The Select Few

While I have often heard (been told, even claimed…) that Portland has so many restaurants to offer, it’s been no secret to me that, while there are a plethora of options, there are only a select few that I actually enjoy.  In fact, most evenings when I choose to dole out my dough to the food industry, it’s a guarantee that you can find me in one of these establishments.  I’ll stand by these places through thick and thin, and would recommend them to just about anyone who likes good food.  The following list is broken down into meals, with suggestions as to what you might order.  Take it from me, these places will not fail.

Breakfast:

Schulte & Herr, my preference of all fine breakfast establishments in Portland.  With a quaint interior and authentic German food, this place has gained wonderful recognition in the first four months it has been open.  Opt for the potato pancakes with lox and accompaniments, along with the bauefeurshteick- a tradition German omelette.  If you are not feeling savory, get the waffle with seasonal fruit compote— absolutely divine.

OHNO Cafe, by far the best breakfast sandwich in town, served with hot Coffee by Design coffee.  You can be sure to pick up all your beers or wines when you’re in this West End cafe.  The # 1, my personal favorite, has maple glazed proscuitto, tabasco, Vermont Cheddar cheese, served on a grilled bagel.  I always add avocado and an extra egg… I guess you could say I like big breakfasts?

Merry Table, serves one of my favorite brunches intown– although, I suppose they would call it “lunch”.  I always feel right at home in the confines of the underground creperie on Wharf Street.  Besides the Edith Piaf soundtrack and delicious mimosas, the owners are delightful as well.  Once a month they hold strictly Francophile evenings, alors si tu parles francais, allez au restaurant! Order the mushroom and goat cheese crepe, or a Croque Monsieur.  Don’t skip the mimosas and half carafes of wine either.

Underground Supper Club Details

Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park

[Disclosure]

Every fibre in my body is protesting this review– thus, this is not a review, simply a photo journey of my time at Eleven Madison Park, with brief anecdotes on the experience itself.  What I must say though, before delving into such a post, is that if you have read/perused the Eleven Madison Park cookbook, I promise you that the plate design is just as lovely at the restaurant.

Hors D’oeuves

Gougeres– delicious, warm, cheesy biscuits.  Great way to start the meal.

Chicken Veloute, with green onion oil.  Succulent, savory, warm, gooey, high-end gravy flowing down my throat.  One of my favorite tastes of the evening.

Day boat scallops with a meyer lemon gelee.

Greek Yoghurt and Curried Lentil Lollies.  So delicious, melted in my mouth, tangy, warm, savory.  Raised the bar to an ever higher level.

Courses:

Sour Apple Gelee with uni, foie gras, and caviar.  Decadence presented in a whimsical fun way.  This may have surpassed every other dish during the meal.  Flavor profiles were spot on, presentation was engaging, and who would want to pass up uni, caviar, and foie? Pas moi.

Recreation of Long Island Clambake- by far the most conceptual dish on the menu.  A steaming tea pot full of “clam chowder”, lobster croquettes, clams on the half shell two ways, chorizo honey corn madelines, and a hissing steam that emanated from the exterior of the hot tea-pot to recreate the sounds of the ocean.  Unique and delicious!

“Beets”- if only I could taste another beet prepared at this level again.

“Carrots”- and the same goes for carrots.  Humm changed my opinion, which was already quite high, on the level of which vegetables can be prepared.

Maine Lobster- not my favorite dish, as I prefer my lobster raw, but good for what it was.  The sabayon was the star of the show for me.

This venison was incredible.  I’m not a huge fan of game, but this venison was succulent, juicy, and flavorful.  Masterfully prepared!

Triple Creme Cheese Course- not particularly interesting, as my cheese courses at places like Menton and L’Espalier have been considerably better, but Humm paid special attention to plating design, which, I felt was worth it for the most part.  Crispy farro and candied acorn squash adorn the plate.

“Chocolate” – the dessert was a let down, unfortunately.  A chocolate cake with a salted-malt ice cream.  The flavors just didn’t come together as one, and while each component was nice on it’s own, there was no apparent marriage in the entirety of the dish.  I was a little disheartened by this.  It still tasted good, especially after their cocoa-nib and orange New York Egg Cream.

Black Truffle Explosion– not to confuse with Alinea’s version, this mirgandaise was fan-fucking-tastitc, I’ve refrained from using profanity thus far, but it’s entirely necessary for this dish.  The black truffle was pungent and delicious… but that’s a given.

“Drink as much as you’d like”– well, hey, thank you Eleven Madison Park.  In addition to our Cognac, we received two jars of granola (three upon request), a birthday card for me, and a delicious chocolate fruit bar.  The service and hospitality were some of the best I’ve come across– rightfully so, as it is a Three Michelin Star restaurant, and the atmosphere was also fantastic.  It was a wonderful experience, and there’s nothing really that I would want to change.  I’m looking forward to my next visit to Eleven Madison Park so I can try more of Humm’s creations, and hopefully receive that much sought after kitchen tour.

Cinque Terre: A Review

Wharf Street– a street of no return, more often than not.  The cobblestones seem charming a Maine summer day, but they’re only a minute detail which adds a bit of history to this narrow road housing many Portland restaurants.  Cinque Terre, Vignola’s sister restaurant lays between Vignola and the Bar of Chocolate.  I had only been once before my most recent visit, and I must say, it’s come a long way, in the past two years– in both good and bad terms.

It was a Wednesday evening, right after Christmas, when I found myself sitting at Cinque Terre.  There was one server on, with a few back-servers, but everything was under-control.  The menu boasts the usual “locally grown and sourced ingredients” from not only the staple farms, but Cinque Terre’s own farm.  The actual size of the menu is a bit larger than I expected, but at the same time, I felt it to be manageable, due to the fact that not everything was incredibly appealing.  Along with my company, I ordered the trio of oysters, one fried, one baked, and one raw, and the rabbit bruschetta to start.  The raw oyster was by far the most notable.  Who can dislike a Winterpoint oyster anyway? The baked one was by far the least successful.  I don’t see the point of masking the delicate flavor of oyster with a bunch of breadcrumbs and herbs and garlic? The bruschetta on the other had was quite nice.  Perfectly braised rabbit with crispy proscuitto on top of grilled bread? Delicious.  The side salad of lightly dressed arugula offered a clean bite, whenever the rabbit proved to be too rich.

Following our starters, our medium sized plates began to arrive.  The mussels in white wine sauce, were not bad, nor were they great.  The standard mussels in butter and white wine for me, is never impressive.  The company enjoyed them quite a lot however, perhaps only because of their affinity for mussels.  I found them to be boring, and a bit too garlicky.

Our two pasta dishes, being the rigatoni with fresh mozzeralla and tomato sauce, and the gnocchi with brown butter and truffles, were both good.  The rigatoni was actually the best thing I ate all night.  Cooked to a perfect al-dente, with crispy basil on top, the flavors married together, and in this instance, the old notion that simple is better, reigned supreme.  The gnocchi, while good, was a bit overbearing.  The portion size was small, but we couldn’t finish it, the sauce was incredibly rich and decadent.  Unfortunately the lack of contrast in texture was incredibly disappointing.  Had they perhaps, pan-seared the gnocchi, it would have been better, but the flavors were all there.

For entrees, we agreed to split two items, due to the fact that we were already quite full from all the prior courses.  The lobster risotto and the braised rabbit with crispy polenta were our choices.  Unfortunately, neither were very impressive.  The lobster risotto wasn’t cooked to my liking.  It lacked the creaminess that I’ve grown quite fond of in other restaurant’s risottos.  In addition, the lobster was so overcooked! The chalky texture was horrendous, in fact, at one point, I thought I almost threw up a little bit in my mouth.  The red peppers and excess of salt were also big contributors to the downfall of the risotto.  On the other hand, the rabbit dish was a bit better.  Not cooked nearly as well as the bruschetta, this rabbit was a bit more tough, and the overall dish was quite one note.  The polenta cakes were quite satisfying on the plus side.  Unfortunately, there just wasn’t anything that stood out in this dish.  It was decent, at best.

Having been quite disappointed with the entrees, I hoped dessert would be considerably better– as my own philosophy regards dessert as the pinnacle of every meal, I tend to have quite high expectations.  And they were met.  I ordered the banana date cake, and oh my god, it did not disappoint.  The flavor affinity of banana, caramel, and rum always appease my taste buds.  The cake, which had a nice like marscapone vanilla bean frosting, was light and airy.  The flavor of banana, in the cake, and then paralleled with the caramelized bananas on the side, was very present, thus I was a happy camper.  I was glad that Cinque Terre was able to end the meal on a good note.  Their pastry chef, as it’s been said, is quite talented, and I whole-heartedly agree.

While the meal was nowhere as close to as fun as my first meal there, this is when they had large chunks of fresh truffles on top of their pasta, but shitty service, I enjoyed my time to say the least.  Next time I know just to order pasta, appetizers, and dessert.  The one thing I wish I had ordered was their house limoncello– which sounds divine.  I’d recommend going for happy-hour and a small bowl of pasta before a film or a trip to the museum or something.  Skip the overpriced entrees, but indulge in some carbohydrate deliciousness + some sweets.