant pile of sauced noodles, thick with Juienned peppers, red onion, zucchini, snow peas, and shitake mushrooms, and a half-dozen plump, lightly grilled shrimp - all the vegetables holding their beautiful coloring and everything richly smelling of ginger (I'm hungry again just writing this.).
Our other entrée was grilled beef tenderloin with roasted pistachio-blue cheese "butter", demi-glace, and mashed potatoes flavored with rosemary and roasted garlic ($22). Blue cheese on beef is an old idea, but this delectable spread tastes only mildly of the cheese. The flavor of pistachio-paste dominates, and it is a beautiful, if potentially heart-stopping, match. The meat was juicy, about as nicely done as the method permits. Some perfectly steamed, young carrots were included.
The menu tells us that desserts "change according to Rebecca's whim." Her whims that evening included a triple-ginger pound cake with blueberry sauce and a tart of chocolate ganache with macadamia nuts and caramel sauce (both $7).
The pound cake was delicious, the blueberry sauce good enough to make an excellent pie filling, and it was all topped off with fresh whipped cream.
The tart was a magnificent piece of gourmet goop - the shell the same perfect one used for the duck appetizer, the chocolate filling thick and rich and not too sweet like the center of a good truffle, and the caramel sauce creamy smooth. If you like chocolate, you cannot do much better than this.
Service overall was excellent and friendly, but there was one oversight of a missing utensil.
Our bill came to $110.74. This restaurant has been open for less than a year, and it sets a very high standard for innovative recipes, exceptional culinary skills, and a warm, friendly atmosphere.
Marquis at the Belmont
6 Belmont Avenue
Camden
230-1226/ 888-270-5118
http://www.marquisatthebelmont.com/
Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday to Saturday
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Price range: entrees $14 to $24
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: accepted
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: front step with staff assistance
The bottom line: Excellent, innovative cuisine in a pleasant, relaxed setting
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE THISTLE INN, BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE THISTLE INN, BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE
John Chuckman
"We do not open 'til six o'clock," the voice on the phone said with just the slightest hint of "dunna" for "do not" while I made a reservation for dinner.
That evening we arrived about five-fifty. Despite the "Open" flags snapping in the cool night air and all the little glowing panes of glass, no one else seemed to be there, and the front door was locked. Well, he did say six, so we took a brief ride around beautiful Boothbay Harbor and, returning fifteen minutes later, found cars parked, the front door open, and another couple waiting in the narrow entrance.
We were greeted by a dignified gentleman, a bit reserved in his initial manner, and shown to one of the most charming tables in one of the most charming little rooms in Maine.
Once you get past what we viewed as traditional Scottish reserve and punctilious punctuality, the Thistle Inn proves to be one of the cheeriest places in Maine.
Brown wooden booths, each with red-tartan café curtains fitted above seat backs to create the impression almost of tiny private rooms, crisp linen and candles on the tables, old prints and dried flowers, mullioned windows, and a genuine wood fire in an iron stove - these give the intimate beam-and-plaster room an authentic old-world feel. The fire, the candles, and the warm colors make it glow.
A glass of draft Belhaven Scottish ale ($4.25), wonderfully smooth stuff, and a glass of Indigo Hills California Merlot ($4.50) undoubtedly contributed to our appreciation of the ambiance.
As guests continued to arrive, the room warmed up still more, for most of them knew the proprietor and greeted him by name, and a couple of them said a pleasant hello to us as strangers.
When a mellow-voiced musician, Martin Swinger, with an acoustic guitar and a good repertoire of excellent songs took his place, the emotional atmosphere matched the warmth of the wood fire and candles. And when a musically talented guest retrieved a double bass from somewhere back in the restaurant and happily accompanied the singer, we felt we were guests at a ceilidh.
Our baked Brie appetizer ($5.50) was a pretty plate of sesame crackers, a cluster of red grapes, some slices of ripe cantaloupe, and a fine little dish of the great Talleyrand's favorite cheese baked to a dipping slurry. Granted, this is not very Scottish (unless you count the fact that Mary, Queen of Scots, was Queen of France by her first marriage), but it is delicious.
We enjoyed the cheese and fruit with a garden salad ($3.50) whose fresh greens, cucumbers, tomato, red onion, carrot, and balsamic vinaigrette provided an appealing version of a staple salad.
The menu lists Scottish lobster pie ("market," $16.95 that night) as "oour specialty." And a fine specialty it is with a delicate puff-pastry crust covering a baking dish thick with lobster chunks in a savory cream sauce. There was nothing innovative here, but it was one of the best versions of this simple classic that I have enjoyed. The plate came with mashed turnips, fresh greens, and smashed potatoes (mashed with the skins - it's getting so you just can't avoid them, my appeals for traditional creamy mashed potatoes seem to go unheard) on the side.
I could not make up my mind for Highland filet mignon (Scotch whiskey-cream sauce with Cheddar cheese), chicken Drambuie (sautéed breast with apricots, cilantro and the delicious Scottish liqueur), or roast duck with raspberry coulis. Belhaven ale-battered fish and chips were under serious consideration until we learned they were not available that night.
The duck ($18.95) proved a happy choice. The plate had a half bird, beautifully roasted and drizzled with a coulis whose flavor was raspberry and not jam. The same turnips, greens, and smashed potatoes accompanied the duck. I would object to the repetition of vegetables in a fine-dining restaurant, but in the fine-homey-dining atmosphere of Thistle Inn, it works. Altogether this was a delicious and satisfying dish.
My "Scottish" trifle ($4.95) was a dessert I had not enjoyed in years. This was authentic trifle with scoops of custard, sponge-cake cubes, almonds, fruit, and whipped cream. It was excellent.
Our other dessert choice was Boston cream pie ($4.50). This was a well-made version I am assured by my ever-vigilant research assistant whose tastes run to such New England classics - a hard chocolate shell, a soft cake, and a creamy custard.
A small card on our table suggested a glass of Manuel de Argueso Jerez de la Frontera ($5), a wonderful, mellow, nutty, thick cream sherry - just the right end to such a meal.
Our bill came to $81.91 for one of the most pleasant evenings we have spent in any restaurant, even those with greater culinary claims. Thistle Inn is an excellent, special little place where we left mainly with thoughts of our return - certainly for the atmosphere and likely for that Highland filet and the Belhaven-battered fish and chips.
The Thistle Inn
53 Oak Street
Boothbay Harbor
633-3541
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $12.95 to $23.95 with two at "market"
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: yes
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: yes, but may be tight in entrance area.
The bottom line: A delightful atmosphere with excellent cooking
RESTAURANT REVIEW: THE THISTLE INN, BOOTHBAY HARBOR, MAINE
John Chuckman
"We do not open 'til six o'clock," the voice on the phone said with just the slightest hint of "dunna" for "do not" while I made a reservation for dinner.
That evening we arrived about five-fifty. Despite the "Open" flags snapping in the cool night air and all the little glowing panes of glass, no one else seemed to be there, and the front door was locked. Well, he did say six, so we took a brief ride around beautiful Boothbay Harbor and, returning fifteen minutes later, found cars parked, the front door open, and another couple waiting in the narrow entrance.
We were greeted by a dignified gentleman, a bit reserved in his initial manner, and shown to one of the most charming tables in one of the most charming little rooms in Maine.
Once you get past what we viewed as traditional Scottish reserve and punctilious punctuality, the Thistle Inn proves to be one of the cheeriest places in Maine.
Brown wooden booths, each with red-tartan café curtains fitted above seat backs to create the impression almost of tiny private rooms, crisp linen and candles on the tables, old prints and dried flowers, mullioned windows, and a genuine wood fire in an iron stove - these give the intimate beam-and-plaster room an authentic old-world feel. The fire, the candles, and the warm colors make it glow.
A glass of draft Belhaven Scottish ale ($4.25), wonderfully smooth stuff, and a glass of Indigo Hills California Merlot ($4.50) undoubtedly contributed to our appreciation of the ambiance.
As guests continued to arrive, the room warmed up still more, for most of them knew the proprietor and greeted him by name, and a couple of them said a pleasant hello to us as strangers.
When a mellow-voiced musician, Martin Swinger, with an acoustic guitar and a good repertoire of excellent songs took his place, the emotional atmosphere matched the warmth of the wood fire and candles. And when a musically talented guest retrieved a double bass from somewhere back in the restaurant and happily accompanied the singer, we felt we were guests at a ceilidh.
Our baked Brie appetizer ($5.50) was a pretty plate of sesame crackers, a cluster of red grapes, some slices of ripe cantaloupe, and a fine little dish of the great Talleyrand's favorite cheese baked to a dipping slurry. Granted, this is not very Scottish (unless you count the fact that Mary, Queen of Scots, was Queen of France by her first marriage), but it is delicious.
We enjoyed the cheese and fruit with a garden salad ($3.50) whose fresh greens, cucumbers, tomato, red onion, carrot, and balsamic vinaigrette provided an appealing version of a staple salad.
The menu lists Scottish lobster pie ("market," $16.95 that night) as "oour specialty." And a fine specialty it is with a delicate puff-pastry crust covering a baking dish thick with lobster chunks in a savory cream sauce. There was nothing innovative here, but it was one of the best versions of this simple classic that I have enjoyed. The plate came with mashed turnips, fresh greens, and smashed potatoes (mashed with the skins - it's getting so you just can't avoid them, my appeals for traditional creamy mashed potatoes seem to go unheard) on the side.
I could not make up my mind for Highland filet mignon (Scotch whiskey-cream sauce with Cheddar cheese), chicken Drambuie (sautéed breast with apricots, cilantro and the delicious Scottish liqueur), or roast duck with raspberry coulis. Belhaven ale-battered fish and chips were under serious consideration until we learned they were not available that night.
The duck ($18.95) proved a happy choice. The plate had a half bird, beautifully roasted and drizzled with a coulis whose flavor was raspberry and not jam. The same turnips, greens, and smashed potatoes accompanied the duck. I would object to the repetition of vegetables in a fine-dining restaurant, but in the fine-homey-dining atmosphere of Thistle Inn, it works. Altogether this was a delicious and satisfying dish.
My "Scottish" trifle ($4.95) was a dessert I had not enjoyed in years. This was authentic trifle with scoops of custard, sponge-cake cubes, almonds, fruit, and whipped cream. It was excellent.
Our other dessert choice was Boston cream pie ($4.50). This was a well-made version I am assured by my ever-vigilant research assistant whose tastes run to such New England classics - a hard chocolate shell, a soft cake, and a creamy custard.
A small card on our table suggested a glass of Manuel de Argueso Jerez de la Frontera ($5), a wonderful, mellow, nutty, thick cream sherry - just the right end to such a meal.
Our bill came to $81.91 for one of the most pleasant evenings we have spent in any restaurant, even those with greater culinary claims. Thistle Inn is an excellent, special little place where we left mainly with thoughts of our return - certainly for the atmosphere and likely for that Highland filet and the Belhaven-battered fish and chips.
The Thistle Inn
53 Oak Street
Boothbay Harbor
633-3541
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday
Credit cards: all major
Price range: entrees $12.95 to $23.95 with two at "market"
Vegetarian dishes: yes
Reservations: yes
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: yes, but may be tight in entrance area.
The bottom line: A delightful atmosphere with excellent cooking
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: NEWCASTLE INN, NEWCASTLE, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: NEWCASTLE INN, NEWCASTLE, MAINE
John Chuckman
These days, with the season and the clock set back, even the earliest dinner means arriving in the dark. But that is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly at a place like the Newcastle Inn where the windows glow in the evening with the charm of a lighted doll house.
What a location for an inn. The back looks through trees at the Damariscotta River and towards the lighted steeple of a church in the pretty town of Damarascotta. For those here for more than dinner, a short drive away are two of Maine's most beautiful spots, the lighthouse and rock-crashing sea of Pemaquid and the idyllic tableau of New Harbor.
Meticulous is one word for Newcastle Inn's interior renovations and decorating. The handsome woodwork is a restful, mossy green set against wallpapers or stenciling that ties the green to cranberry red: these are the kind of full-blooded colors that people during much of the 19th century and the late 18th century enjoyed, and for that reason the interior strikes one as authentic. Floors are honey pine-strip with area rugs in the living rooms.
Newcastle Inn serves dinner only at seven o'clock, but guests are invited to arrive as early as six for hors d'oeuvres and drinks, a pleasant custom that gives you the opportunity to look around or sit comfortably chatting with others before dinner. Immediately inside the front door is a fine living room used for this purpose, but guests are not limited to a single room. The hall goes back through a small bar and ends at another, more intimate room of couches and fireplace.
We accepted a gracious hostess's invitation with glasses of Benziger Sonoma Fume Blanc ($5) and Mondavi Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ($10.50). Both are nice, but the Cabernet is luscious, dusky, complex stuff just made for fires and chatting. And we did have a pleasant chat with others until dinner.
The two small dining rooms are parallel to the living rooms, across the hall. Tables are set in grand-hotel style with double white linen and heavy, old sets of silver, including rarely-seen complete sets of forks and spoons. Only one room was in use, making a particularly intimate atmosphere. Tables are well-spaced but not isolating. The wall paper and bric-a-brac in this room should satisfy the most discriminating lover of quaintness.
Service is friendly and surprisingly informal, including a request that diners make selections for all courses at one time. This is surprisingly like eating in someone's home, right down to a couple of creaking floorboards as the waitress moves about.
The small menu (it changes daily) was a pleasure to read. Even though there are only three choices in each category of appetizer, entrée, and dessert (dinner is table d'hôte at $43.50/ person), all of them made delicious reading. Some descriptions are a bit frilly, but serious food knowledge is apparent.
Our scallops encrusted in potato puffs on parsnip mousse - yes, that's right, parsnip mousse - with a red wine and thyme reduction and vanilla favoring was a pretty little plate. Two large scallops, still moist and succulent inside, coated with light golden bits of tiny potato puffs. The bit of creamy mousse and reduction suited them beautifully, making this an extremely fine dish.
Wild mushroom risotto with spinach cream and white truffle oil was also a small, visually-appealing serving (indeed, this pretty-and-petite quality proved a general characteristic at Newcastle Inn and may represent a problem for hearty eaters). Here was a tiny block of cream-colored, richly-textured risotto, veined with the warm browns of mushrooms and drizzled with white sauce and bright spinach bits. The dish was excellent, but its blander flavors fell short of the remarkable scallops.
All diners were served a salad of (organic) Mesclun greens, cherry tomatoes, Julienned carrots, toasted pine nuts, crumbled blue cheese, and raspberry-Champagne vinaigrette. This was a delicious salad. While its ingredients were not unusual, there was a superb balance to them, offering almost the full bouquet with each bite. The fine vinaigrette had just a blush of raspberry, nothing to render it into the fruit sauce that sometimes passes under the name.
Entrée selections included lamb, duck, and salmon.
Herb-encrusted lamb tenderloin on roasted garlic mashed potatoes with fresh asparagus and a rosemary- and olive-infused demi-glaze is quite a mouthful to say. And this dish of juicy little slices of melt-in-your-mouth tenderloin, creamy mashed potatoes with soft, sweet, crushed buds of garlic, and thin, still-green spears of asparagus over a savory glaze offered a remarkable mouthful to eat. This dish ranked with the scallops as food from culinary heaven.
Not far behind the lamb in excellence was pan-seared duck breast with a potato croquette, autumn vegetables, and Madeira wine sauce. I thought the duck cooked slightly beyond the perfect juiciness of the tenderloin, but we are dealing here with fine gradations of difference. Tiny cubes of parsnip and squash made a happy match.
Desserts came the closest to innovative and unconventional in conception on the evening's menu. There was a tiramisu with rhubarb sauce. Our tarte au chocolate with crème anglais was the thoroughly conventional choice, and its bittersweet filling was thoroughly delicious.
Strudel with dark rum sauce would certainly be conventional with apples, but banana and brown sugar filling is something I've not come across before. This dessert both on grounds of originality and fine execution was very special. The strudel's crust was delicate and lightly, prettily sugar-crusted. It was packed, as proper strudel should be, with fruit not the least overcooked and had just enough sauce to add flavor and moisture - an altogether delicious dessert.
Cooking at The Newcastle Inn is uncommonly fine, but with limited innovation. Every dish reflects skill and judgment, excellent ingredients, and the benefit that always comes from cooking for a small room. My most serious criticism concerns the size of servings which are among the smallest I've encountered in restaurants of this quality, but they undoubtedly are adequate for most patrons, and their flavor can fail to satisfy no one.
The Newcastle Inn
River Road
Newcastle
563-5685 / 800-832-8669
http://www.newcastleinn.com/
Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
7:00 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday in summer
Credit cards: all major
Price range: fixed table d'hôte $43.50
Vegetarian dishes: none
Reservations: required
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: front step with assistance
The bottom line: Charm, comfort, warmth and excellent cuisine
RESTAURANT REVIEW: NEWCASTLE INN, NEWCASTLE, MAINE
John Chuckman
These days, with the season and the clock set back, even the earliest dinner means arriving in the dark. But that is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly at a place like the Newcastle Inn where the windows glow in the evening with the charm of a lighted doll house.
What a location for an inn. The back looks through trees at the Damariscotta River and towards the lighted steeple of a church in the pretty town of Damarascotta. For those here for more than dinner, a short drive away are two of Maine's most beautiful spots, the lighthouse and rock-crashing sea of Pemaquid and the idyllic tableau of New Harbor.
Meticulous is one word for Newcastle Inn's interior renovations and decorating. The handsome woodwork is a restful, mossy green set against wallpapers or stenciling that ties the green to cranberry red: these are the kind of full-blooded colors that people during much of the 19th century and the late 18th century enjoyed, and for that reason the interior strikes one as authentic. Floors are honey pine-strip with area rugs in the living rooms.
Newcastle Inn serves dinner only at seven o'clock, but guests are invited to arrive as early as six for hors d'oeuvres and drinks, a pleasant custom that gives you the opportunity to look around or sit comfortably chatting with others before dinner. Immediately inside the front door is a fine living room used for this purpose, but guests are not limited to a single room. The hall goes back through a small bar and ends at another, more intimate room of couches and fireplace.
We accepted a gracious hostess's invitation with glasses of Benziger Sonoma Fume Blanc ($5) and Mondavi Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ($10.50). Both are nice, but the Cabernet is luscious, dusky, complex stuff just made for fires and chatting. And we did have a pleasant chat with others until dinner.
The two small dining rooms are parallel to the living rooms, across the hall. Tables are set in grand-hotel style with double white linen and heavy, old sets of silver, including rarely-seen complete sets of forks and spoons. Only one room was in use, making a particularly intimate atmosphere. Tables are well-spaced but not isolating. The wall paper and bric-a-brac in this room should satisfy the most discriminating lover of quaintness.
Service is friendly and surprisingly informal, including a request that diners make selections for all courses at one time. This is surprisingly like eating in someone's home, right down to a couple of creaking floorboards as the waitress moves about.
The small menu (it changes daily) was a pleasure to read. Even though there are only three choices in each category of appetizer, entrée, and dessert (dinner is table d'hôte at $43.50/ person), all of them made delicious reading. Some descriptions are a bit frilly, but serious food knowledge is apparent.
Our scallops encrusted in potato puffs on parsnip mousse - yes, that's right, parsnip mousse - with a red wine and thyme reduction and vanilla favoring was a pretty little plate. Two large scallops, still moist and succulent inside, coated with light golden bits of tiny potato puffs. The bit of creamy mousse and reduction suited them beautifully, making this an extremely fine dish.
Wild mushroom risotto with spinach cream and white truffle oil was also a small, visually-appealing serving (indeed, this pretty-and-petite quality proved a general characteristic at Newcastle Inn and may represent a problem for hearty eaters). Here was a tiny block of cream-colored, richly-textured risotto, veined with the warm browns of mushrooms and drizzled with white sauce and bright spinach bits. The dish was excellent, but its blander flavors fell short of the remarkable scallops.
All diners were served a salad of (organic) Mesclun greens, cherry tomatoes, Julienned carrots, toasted pine nuts, crumbled blue cheese, and raspberry-Champagne vinaigrette. This was a delicious salad. While its ingredients were not unusual, there was a superb balance to them, offering almost the full bouquet with each bite. The fine vinaigrette had just a blush of raspberry, nothing to render it into the fruit sauce that sometimes passes under the name.
Entrée selections included lamb, duck, and salmon.
Herb-encrusted lamb tenderloin on roasted garlic mashed potatoes with fresh asparagus and a rosemary- and olive-infused demi-glaze is quite a mouthful to say. And this dish of juicy little slices of melt-in-your-mouth tenderloin, creamy mashed potatoes with soft, sweet, crushed buds of garlic, and thin, still-green spears of asparagus over a savory glaze offered a remarkable mouthful to eat. This dish ranked with the scallops as food from culinary heaven.
Not far behind the lamb in excellence was pan-seared duck breast with a potato croquette, autumn vegetables, and Madeira wine sauce. I thought the duck cooked slightly beyond the perfect juiciness of the tenderloin, but we are dealing here with fine gradations of difference. Tiny cubes of parsnip and squash made a happy match.
Desserts came the closest to innovative and unconventional in conception on the evening's menu. There was a tiramisu with rhubarb sauce. Our tarte au chocolate with crème anglais was the thoroughly conventional choice, and its bittersweet filling was thoroughly delicious.
Strudel with dark rum sauce would certainly be conventional with apples, but banana and brown sugar filling is something I've not come across before. This dessert both on grounds of originality and fine execution was very special. The strudel's crust was delicate and lightly, prettily sugar-crusted. It was packed, as proper strudel should be, with fruit not the least overcooked and had just enough sauce to add flavor and moisture - an altogether delicious dessert.
Cooking at The Newcastle Inn is uncommonly fine, but with limited innovation. Every dish reflects skill and judgment, excellent ingredients, and the benefit that always comes from cooking for a small room. My most serious criticism concerns the size of servings which are among the smallest I've encountered in restaurants of this quality, but they undoubtedly are adequate for most patrons, and their flavor can fail to satisfy no one.
The Newcastle Inn
River Road
Newcastle
563-5685 / 800-832-8669
http://www.newcastleinn.com/
Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 4
Dinner hours: 7:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
7:00 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday in summer
Credit cards: all major
Price range: fixed table d'hôte $43.50
Vegetarian dishes: none
Reservations: required
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: front step with assistance
The bottom line: Charm, comfort, warmth and excellent cuisine
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: WINDOWS ON THE WATER, KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: WINDOWS ON THE WATER, KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE
John Chuckman
Windows on the Water is at the end of a short, quaint, residential street with a gradual slope, appropriately enough called Chase Hill Road.
The ambiance of this restaurant comes from a pleasant mix of elements, no one of which is by itself outstanding. The view - the walls facing the river are lined with tall windows - is pretty rather than breathtaking. The room's decoration - framed prints, mirrors, and dried floral arrangements on warm white walls with a pinkish faux-marble section below the chair rail - is relaxing rather than glamorous. Tables are neatly set with a double layer of crisp white linen, wine and water glasses, silverware, and tall, rectangular smoked-glass candle holders.
The windows once looked directly on the river, but a low, rather nondescript, commercial building now stands between the hill and the water, although you still enjoy a view of the river and other aspects of the pretty village. The hill on the windows' side is steep and handsomely landscaped with a stairway up from the small looping road below.
A sense of intimacy is suggested through the restaurant's division into smaller rooms. Intimacy is also suggested by the cooking area in an alcove of the room nearest the entrance. You pass the cooks on your way in and out. This is a very agreeable arrangement and communicates quite literally the importance of cooking.
The ambiance of these rooms is enhanced by the most exceptional service I have experienced in years. Our waitress displayed knowledge, humor, and true grace in her work. She was supported by a busboy who was well-trained, pleasant, and exceptionally helpful. I have no way of knowing whether these qualities characterize all staff at Windows on the Water, but I can't imagine the slightest suggestion for improving the service we enjoyed.
Windows serves a soft-textured, herbed bread with a bottle of garlic-infused olive oil. These are both excellent, but I think a crustier, provincial-style bread would better match the olive oil. Sweet butter suits this kind of very refined bread.
There is a four-page wine list with selections from all major wine-growing areas, California being most prominent. While there are some pricey wines, there are many bottles under $25. About half the selections are available by the glass. We both had glasses of Erath Pinot Noir, 1998 ($7.50), an Oregon wine we had never tasted. This is delicious stuff - smooth, with a good range of pleasant undertones.
Well equipped with bread and wine, we studied the menu. I was disappointed that an appetizer that had riveted my attention on Windows' Internet site - seared duck and ginger dumplings in orange, fennel sauce - was gone from the current menu. (Ah, even the miraculous Internet requires regular, old-fashioned up-dating to work its wonders.) Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp ($10) seemed a promising substitute. Portabello carpaccio ($8), deliciously described on the menu, made an easy second choice.
The shrimp did compensate for the missing dumplings - four large shrimp, with the flavor of fresh horseradish, each wrapped in a slice of prosciutto, lightly grilled, and served on tiny cubes of fresh mango and pineapple - absolutely delicious.
The portabello plate was beautiful - thin, very fresh slices of the large, meaty mushrooms, drizzled lightly with crème fraiche and a mild balsamic reduction, sprinkled with parmesan, and served with fresh, mixed greens.
Windows offers some intriguing salads. One influence at work here, just as with some of the appetizers, is what sometimes is called fusion-cooking, the combining of elements from vastly different cuisines. Without disciplined culinary imagination and judgment, fusion-cooking can be disastrous, but the requisite talent is quite apparent here.
We had non-traditional greens ($3 with dinner/ $10 a la carte) - a salad of baby greens, roasted shallots, dried cranberries, golden raisins, and pomegranate dressing. The baby greens, like all those used at Windows, are notably fresh, tender, and crisp - a good indicator of care and knowledge about food. Pomegranate syrup, used in cooking from North Africa and the Middle East, is rarely found here, but it is a delicious, tartly sweet ingredient for dressing a salad like this. I recommend this salad highly to those wanting to try something a little out of the ordinary.
Our other salad was the chef's weekly selection, which this particular week consisted of a serving of orzo, large, beautiful slices of red and yellow tomatoes, a sprinkling of pine nuts, and a nicely balanced vinaigrette ($7) - excellent.
Windows' entrees emphasize seafood, but a sirloin, a filet mignon, a sensational-sounding rack of lamb (herb-crusted with Madeira demi-glace and Kalamata tapenade), and a chicken dish are on the menu. As well, the menu promises best efforts at any special request. Our choices were pan-seared Atlantic salmon ($23) and sautéed haddock fillet ($22).
These entrees are served in large, colorful, shallow bowls that carry a pleasant association of bounty, and the entrees are generous. The salmon is a thick, crusted fillet, topped with a compote or salad of cucumber and red onion, two little mounds of creamy mashed potatoes at its sides, and a thick carrot-sauce underneath. The salmon is lightly and pleasantly crusted with sorrel, a slightly sour herb. The flesh was cooked a touch beyond my ideal (and difficult to obtain) point of perfect succulence, but it was moist and delicate. The compote was tinged with ginger. The carrot-sauce, a thick puree really, had Asian undertones and made an excellent match for the salmon. The mashed potatoes were creamy perfection.
Our lightly sautéed haddock, again a generous filet, came with rissoled potatoes, a caper-and-tomato topping, and a lobster-based broth flavored with dill and lemongrass. These flavors blended beautifully, the capers being especially nice with haddock.
I was delighted with the whimsy of the dessert menu's root-beer float (Window's own brew and house-made vanilla ice cream - $6.75), a deluxe version of what children of the Midwest call a black cow. Nothing could have appealed more strongly on a summer evening after a substantial meal.
Our other cooling choice was three flavors of house-made sorbet ($6.75), the evening's flavors being mango, raspberry, and watermelon. The mango and raspberry were pure, sweet essence of chilled fruit - sensational. The watermelon was not successful, but this was not surprising, since I have made watermelon sorbet from two recipes, both unsuccessful. There is something about the delicately sweet flavor of watermelon that does not tolerate the additional sugar required for sorbet.
Our bill was $126.60. I left with regrets over not trying the crème brûlée, about which the menu makes very heady claims, but, for the sake of variety in writing, I try avoiding dishes I've mentioned a couple of times. I equally regretted not trying, for the same reason, the lobster bisque which is said to be award-winning. But then, that's how it should be with a truly excellent restaurant: There's always reason to return.
Windows On The Water
12 Chase Hill Road
Kennebunkport
967-3313
http://www.windowsonthewater.com/Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Dinner hours: 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday
5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday
5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily
Credit cards: all major
Vegetarian dishes: on request
Price range: entrees $20 to $38 (one at market)
Reservations: recommended
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: throughout
The bottom line: Excellent cuisine and great service in a pleasant, informal setting
RESTAURANT REVIEW: WINDOWS ON THE WATER, KENNEBUNKPORT, MAINE
John Chuckman
Windows on the Water is at the end of a short, quaint, residential street with a gradual slope, appropriately enough called Chase Hill Road.
The ambiance of this restaurant comes from a pleasant mix of elements, no one of which is by itself outstanding. The view - the walls facing the river are lined with tall windows - is pretty rather than breathtaking. The room's decoration - framed prints, mirrors, and dried floral arrangements on warm white walls with a pinkish faux-marble section below the chair rail - is relaxing rather than glamorous. Tables are neatly set with a double layer of crisp white linen, wine and water glasses, silverware, and tall, rectangular smoked-glass candle holders.
The windows once looked directly on the river, but a low, rather nondescript, commercial building now stands between the hill and the water, although you still enjoy a view of the river and other aspects of the pretty village. The hill on the windows' side is steep and handsomely landscaped with a stairway up from the small looping road below.
A sense of intimacy is suggested through the restaurant's division into smaller rooms. Intimacy is also suggested by the cooking area in an alcove of the room nearest the entrance. You pass the cooks on your way in and out. This is a very agreeable arrangement and communicates quite literally the importance of cooking.
The ambiance of these rooms is enhanced by the most exceptional service I have experienced in years. Our waitress displayed knowledge, humor, and true grace in her work. She was supported by a busboy who was well-trained, pleasant, and exceptionally helpful. I have no way of knowing whether these qualities characterize all staff at Windows on the Water, but I can't imagine the slightest suggestion for improving the service we enjoyed.
Windows serves a soft-textured, herbed bread with a bottle of garlic-infused olive oil. These are both excellent, but I think a crustier, provincial-style bread would better match the olive oil. Sweet butter suits this kind of very refined bread.
There is a four-page wine list with selections from all major wine-growing areas, California being most prominent. While there are some pricey wines, there are many bottles under $25. About half the selections are available by the glass. We both had glasses of Erath Pinot Noir, 1998 ($7.50), an Oregon wine we had never tasted. This is delicious stuff - smooth, with a good range of pleasant undertones.
Well equipped with bread and wine, we studied the menu. I was disappointed that an appetizer that had riveted my attention on Windows' Internet site - seared duck and ginger dumplings in orange, fennel sauce - was gone from the current menu. (Ah, even the miraculous Internet requires regular, old-fashioned up-dating to work its wonders.) Prosciutto-wrapped shrimp ($10) seemed a promising substitute. Portabello carpaccio ($8), deliciously described on the menu, made an easy second choice.
The shrimp did compensate for the missing dumplings - four large shrimp, with the flavor of fresh horseradish, each wrapped in a slice of prosciutto, lightly grilled, and served on tiny cubes of fresh mango and pineapple - absolutely delicious.
The portabello plate was beautiful - thin, very fresh slices of the large, meaty mushrooms, drizzled lightly with crème fraiche and a mild balsamic reduction, sprinkled with parmesan, and served with fresh, mixed greens.
Windows offers some intriguing salads. One influence at work here, just as with some of the appetizers, is what sometimes is called fusion-cooking, the combining of elements from vastly different cuisines. Without disciplined culinary imagination and judgment, fusion-cooking can be disastrous, but the requisite talent is quite apparent here.
We had non-traditional greens ($3 with dinner/ $10 a la carte) - a salad of baby greens, roasted shallots, dried cranberries, golden raisins, and pomegranate dressing. The baby greens, like all those used at Windows, are notably fresh, tender, and crisp - a good indicator of care and knowledge about food. Pomegranate syrup, used in cooking from North Africa and the Middle East, is rarely found here, but it is a delicious, tartly sweet ingredient for dressing a salad like this. I recommend this salad highly to those wanting to try something a little out of the ordinary.
Our other salad was the chef's weekly selection, which this particular week consisted of a serving of orzo, large, beautiful slices of red and yellow tomatoes, a sprinkling of pine nuts, and a nicely balanced vinaigrette ($7) - excellent.
Windows' entrees emphasize seafood, but a sirloin, a filet mignon, a sensational-sounding rack of lamb (herb-crusted with Madeira demi-glace and Kalamata tapenade), and a chicken dish are on the menu. As well, the menu promises best efforts at any special request. Our choices were pan-seared Atlantic salmon ($23) and sautéed haddock fillet ($22).
These entrees are served in large, colorful, shallow bowls that carry a pleasant association of bounty, and the entrees are generous. The salmon is a thick, crusted fillet, topped with a compote or salad of cucumber and red onion, two little mounds of creamy mashed potatoes at its sides, and a thick carrot-sauce underneath. The salmon is lightly and pleasantly crusted with sorrel, a slightly sour herb. The flesh was cooked a touch beyond my ideal (and difficult to obtain) point of perfect succulence, but it was moist and delicate. The compote was tinged with ginger. The carrot-sauce, a thick puree really, had Asian undertones and made an excellent match for the salmon. The mashed potatoes were creamy perfection.
Our lightly sautéed haddock, again a generous filet, came with rissoled potatoes, a caper-and-tomato topping, and a lobster-based broth flavored with dill and lemongrass. These flavors blended beautifully, the capers being especially nice with haddock.
I was delighted with the whimsy of the dessert menu's root-beer float (Window's own brew and house-made vanilla ice cream - $6.75), a deluxe version of what children of the Midwest call a black cow. Nothing could have appealed more strongly on a summer evening after a substantial meal.
Our other cooling choice was three flavors of house-made sorbet ($6.75), the evening's flavors being mango, raspberry, and watermelon. The mango and raspberry were pure, sweet essence of chilled fruit - sensational. The watermelon was not successful, but this was not surprising, since I have made watermelon sorbet from two recipes, both unsuccessful. There is something about the delicately sweet flavor of watermelon that does not tolerate the additional sugar required for sorbet.
Our bill was $126.60. I left with regrets over not trying the crème brûlée, about which the menu makes very heady claims, but, for the sake of variety in writing, I try avoiding dishes I've mentioned a couple of times. I equally regretted not trying, for the same reason, the lobster bisque which is said to be award-winning. But then, that's how it should be with a truly excellent restaurant: There's always reason to return.
Windows On The Water
12 Chase Hill Road
Kennebunkport
967-3313
http://www.windowsonthewater.com/Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Dinner hours: 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday
5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday
5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Lunch hours: 11:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily
Credit cards: all major
Vegetarian dishes: on request
Price range: entrees $20 to $38 (one at market)
Reservations: recommended
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: throughout
The bottom line: Excellent cuisine and great service in a pleasant, informal setting
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: SEASCAPES, CAPE PORPOISE, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegramwhen I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: SEASCAPES, CAPE PORPOISE, MAINE
John Chuckman
Seascapes is at the end of a small peninsula running down from the center of Cape Porpoise, near a pier where lobster traps are stacked, the harbormaster's office is located, and a seaside chowder house draws crowds to eat under umbrellas. At first approach, you don't fully appreciate the setting, for you see an attractive newer building, trees, some of the pier and older buildings down to one side. It is only from inside with your first view of the large windows covering two sides of the dining room that you realize you are comfortably perched on a rocky rise above the water.
Your first sight inside is a grand piano, and, when we entered, people were having drinks around it - a scene truly reminiscent of a Greta Garbo movie. Near the piano is a comfortable lounge area which later filled with people waiting for tables.
We made our reservation early enough to be seated at a window. It's hard to resist craning your head around and showing a little excitement at the view, although this is almost certainly not the kind of thing you're supposed to do in a place with a piano bar. The pilings of the pier carry the umbrellas and a few ramshackle buildings out over the water. Skiffs are placidly tied up near the pier and lobster boats are moored further out. A small island, as green as Ireland with all the rain we've had, lies a short way out. The inlet that helps define the peninsula stretches across the front and around the far wall's set of windows. Dotted here and there are homes along its shore.
With the size of the windows, the view is with you pretty well wherever you sit. Actually, as the large room fills up - and it does fill up - sitting by the window gives you some sensation of being on stage. You might want to consider this when making a reservation. There is a set of French doors (not open that evening) at one end of the far wall leading out onto a little grassy area with lawn tables and chairs, nestled into trees and rock outcropping. Locations don't come much nicer than this.
Such a setting tweaks the culinary skeptic in me: a lot of artfully located eateries in this world live off views instead of cooking. And the room itself tended to reinforce this prejudice. It has a somewhat dated, slightly stodgy style even though the restaurant only goes back a dozen years.
It has the look of a place where not many years ago you would find a no-jacket-no-service policy, but gracious informality prevails (I wouldn't recommend pushing it with shorts or tee-shirts). Service is informed, attentive, and friendly, although with the hostess busy when we first entered, nearby staff were definitely a bit slow in breaking their conversation to recognize our waiting.
And some interior details are notable for lack of attention. Although tables are set with linen, a sprig of flowers, an elegant tall candle (as the room dims later, these flickering candles at every table of the big room are enchanting), the light green color of the linen makes a washed-out impression in early evening sunlight, and, more importantly, it has not been pressed crisply, light rumples being evident at the sides of tables. The dark green carpet has reached the point it needs some sprucing up. The suspended ceiling, despite being divided up by some wood beams, does not sit well aesthetically atop satiny off-white striped wallpaper, coach-lights, a fireplace, and a series of quite nice, small, original paintings.
The wine list is a nine-sheet portfolio with some very fine, and very pricey, wines, although there is a sizable section at the back with each bottle at $25. The first page provides a selection by the glass. We had a California Burlwood Chardonnay ($7.00) and a French Merlot from the Pays d'Oc ($7.50). I expected the Merlot to be nothing too much since Pays d'Oc is where the French grow a lot of their mass-oriented table wines, but this proved a very respectable, tasty Merlot. The Burlwood Chardonnay is poor, lacking the sharp fruitiness and floral quality that make Chardonnay Chardonnay.
My culinary skepticism evaporated with the appetizers, and we began to anticipate a truly exceptional meal. The crab and lobster bisque ($8.95), sprinkled with fresh chives, has house-made lobster stock in a creamy soup-base with chunks of seafood that retain all their fresh texture and flavor.
The P.E.I. mussels steamed in garlic, tomatoes, beer (Geary's, the menu advises - $8.95), and, as it proved, orange wedges - an ingredient which struck me at first as a mistake - proved sensational. The mussels were delicious morsels, and their broth was ambrosia. Grand Hotel piano bar or not, reader, be assured every drop was sopped up with bread.
Could the salads match the appetizers? We had spinach salad with spiced pears ($8.50) and spring greens ($5.50). Indeed, the spinach salad does: fresh spinach with slices of red onion, crisp-fried pancetta, slices of spiced pear, crumbled feta cheese, and sherry-mustard vinaigrette. This is an update of a traditional salad, but what an update - absolutely delicious. I fully intend to impress guests at home by imitating it.
The spring greens come with thinly sliced cucumber, long, thin shreds of carrot, bits of Roma tomato, and a hazlenut-flavored vinaigrette. This is elegant treatment for a simple salad, a good choice for those not wanting rich trimmings.
The cooking at Seascapes isn't daring or highly innovative, just superbly well done. Most dishes are versions of familiar ones that have been given an interesting twist. Thus, Christina's jumbo shrimp ($21.95) over cream-sauced fettuccine has a pleasing but unsurprising medley of feta cheese, Kalamatta olives, and tomato bits - combined with broccoli! Now, unlike a certain former president who apparently has patronized Seascapes, I enjoy broccoli, yet it is not an ingredient I would have used here.
But it works. It is used sparingly in tiny florets still with a bit of crunch. Each element of this dish has been cooked for its optimum time, the shrimp still plump and firm, the tomato bits not stewed away. Such timing of elements is a detail that characterizes first-class cooking.
Our other entrée was grilled pork tenderloin with potato pancake and apple, pear and raisin chutney ($23.50). You just wonder whether chutney suits a dish whose origins are largely Germanic, chutneys generally being preserves with the spices of India. But it does. A thick, beautifully made, coarse-textured potato pancake comes drizzled with a reduction sauce, a few large blackberries sprinkled on the side, topped with thick slices of pork tenderloin and a cinnamon-tinged chutney that somewhat resembles the fruit slices of truly excellent pie-filling. This is a superb dish - beautifully prepared with each element happily reinforcing the flavors of the others.
After such a meal, could your reviewer manage the rigors of dessert? Yes, indeed, when the offerings included vanilla-rum crème brulee ($7.95) and chocolate souffle ($7.95).
Our waitress suitably advised us that the souffle would take 15 minutes to rise. For those who make these touchy things at home, as I sometimes do, it is always a wonder how they can be offered in restaurants. We waited with coffee.
The brulee was near perfection with caramel-crusted top (I understand chiefs often use a blowtorch to achieve this wonderful effect) and an interior of luxurious, silken creaminess, accompanied with some fresh fruit. This is an old dessert, but when it is done this well, few others can match it.
The souffle had a warm, cakey-crusted chocolate shell, sprinkled with powdered sugar, an interior of oozy chocolate custard, some fresh berries on the side, and a dab of crème anglaise - well worth waiting for.
Our bill came to $134.02. Passing several happily crowded tables on the way out, we glimpsed plates with the rack of lamb and the stuffed lobster. They were beautiful. Maybe it was just the effect of candle light or the tinkling piano or the mellowness that lingers from a fine meal, but I don't think so.
NUGGETS:
Seascapes Restaurant
On the Pier, Cape Porpoise
(207) 967-8500
Food: 4 1/2 Stars
Atmosphere: 4 Stars
Service: 4 Stars
Dinner Hours: Sunday through Thursday: 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday: 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM
(Note: Seascapes is only open from mid-April to mid-October)
Lunch Hours: Lunch only served after Labor Day
All Major Credit Cards
Price Range: Entrees: $18.95 to $29.00 with a few at "daily"
Vegetarian Dishes: A Daily Special
Reservations: Strongly Recommended
Bar: Full
Wheelchair Access: Throughout Restaurant, but None to Bathrooms on Second Floor
Simply Excellent Cuisine in a Comfortable Room with a Beautiful Setting
RESTAURANT REVIEW: SEASCAPES, CAPE PORPOISE, MAINE
John Chuckman
Seascapes is at the end of a small peninsula running down from the center of Cape Porpoise, near a pier where lobster traps are stacked, the harbormaster's office is located, and a seaside chowder house draws crowds to eat under umbrellas. At first approach, you don't fully appreciate the setting, for you see an attractive newer building, trees, some of the pier and older buildings down to one side. It is only from inside with your first view of the large windows covering two sides of the dining room that you realize you are comfortably perched on a rocky rise above the water.
Your first sight inside is a grand piano, and, when we entered, people were having drinks around it - a scene truly reminiscent of a Greta Garbo movie. Near the piano is a comfortable lounge area which later filled with people waiting for tables.
We made our reservation early enough to be seated at a window. It's hard to resist craning your head around and showing a little excitement at the view, although this is almost certainly not the kind of thing you're supposed to do in a place with a piano bar. The pilings of the pier carry the umbrellas and a few ramshackle buildings out over the water. Skiffs are placidly tied up near the pier and lobster boats are moored further out. A small island, as green as Ireland with all the rain we've had, lies a short way out. The inlet that helps define the peninsula stretches across the front and around the far wall's set of windows. Dotted here and there are homes along its shore.
With the size of the windows, the view is with you pretty well wherever you sit. Actually, as the large room fills up - and it does fill up - sitting by the window gives you some sensation of being on stage. You might want to consider this when making a reservation. There is a set of French doors (not open that evening) at one end of the far wall leading out onto a little grassy area with lawn tables and chairs, nestled into trees and rock outcropping. Locations don't come much nicer than this.
Such a setting tweaks the culinary skeptic in me: a lot of artfully located eateries in this world live off views instead of cooking. And the room itself tended to reinforce this prejudice. It has a somewhat dated, slightly stodgy style even though the restaurant only goes back a dozen years.
It has the look of a place where not many years ago you would find a no-jacket-no-service policy, but gracious informality prevails (I wouldn't recommend pushing it with shorts or tee-shirts). Service is informed, attentive, and friendly, although with the hostess busy when we first entered, nearby staff were definitely a bit slow in breaking their conversation to recognize our waiting.
And some interior details are notable for lack of attention. Although tables are set with linen, a sprig of flowers, an elegant tall candle (as the room dims later, these flickering candles at every table of the big room are enchanting), the light green color of the linen makes a washed-out impression in early evening sunlight, and, more importantly, it has not been pressed crisply, light rumples being evident at the sides of tables. The dark green carpet has reached the point it needs some sprucing up. The suspended ceiling, despite being divided up by some wood beams, does not sit well aesthetically atop satiny off-white striped wallpaper, coach-lights, a fireplace, and a series of quite nice, small, original paintings.
The wine list is a nine-sheet portfolio with some very fine, and very pricey, wines, although there is a sizable section at the back with each bottle at $25. The first page provides a selection by the glass. We had a California Burlwood Chardonnay ($7.00) and a French Merlot from the Pays d'Oc ($7.50). I expected the Merlot to be nothing too much since Pays d'Oc is where the French grow a lot of their mass-oriented table wines, but this proved a very respectable, tasty Merlot. The Burlwood Chardonnay is poor, lacking the sharp fruitiness and floral quality that make Chardonnay Chardonnay.
My culinary skepticism evaporated with the appetizers, and we began to anticipate a truly exceptional meal. The crab and lobster bisque ($8.95), sprinkled with fresh chives, has house-made lobster stock in a creamy soup-base with chunks of seafood that retain all their fresh texture and flavor.
The P.E.I. mussels steamed in garlic, tomatoes, beer (Geary's, the menu advises - $8.95), and, as it proved, orange wedges - an ingredient which struck me at first as a mistake - proved sensational. The mussels were delicious morsels, and their broth was ambrosia. Grand Hotel piano bar or not, reader, be assured every drop was sopped up with bread.
Could the salads match the appetizers? We had spinach salad with spiced pears ($8.50) and spring greens ($5.50). Indeed, the spinach salad does: fresh spinach with slices of red onion, crisp-fried pancetta, slices of spiced pear, crumbled feta cheese, and sherry-mustard vinaigrette. This is an update of a traditional salad, but what an update - absolutely delicious. I fully intend to impress guests at home by imitating it.
The spring greens come with thinly sliced cucumber, long, thin shreds of carrot, bits of Roma tomato, and a hazlenut-flavored vinaigrette. This is elegant treatment for a simple salad, a good choice for those not wanting rich trimmings.
The cooking at Seascapes isn't daring or highly innovative, just superbly well done. Most dishes are versions of familiar ones that have been given an interesting twist. Thus, Christina's jumbo shrimp ($21.95) over cream-sauced fettuccine has a pleasing but unsurprising medley of feta cheese, Kalamatta olives, and tomato bits - combined with broccoli! Now, unlike a certain former president who apparently has patronized Seascapes, I enjoy broccoli, yet it is not an ingredient I would have used here.
But it works. It is used sparingly in tiny florets still with a bit of crunch. Each element of this dish has been cooked for its optimum time, the shrimp still plump and firm, the tomato bits not stewed away. Such timing of elements is a detail that characterizes first-class cooking.
Our other entrée was grilled pork tenderloin with potato pancake and apple, pear and raisin chutney ($23.50). You just wonder whether chutney suits a dish whose origins are largely Germanic, chutneys generally being preserves with the spices of India. But it does. A thick, beautifully made, coarse-textured potato pancake comes drizzled with a reduction sauce, a few large blackberries sprinkled on the side, topped with thick slices of pork tenderloin and a cinnamon-tinged chutney that somewhat resembles the fruit slices of truly excellent pie-filling. This is a superb dish - beautifully prepared with each element happily reinforcing the flavors of the others.
After such a meal, could your reviewer manage the rigors of dessert? Yes, indeed, when the offerings included vanilla-rum crème brulee ($7.95) and chocolate souffle ($7.95).
Our waitress suitably advised us that the souffle would take 15 minutes to rise. For those who make these touchy things at home, as I sometimes do, it is always a wonder how they can be offered in restaurants. We waited with coffee.
The brulee was near perfection with caramel-crusted top (I understand chiefs often use a blowtorch to achieve this wonderful effect) and an interior of luxurious, silken creaminess, accompanied with some fresh fruit. This is an old dessert, but when it is done this well, few others can match it.
The souffle had a warm, cakey-crusted chocolate shell, sprinkled with powdered sugar, an interior of oozy chocolate custard, some fresh berries on the side, and a dab of crème anglaise - well worth waiting for.
Our bill came to $134.02. Passing several happily crowded tables on the way out, we glimpsed plates with the rack of lamb and the stuffed lobster. They were beautiful. Maybe it was just the effect of candle light or the tinkling piano or the mellowness that lingers from a fine meal, but I don't think so.
NUGGETS:
Seascapes Restaurant
On the Pier, Cape Porpoise
(207) 967-8500
Food: 4 1/2 Stars
Atmosphere: 4 Stars
Service: 4 Stars
Dinner Hours: Sunday through Thursday: 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Friday and Saturday: 5:30 PM - 10:00 PM
(Note: Seascapes is only open from mid-April to mid-October)
Lunch Hours: Lunch only served after Labor Day
All Major Credit Cards
Price Range: Entrees: $18.95 to $29.00 with a few at "daily"
Vegetarian Dishes: A Daily Special
Reservations: Strongly Recommended
Bar: Full
Wheelchair Access: Throughout Restaurant, but None to Bathrooms on Second Floor
Simply Excellent Cuisine in a Comfortable Room with a Beautiful Setting
JOHN CHUCKMAN RESTAURANT REVIEW: PROVINCE, OGUNQUIT, MAINE
Review of an outstanding restaurant written for The Maine Sunday Telegram when I served as restaurant reviewer there. Menu, prices, and possibly other information are now out of date.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: PROVINCE, OGUNQUIT, MAINE
John Chuckman
Just the name Provence conjures images of lavender-laden fields, sun-drenched orchards, and red roof-tiled villages where shopkeepers leave little notes on their doors at noon about being back from the Café Zozo in two hours. The approach to our Provence, despite a handsome apple tree in the front garden and a trim sign picturing lavender, is not like this, for this charming white frame building is very much a part of its environment, the pristine New England of Ogunquit.
But enter the restaurant and images of a village in France return. There is a small bar in one corner from which wine, café au lait, and cappuccino are dispensed to waiters or anyone who wishes to sit there. A few comfortable armchairs near the center of the room recall the lobby of a pleasant, small hotel. There is an intimate table by a front corner window where a young couple was eating. A hostess, clearly French from the first notes of her voice, keeps track of guests and reservations at her lectern. It is all done with a comfortable blend of simplicity and elegance.
We came early, and, on being advised it would be a few minutes for our table, we were about to go for a walk when the very pleasant woman who runs the bar approached and offered us wine or drinks while we waited in the armchairs. Now, who, dear reader, would refuse an offer like that?
We were soon comfortably sipping glasses of Chateau Sergant, Lalande de Pomerol, 1996 ($7.50) and Pinot Grigio, Maso Poli, 1998 ($5.75), enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and studying the menu. The chairs are in front of a fireplace which must be delightful in the late fall.
In a few minutes we were shown into the dining room, a more dimly lit room which feels very much like a small provincial French restaurant with its wide-planked pine floor, hanging soft overhead lights, cotton-print tablecloths in various patterns and colors, candles in glass holders, lace window curtains, little collections of porcelain pitchers and metal fighting cocks on sills and shelves, and a stone fireplace. Low folding screens, painted with cotton print insets, separate the two rows of tables that are away from the walls.
Waiters wear long white aprons, a proud, dignified symbol we see too infrequently today.
The room is fairly small, a fact that raised my culinary hopes since cooking for small rooms best allows a kitchen to excel. The room was delightfully full of people clearly having a good time. Yet we didn't feel crowded at all - an intimate, cozy and friendly atmosphere prevails. And, as I observed over the evening, the room is efficiently kept full. The way the staff briskly achieved this while extending a high level of friendly and informed service displayed an uncommon degree of professionalism in Provence's management.
The choice of appetizers includes items as diverse and delicious-sounding as roast quail flesh stuffed with cherries and a bowl of mussels, shrimp, scallop, and fish in fresh fennel broth. We had escargots with steamed summer vegetables in garlic mayonnaise ($9) and grilled sea scallops with truffle vinaigrette ($12).
The escargots were delicious under their rich dollop of lemony, garlic-infused mayonnaise (aïoli) with several vegetables including cauliflower, red sweet pepper, slices of fennel, and yellow garden beans. The sea scallops were magnificent - plump, lightly sautéed, and drizzled with a savory vinaigrette including a very fine grating of carrot which was wonderfully suitable.
Next we enjoyed a salad of baby greens ($5) and the soup of the day ($6), a chilled velouté with fresh herbs. The salad was a simple mix of fresh greens, tossed in a honey and lime dressing (as is more typically the case in Europe, the dressing being an integral part of the salad, a choice of other dressings is not offered) - simple, yes, but so deftly done. The dressing is balanced between tart and sweet elements, imparting a pleasantly astringent taste to the greens - perfectly refreshing.
A velouté is made with stock added to white sauce. Flavored and served hot or cold, it makes a good soup. The underlying white sauce at Provence has been properly simmered so there is no hint of starchiness, allowing it to provide a creamy base for the chicken stock heavily laced with herbs - delicious and most suitable for a summer evening.
It is so pleasant to find a restaurant where each course is as tasty as its enticing description on the menu - sadly, a situation much less common than it should be. Enjoying one good thing, anticipating the next with assurance that it, too, will be enjoyable, is surely part of an excellent meal. So it is at Provence.
And what entrees we had to look forward to - a cumin-flavored braised lamb shank ($20) and pan-roasted duck breast in ginger-orange sauce ($26).
The lamb shank was beautifully cooked, with the Arabian-Night fragrance of cumin, and served with a delicious couscous including pine nuts and raisins, drizzled reduction from the pan, and roasted tomatoes on top.
The slices of duck came spread over a layer of dark orange-brown sauce, pungent with the scent of zest and ginger, and accompanied by a selection of the same steamed vegetables served with the escargots. The flesh was moist and delectable, the sauce tangy and rich. Indeed, after I had taken my last swipe with bread, the hostess stopped, touching my shoulder, and laughingly asked if a small spot left on my otherwise clean plate perhaps indicated I had not enjoyed it. I responded by promptly applying another crust to the plate. Yes, reader, it was that good.
We finished our meal with a pot de crème au citron ($7) and nougat glacé ($7). As its name suggests, the crème au citron is a lemony custard, actually it is a wonderfully lemony custard, full of the sharp flavor of lemon and lemon zest, served with a dollop of whipped cream.
The nougat, recommended by our waiter as his favorite, is a wedge of frozen meringue packed with nuts and plumped, dried fruits. It is very rich and tasty.
I have only one criticism of Provence's food, one that several other very good restaurants I've reviewed share, and that is the bread. It is baguette, decent enough, but without the character of true baguette with its wonderfully crisp and chewy crust. (For readers and restaurants, I'll just mention that Maine does have a source for a satisfyingly authentic baguette. Standard Bakery in Portland uses traditional methods and a genuine French oven to produce it.)
Our bill came to $135.36. As we stepped into the night, the window on the porch glowed with soft light and the cheery view of people happily gathered around tables.
The evening was so inviting, we walked down the street towards the water. Ogunquit is a place we had only visited briefly in the day, but it is an enchanting fairyland at night with trees and parts of gardens artfully lighted, the warm light of shop windows and restaurants, and tourists out happily strolling. Perkins Cove, an extremely picturesque spot, is a short walk away.
98 Provence
104 Shore Road, Ogunquit
646-9898
www.98provence.com
Food: 4 1/2
Atmosphere: 4 1/2
Service: 4 1/2
Dinner hours: 5:30 - 9:00 PM Wednesday through Monday
Closed Tuesday
Lunch hours: none
(Note: Provence closes mid-December to April)
All major credit cards
Price range: entrees $18 - $30 with some priced daily
Provence has a table d'hôte offering at $32
Vegetarian dishes: none
Reservations: strongly recommended
Bar: full
Wheelchair access: throughout (a portable ramp is used for front stair)
Truly excellent, authentic French cuisine in a charming, comfortable environment
JOHN CHUCKMAN ESSAY: CHICAGO, A PERSONAL AND SENTIMENTAL TOUR
This piece was written in 2001 for a friend who was to spend a week in my hometown, Chicago. I think it provides still a valuable personal view of the city, although a few things have changed since that time: the wonderful old Berghoff Restaurant is gone; the venerable Marshall Field Department Store has become Macy's.
If you view my multi-volume collection of Chicago postcards (Chuckman's Collection, http://chuckmancollection.blogspot.com/), you can get an even better feel for some of the things discussed here.
If you look at a site called The Overflow at 79th (http://groupchi.com/gallery3/), you will find many albums of personal photographs and memories about growing up in a Chicago neighborhood, among them Chuckman's Places.
CHICAGO, A PERSONAL AND SENTIMENTAL TOUR
John Chuckman
A word about addresses in Chicago: The city
has the clearest-to-understand system in the world with a grid centered on
State and Madison downtown. Addresses running west of State have West in the name; those running east of
State have East. Addresses north of
Madison have North in the name; those
south have South.
Many cities go this far, but Chicago's grid
has additional helpful information. A city block is regarded as being "one
hundred." Thus, 250 West Something is about two and half blocks west of
State. 7900 North Somewhere is seventy-nine blocks north of Madison. You know
exactly where something is when given an accurate address. And with roughly
eight blocks to the mile, you can quickly understand about how far away it is.
This numbering system even extends into many old-tier suburbs; thus 159th
Street near Harvey is 159 blocks, or just about twenty miles from Madison
downtown.
The great vistas, neighborhoods, museums,
and buildings of Chicago are just too many and too far-flung to take in on a
brief visit. Chicago has long been a very ambitious city, and its buildings and
institutions clearly show this. The city has declined from its height of
population in the 1950s (then, the city proper was over 3 1/2 million; now it
is about 2.9 million, but greater Chicago - what locals call
"Chicagoland" - has 6 to 7 million. Its cultural institutions reflect
support of a large population.). I have highlighted some points of special
interest below, some of which will not be found in the typical tourist blurbs.
Taking in some mix of these will give anyone a very good appreciation of
Chicago's best and of its rich and interesting history.
Wacker Drive, where your hotel is located,
runs along the Chicago River. It is a beautiful street, and it has a unique
characteristic of being two-tiered - there is an underground area (not scenic),
used for deliveries, etc. It is also an important connector to expressways.
Unfortunately, Chicago has just started a major two-year rebuilding of Wacker
Drive. I have no idea of how or whether this will affect pedestrian access in
the area. If you look across the river you will see the famous Marina City
Apartments on the river (built 1959 by Bertrand Goldberg). The
"spiral" part is parking. Years ago, every year they lined all sixty
floors with strings of white Christmas lights every year - quite a stunning
sight, but something I don't believe is done anymore.
Michigan Avenue, which intersects Wacker at
a beautiful lift bridge (note the Depression era "workers" bas relief
sculpture), has wonderful things in both directions, north and south. North is
one of the world's great elegant shopping streets, ending at Oak Street beach,
a beautiful public beach right downtown. Beyond this, going north, is the Outer
Drive with miles of condos and apartments looking on the lake.
Turning south, Michigan is a beautiful
boulevard by gracious parks. The area is dotted with museums and cultural
institutions (some explained below). At the corner of Randolph and South
Michigan (Grant Park opens out here on other side of street), there is a
classic building, now called the Chicago Cultural Center, that was the
old central library. I've never seen the exhibits here, but I believe they have
some interesting stuff including a lot of memorablia around Burr Tilstrom's
Kukla, Fran, and Ollie - the dearest puppet show ever created. Even if you see
no exhibits, the building is worth a visit for the mosaic ceilings and grand
stairway (mosaic ceilings were big at the early 20th century in
Chicago - City Hall near The Daley Center - see below - has them as does
Marshall Field's Department Store and a number of old bank lobbies).
Turning west from South Michigan at any
street from Randolph to Adams, you come to "the Loop." This nickname
for Chicago's oldest downtown shopping, theater district, city government
buildings, and corporate headquarters derives from a stretch of the elevated
railroad (the "L" to locals) which literally loops the downtown
center. This was one of the world's first elevated railroads (started for the
world's fair, the Columbian Exposition, in 1893) and is a remarkable and
interesting thing. A ride around the Loop, with its little cars, sharp
turns, and big buildings towering above, is one of the great experiences of the
city. You have to be sure not to get on a train going out south or north -
there are trains that circle (ticket booth attendant will advise).
Apart from a ride on the "L"
around the Loop, there are several other things you must do downtown. See the Picasso
sculpture at Daley Center, even if you do not see the many other great
outdoor sculptures described below. This has become a symbol of the city, and
it is quite striking.
You must have lunch or dinner at the Berghoff
(there is a URL reference below. Important: go to the original restaurant on
Adams, not the newer brewery restaurant on the North side of Chicago River does
not have the same atmosphere.). This restaurant is more than a century old
(opened back during the Columbian Exposition), has very tasty German-American
food (they brew their own beers), and has a wonderful, busy, urban feeling. Try
the sauerbraten. Strawberry shortcake in season is excellent. You often used to
have to line up for tables at the busy hours, but that's okay. A great favorite
with sentimental Chicagoans.
You must tour the original Marshall
Field store on State Street (there is a smaller branch store on North
Michigan Avenue - nice, but it cannot compare to this great old place) - there
is a URL below that shows you the store at Christmas. This is one of the great
urban department stores - a full block and thirteen stories high with some very
beautiful architecture. The wonderful old clocks (which are used as a design
for the gold stickers that they seal tissue wrapped gifts with) on State Street
were always a favorite meeting place for people going downtown.
Walk in the State Street side to see in the
southern quarter the beautiful mosaic ceiling. Walk in the northern quarter by
State Street and see the magnificent skylight shaft with balconies going all
the way up - the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in any department store.
Go to the seventh floor to look at
foodstuff for sale (Field's makes many of their own things that are quite
famous - eg, butter crunch muffins,
Frango chocolate mints and mint liqueur. There are several places to eat on
this floor, but the one is The Walnut
Room. Have lunch here. This is where at Christmas time people wait in huge
lines to have lunch under the great Christmas tree. It's a great old
department-store type restaurant.
The store once was a city within a city.
You could get your shoes or watch fixed while you shopped for toys or furniture
or exotic gifts. Today, like most department stores under economic stress, it
is less universal, mostly fashions and expensive house furnishings, but a
beautiful store.
The one must-do you may not be able to do
is a drive along the Outer Drive, both north ( say to Sheridan Road -
nice along there too) and south ( called Lake Shore Drive here - say out to
about the south end of Jackson Park) of downtown. At a non-rush hour period and
a sunny day or evening, there are many beautiful vistas along here. The
lakefront is Chicago's pride and joy with 20 miles of parks, beaches, and
cultural institutions. There really is no other place quite like it.
There are many places from which to get an
aerial view of the city. The two most famous observatories are at The John
Hancock Center (875 North Michigan) and at The Sears Building (233
South Wacker Drive - Wacker is a street oddity, turning as it does with the
river, it has south, east, and west addresses). The Sears Building is the
tallest (110 stories), but its observation deck is actually inferior to the
somewhat shorter Hancock (100 stories). The Hancock is near the lake, and it
gives you a magnificent view up the Outer Drive North with all of its condos
and lakefront (which resembles Rio somewhat from up there).
Chicago is a city of great museums, many of
them the result of local big-name families in the early 20th century.
You cannot visit these all in the time allowed, but several of them are in the
downtown area and some, like the Art Institute, have evening hours.
These great museums made Chicago a very special place for an average child to
grow up because they were all then free to the public (not generally true now).
The Art Institute, Michigan Ave and Adams,
has one of the world's great impressionist collections as well as some
outstanding pictures of other periods. It is a handsome series of buildings
sitting on the expanse of Grant Park The bronze lions are a landmark -
at Christmas, they have huge wreaths with red bows around their necks. The
Fountain of the Great Lakes by Lorado Taft at the northern part of
the Michigan façade is striking (Lorado Taft was the sculptor who did the
twenty-dollar gold piece often regarded as one of the most beautiful of
American coins).
If you go, you must see, if nothing else,
the following: The Renoirs from his peak impressionistic period; Degas' Millinery Shop; Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on La Grande-Jatte (his
greatest picture); van Gogh's Room at
Arles (one of two he painted); Caillebotte's Street in Paris (a lesser painter, but a world-famous picture). El
Greco's Ascension of the Virgin; Grant
Wood's American Gothic; Edward Hopper's
The Nighthawks. The collection of miniature rooms in the basement, from
an eccentric millionaire, is remarkable, accurate down to the last tiny, tiny
detail. There is also a stained glass window in the museum done for them by
Marc Chagall.
The museum's armor collection, only part of
which was on display when I was last there, comes from a wonderful private
museum, called the Harding Museum, that existed when I was a boy. It consisted
of an old south-side mansion packed with armor from various periods and
countries. It was a fascinating place that closed down when its neighborhood
became a hopeless ghetto. The Art Institute purchase in about the 1970s stopped
the armor collection from being broken up.
Chicago also has a large Museum of
Contemporary Art (Ontario Street off North Michigan Avenue), but a more
interesting collection is the one on Chicago streets and squares.
Chicago resembles a European city in this respect. Downtown are Picasso's
giant Untitled at the Daley Center
(Clark and Washington - a gift to the city through someone that knew him,
reportedly in return for the gift of a White Sox uniform); Marc Chagall's
wonderful mosaic The Four Seasons (in
the plaza of First National Bank, Clark and Madison); Dubuffet's Monument with Standing Beast in front of the State of Illinois building
(Randolph just west of State - itself an interesting modern piece of modern
architecture inside by Helmut Jahn); Miró's figure near the Daley Plaza;
Alexander Calder's Flamingo at
the Chicago Federal Center (Dearborn Street between Adams Street and
Jackson Boulevard) There is a wonderful Lincoln monument in Grant Park
near Congress, and two magnificent, huge, mounted Indian figures
(forming a gateway at Michigan Avenue South and Congress Drive). There are many
others of note, but these are the ones in downtown area you may easily see.
If you are at the Daley Center for the
Picasso, note the building too, clearly showing the influence of Mies van der
Rohe. Most interesting is the steel both it and the statue are constructed of.
This special steel is chemically treated and deliberately allowed to rust.
After some years of slow change it develops a beautiful purple, brown color
with a rough texture - most interesting and not widely found.
At the north end of Grant Park ( the
park which runs on the other side of South Michigan Avenue from the handsome
buildings and surrounds the Art Institute), at the lakeside is a group
of museums sometimes called the museum campus. In this group is the Field
Museum of Natural History, a white marble Greek temple with a fantastic
vista on the stairs back towards downtown. This museum in character is similar
to the ROM. It has several outstanding collections including Egyptian
antiquities (lots of mummies), dinosaur fossils (including Sue, the largest
Tyrannosaurus ever found. There is also a full brontosaurus - not common. I
hope they haven't so updated things that they've lost the murals by Charles M.
Knight, a very famous dinosaur illustrator early in the century.), and the
jewel collection.
The Shedd Aquarium, another white
marble temple right nearby, is a memorably beautiful old place. It has dark
halls with glorious large aquariums that are almost like galleries of oil
paintings of marine life. To some extent this effect has been spoiled (the last
time I was there) by the new oceanarium, a much less subtle place with
porpoises and belugas in huge glass-walled tanks. The place was interestingly
designed with a sight line and windows that line up the lake as a continuation
of tank surfaces. Nevertheless, it is too Disneyish for me. The old exhibits
are some of the most beautiful of their kind in the world. The old building's
details (light fixtures, trim, etc - all with aquatic themes executed in Greek
temple style) are quite remarkable.
The Adler Planetarium, a red and
brown granite building, is at the end of a long artificial peninsula near here.
The planetarium, apart from the old-style star shows, is a space museum. Even
if you do not want to go to this museum, the walk down the peninsula
offers beautiful vistas of downtown. The huge Roman-like structure you will see
behind the Field Museum is Soldier's Field, a football and special-event
stadium (about to get a huge rehab).
If you walk to the museum campus through
Grant Park, you will see Buckingham Fountain near the rose
gardens. It is a striking sculpture itself. The water display is under colored
lights in the evening (I don't recommend walking alone through this or any
large park in the evening).
Travelling north from downtown, instead of
south towards the museum campus, are several other museums in and around
Lincoln Park. There are many beautiful streets to walk safely in this area. On
the south perimeter of the park are many belle
epoque apartments and condos that are very beautiful. There are vistas that
much resemble Paris. The Lincoln Park zoo has some charming structures
and is a very appealing smallish urban zoo (Chicago's big zoo is called Brookfield
and is located in a western suburb of the same name.). The Chicago
Historical Society (Clark St. at North Ave) has a fine collection of Civil
War antiquities and clothing, stuff from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago,
and many interesting odds and ends. Unless it has changed, some of the displays
here were beautifully mounted in the traditional museum fashion.
Also located in the Lincoln Park area is
the Newberry Library (only members can use) and the Academy of
Sciences (2001 N. Clark St.). If you are in Lincoln Park, don't miss the
Café Brauer (2021 N. Stockton - on South Pond Refectory). This structure, built
in 1908, is an excellent example of the kind of graciously designed, uniquely
Midwestern public facility Chicago spent a good deal of effort on in the early
20th century. A walk up Clark Street, just west of the park, is
delightful. It has some very interesting shops, a gay, artsy district, and
Andersonville, the last authentic Swedish neighborhood in the city. Many odd
and interesting bits of architecture are along here. The side streets contain
some wonderful Chicago-style apartment buildings.
Chicago was, and to some extent still is, a
city of neighborhoods. One of the city's unique characteristics was entire
neighborhoods of handsome apartments along tree-lined streets (I use was because many have become ghettos).
These typically were brick, sometimes stone, three-floors tall, often with
attractive courtyards. Neighborhoods were well-planned with garbage collection
and other services through back alleys and commercial shopping streets about
every four blocks in many areas.
Typically, there was a neighborhood park.
Chicago has the finest park system in America (although urban decay has taken a
toll). Many of these neighborhoods also were within walking distance of the lakefront, the lakefront in Chicago being
since the turn of the last century a superb recreational area with 20 miles of
parks, museums, and beaches (some of which is now sadly in decline, but more
remains than any other city has).
Chicago during the first half of the 20th
century was probably the best city on the continent for working class people. A
strong job market combined with a huge stock of attractive apartments, fine
public facilities, and excellent public transportation made it a good place to
bring up a family.
The flight of the white middle class to
suburbs, the loss of good-paying jobs through industrial decline, and poor
black in-migration have altered this picture from what it was,
but it is still possible to get a good feel
for this. Perhaps the best example is Hyde Park,
the neighborhood of the University of
Chicago.
The university itself has some striking and
famous places (including especially Robie House - 58th
and Woodlawn - perhaps Frank L. Wright's finest prairie house), but it is the
neighborhood, say, between 59th and 51st - from the lake to Drexel
Ave. that is remarkable. Because of the university's influence, this is much as
it once was, although commercial areas do not have all the lively little
businesses they once did. These are truly beautiful streets of apartments - few
cities have anything handsomer.
[Caution: Near the university are
some dangerous ghetto areas - stick to the well-beaten paths in daylight and
there will be no problem - you can tell immediately by sight whether you're
straying beyond where you should. This is all very sad, but a fact of living in
every large city in America. You can best reach Hyde Park on the METRA trains,
similar to GO. There is an underground station at Randolph and Michigan for
this system. The "L" goes out this way, but passes through terrible
areas.]
A word about parks. After the Chicago Fire
(1871), the city was rebuilt, but along far superior lines to its previous
layout. Since its location made it a great economic entrepot to the growing
American West, economics literally dictated that the city be rebuilt. Great
architects and planners came from all over to take advantage of this immense
opportunity (perhaps much like what has been taking place in Berlin over recent
years). Architects like H.H. Richardson from Boston, who did some of that
city's great churches and public structures, were attracted. It was a great
opportunity to an original genius like Louis Sullivan and his later-eminent
pupil, Frank Lloyd Wright. Daniel Burnham gave the city a wonderful lakefront
plan by the early 20th century.
The tradition these architects established
continued through a good part of the 20th century. Mies van der Rohe
from the German Bauhaus lived the last half of his life in Chicago, which as a
result has quite a collection of his work. His finest early North American work
is the apartment block at 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive (the area
around here is wonderful for walking in, much beauty and very safe). Many, many
later buildings evolved or were copied from this, including the Toronto
Dominion Centre nearly twenty years later. Much of the campus of Illinois
Institute of Technology (South Michigan Ave., 31st to 35th
Streets - CAUTION: The area
around this campus includes some of the city's worst ghettos. Do not travel
here alone or even just two) is his work.
Note, at 3213 S. Calumet are the only row
houses ever built by Frank Lloyd Wright (1894), the Roloson Houses. These are
beautiful structures, showing clearly the influence of Sullivan. Same caution
as Illinois Institute of Technology.
Lake Point Tower (505 North Lake Drive) is one of the most strikingly beautiful
condominiums in the world. It was designed by a student of Mies and is based on
a very early design (1920s) of his. This building's curved glass walls produce
some splendid effects with sunrise or sunset. At seventy stories it was the
world's tallest concrete building when built. Its location (safe) near the lake
and Navy Pier makes it very attractive. Navy Pier is a huge old
structure that has enjoyed several purposes during its lifetime. Today, it is a
kind of Ontario Place with many interesting attractions including a huge
lakefront Ferris Wheel (in remembrance of Chicago's first World's Fair,
the Columbian Exposition in 1893).
Frank Lloyd Wright lived in Oak Park
(as did Hemingway), a very old, charming "first-tier" suburb on the
west side. It has declined some, but is still beautiful. His home/studio is
there. There are about 15 Wright houses still standing in Oak Park making it
the most important museum of his work. He also has homes in several northern
affluent suburbs like Park Forest. His most beautiful "prairie"
house, Robie House, is in Chicago at the University of Chicago so you
don't need to travel far to see something exceptional of his. He also
participated in a lovingly done restoration of Burnham (of lakefront plan-fame)
and Root's Rookery Building downtown (209 South LaSalle Street). Wright
or not, do not miss this extraordinary early office building (1880s) - the
indoor courtyard is world-famous.
Redevelopment over more than a hundred
years has not been kind to Chicago's special genius, Louis Sullivan. Many of
his finest buildings are lost - including the old stock exchange, remnants of
which are in the Art Institute. But two buildings downtown are in
splendid condition and well worth a visit. Carson, Pirie Scott & Co
department store (1 South State Street) and the Auditorium Building (and
Theater) at 430 South Michigan Ave.
Carson's (as it is called) has magnificent
decorative iron work (a Louis Sullivan signature feature) at the main entrance.
The building itself is remarkably modern in concept for its time apart from
decorative work. Huge display windows, large windows throughout the building -
a very simple but elegant design with magnificent detail work.
Go to the Auditorium Building at a time
when you can get into the extraordinary theater inside. The building dates from
1889.
Speaking of department stores, State Street
was when I was a boy an extraordinary shopping street. There were about eight
different department stores, several quite elegant. All these but Carson's and
Marshall Field's are gone. There are constantly efforts to revive State Street,
but the things that made it what it was have all changed. Chicago's beautiful
new central library was built at the south end of the downtown portion
with this in mind (the "L" dramatically passes in front of the north
face). The center of downtown shopping has shifted to North Michigan Avenue.
You should walk the length of this, a very elegant avenue (at its north end, it
opens onto beaches) with many fancy shops.
But beside all those department stores and
bustling pedestrian traffic, State Street once had a number of
magnificent movie palaces, and they are mostly gone or left as hulks.
Chicago had one of the largest collections of these fantastic structures
anywhere. Virtually every neighborhood had one plus a bunch of them downtown.
The old Chicago Theater (175 N. State) was renovated some years
ago and is used for live theater. Go through the lobby if you can. Some of
these structures were far more fanciful than the Chicago, making going to the
movies when I was young a real delight. It is the anchor of what's developing
into an elaborate theater district in Chicago.
Garth Drabinsky from Toronto (he was very
fond of Chicago) was working on renovating another of these palaces downtown
(the State-Lake?), but I don't know its status.
The main Chicago park system was
laid out by Fredrick L. Olmstead, who did Boston Common and Central Park in New
York plus many other great parks. He was the Capability Brown or Le Notre of
his day. His Chicago commission outdid in scope those of all other cities, the
city fathers taking to heart Burnham's great dictum: "Make no small
plans."
He planned a chain of great parks that were
to all be connected by a series of great tree-lined double boulevards (a la
Houseman in Paris). Only part of his boulevards were ever built, but they are
still impressive even in neighborhoods that have badly declined. The Midway
Pleasance on 59th Street at the University of Chicago is one of
these, connecting Jackson Park (at the Museum of Science and Industry)
to Washington Park (the other side of Drexel Avenue and the location of
Lorado Taft's extraordinary Fountain of Time.
Note, the Museum of Science and Industry
(South Lake Shore Drive at 57th) is a great rambling place left
over from the world's fair. It is the museum from which the Ontario Science
Centre in Toronto was in part derived. It has many fascinating exhibits (and
some vacuous stuff), but it is world famous for several items.
First is the U-505 German submarine from
World War ll (the only captured u-boat that exists - it was brought in the late
1950s through the then-new St Lawrence Seaway - it was quite an event when it
was pulled on rollers across Lake Shore Drive). You can tour the sub - I was a
guide on weekends when I was eighteen - and it will remind you of interiors
from Das Boot, if you saw that - it was very authentic.
Another favorite exhibit is the coal mine.
This is an artificial coal mine, all with real equipment from the industry and real
coal lining the walls, and is great fun. You go down in an industrial elevator
and ride on a little caged-in underground train just like miners used to do.
There are exhibits of machines for extracting coal. The technology, unless
they've updated it, is dated, but the exhibit is great - unforgettable for kids
but not at all Disneyish.
Still another favorite is Coleen Moore Doll
Castle. Ms. Moore was an eccentric Hollywood actress who collected miniatures
(like the ones at the Art Institute). She assembled them all in one fantastic
doll castle which you can walk around (behind plexiglass) and examine all the
rooms.
There is a train collection that includes
two fascinating items, the Zephyr (a beautiful articulated 1939 silver
streamliner, the very height of industrial styling, all recently renovated) and
one of those massive "mountain engines" the largest steam locomotives
ever built. The museum used also to have (haven't been there in 10 years) one
of world's largest model train layouts in O gauge (Lionel size). Many of its
exhibits were early "learning" type exhibits about everything from
biology (they used to have, may still, a series of glass cases with real human
embryos preserved at key stages of growth - there was also when I was a kid a
huge set of glass panels that contained slices of an actual cadaver so you
could turn them and follow stained areas right through the body. What a
fascinating and slightly frightening place for kids the museum was) to
mathematics. There are many exhibits, and since they've done a large
renovation, I'm sure I don't know most.
Back to parks. Olmstead's concept was
"a chain of large jewels" around the city. It was never completed,
but a lot was done. Other parks laid out by Jenny, Garfield and Humboldt,
carried on the concept in a fragmented fashion. Burnham's plan for the
lakefront (1910) also was altered, but it still gave the city something no
other city on the Great Lakes had, a magnificent shore virtually its whole
length. There are also dozens of small-to-very small neighborhood parks in the
city. These once served as very important public spaces with waves of
immigration earlier in the 20th century, with many of them having
handsome "field houses" where public activities were once mounted and
equipment for sports could be borrowed free.
Chicago does today have a still further-out
very extensive greenbelt called the forest preserves. These are in
suburban areas. With all this plus the elm trees that once gracefully lined
most residential streets (their replacements are too young to be impressive in
many areas today), you understand the Chicago motto, urbs in horto (city in a garden).
[Caution: while fairly safe in
daylight, it is wise never to wonder through most of these large parks alone
today. The neighborhood west of Drexel, around Washington Park, is not a good
one. The same is true of Jackson Park's once-gracious neighborhood, except for
the immediate vicinity of the Museum of Science and Industry. The parks are
very large - Lincoln Park, the safest of them in its near north side
location, is three times the size of High Park in Toronto - making it is easy
to be lost sight of. A group would be fine. Lincoln with many facilities in it
is okay alone.]
Chicago is a very important center of
higher education. The University of Chicago (in the south side
neighborhood of Hyde Park) focuses on graduate studies rather than
undergraduate. It has had had more Nobel laureates than any other place. There
is a Henry Moore statue on the grounds commemorating the first sustained chain
reaction achieved here before the Manhattan project. The Oriental Institute,
part of the university, is a wonderful archeological museum (focused on
the ancient Middle East) open to the public. Northwestern University (in
the old first-tier northern suburb of Evanston - a beautiful, interesting
community) is a quite prestigious school. Other universities include: DePaul
University (Lincoln Park area), University of Illinois Medical School,
University of Illinois at Chicago (West side Roosevelt Road and
Halstead) - campus includes Jane Addams's famous Hull House as a museum - Caution:
area around this campus is a bad one), Roosevelt University (in Sullivan's
Auditorium Building 430 S. Michigan), Loyola University (Sheridan
Road and Devon on far north side), The Art Institute School (Michigan
Av. And Adams), Illinois Institute of
Technology (South Michigan at 31st), plus many small colleges
and polytechs. The world's largest nuclear physics particle accelerator is
located in Batavia (I believe you can visit), a very far out suburb.
There are many other interesting places in
Chicagoland - too many to write about. URLs are included below. There are also
some here for wonderful places in the city that I have not described. Please
enjoy.
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