rufustfi's Profile
Portland Seafood Restaurants
One of the best places for a wide variety of seafood used to be Scales in the Public Market. There used to be rumors that Scales would reopen somewhere in the Old Port. Has anybody heard anything lately?
Downtown Bread
In my opinion Iggy's is overrated, and When Pigs Fly and Clear Flour are good but baked off premises and dropped off so maybe fresh but not super-fresh. Sel de la Terre is very good but where are those places that bake their own bread and sell it hot from the ovens?
A trip to Bar Harbor
Oops. I was confusing the Morning Glory Bakery with the Cottage St. Bakery, probably because I was thinking of places that do a proper breakfast.
Downtown Bread
Can I open this discussion up a bit? Where are the best places in the Boston area for bread? Decent bread seems to be harder to find in Boston than many other cities of comparable size. The best I've found is from places like Sel de la Terre, which has not only high quality but interesting variety.
A trip to Bar Harbor
I haven't been to 2 Cats. Thanks for the tip! You're right, Cafe This Way does a good breakfast, although it's a different kind of place (a bit more upscale). Morning Glory is okay and has decent baked goods but the eggs/pancakes/french toast are much better at Jeannie's, in my opinion.
A trip to Bar Harbor
Tourist trap? Why? Because tourists go there? Tourists go EVERYWHERE in Bar Harbor. And the food and Jeannie's is good and not overpriced. What makes it a tourist "trap"? The Maine Diner is a tourist trap. Red's is a tourist trap. But Jeannie's?
A trip to Bar Harbor
My favorite place for breakfast in Bar Harbor is definitely Jeannie's, 15 Cottage Street. Take a look at all of the positive reviews on Tripadvisor. It can get busy but the food is great and the staff is incredibly friendly.
what to eat at 555 in Portland?
I know you've decided on 555, but I really think you should consider other options. Yes, Food and Wine just named the chef one of the 10 best (new chefs) in the country, but I've eaten at 555 three times in the past couple of months and I really don't think it lives up to its reputation. It's gotten a lot of buzz lately but you can find much better food at other places. Bresca, for example. It's small but that's one of its strengths--you have the feeling that everything that comes out of the kitchen has been meticulously crafted by the chef herself. And desserts are wonderful. (555 pushes a dessert it calls "peas and carrots" which is more clever than satisfying.) Caiola's is also very, very good. And I love the bar at Hugo's--not the same menu as the restaurant but very inventive. Hugo's can be a little stuffy, I think, and the bar feels a bit more relaxing.
But it sounds as though you're set on 555. The food there isn't bad, of course--I just think its rightful place is somewhere around the middle of the list of fine dining establishments in Portland. I'd love to hear about your dining experience--please let us know.
The Maine Diner, is it all that?
I guess I'm the only one who hates the rubbery overcooked lobster swimming in butter and soggy bread crumbs (i.e. lobster pie). Okay, I accept my minority status.
Restaurants Recs in the Berkshires and/or W. Mass?
I'll be more specific about my meal at the Night Kitchen. I had artichoke hearts stuffed with mushrooms. They were tasty. But they seemed to have been assembled ahead of time and reheated just before serving. (This is what I meant by food from a good caterer.) I also had duck breast, which was very nicely cooked. It came with a pomegranate/molasses reduction, which was so tart and so sweet it made my mouth pucker and completely overwhelmed the subtlety of the duck. (This is what I meant by a lack of finesse, or rather sensitivity to the nature of the ingredients.) It wasn't "bad" but it certainly wasn't inspired.
Restaurants Recs in the Berkshires and/or W. Mass?
I ate at the Night Kitchen recently and can't recommend it with any enthusiasm. There's not much else in that immediate vicinity but what they served seemed like what you'd get from a good caterer--that is, food that can be easily prepared and even tasty but without much finnesse or inspiration. It is a beautiful setting, however, and if you're in the area and don't want to drive too far you could do worse.
Info, please, on Paris' Plaza Athenee Restaurant/L'Arpege/Ze Kitchen Galerie
I ate at L'Arpege last summer (2006), and the cost was in the neighborhood of 700 euros for two. I never felt so cheated in my life. Most of the food was mediocre at best. And despite its reputation as a place that features vegetables, almost every dish includes meat or meat stock. The one strict vegetarian in our party was very disappointed.
Portland, Fore Street or Back Bay Grill?
I've made this recommendation elsewhere on these boards but I think right now you'll get the most bang for your buck at Bresca. It's only been in business a few months and I suspect that prices will be going up soon as word gets out. The food is really wonderful and prices reasonable. Entrees around $20. Dinner for two with wine will probably be in the $85-$90 range.
Lobster Pound rec near Camden/Bar Harbor?
Horrible news about Eaton's! I'm glad I found out before driving all the way down there. By the way, I think there's some confusion (on the part of the oringal poster) regarding the Lincolnville Lobster Pound. The sit-down restaurant should be avoided, in my opinion. The place next door (run by the same people, I assume) with the picnic tables has always seemed perfectly fine. Probably has a slightly different name but I don't know what it is.
Family Friendly Restaurants
I hate to be the one to break it to you but the Toscanini's in Harvard Square is closed. Harvard owns the building and is doing extensive renovations.
Kittery lows (Chauncy Creek) and highs (Bob's)
You're going to pass on Bob's . . . why? Because many people don't like Miracle Whip in their lobster rolls and criticize Chauncey Creek for this reason? Bob's isn't really an alternative; they don't serve whole steamed/boiled lobsters. It's a very different kind of place. I don't understand your reasoning, but if it makes sense to you, fine.
Lobster Pound rec near Camden/Bar Harbor?
And I woudn't rule out Lincolnville Lobster! I've always had good experiences there.
Lobster Pound rec near Camden/Bar Harbor?
This might be too far a drive (30 to 45 mins from Ellsworth) but one of my favorites is Eaton's Lobster Pound on Little Deer Isle. There's a deck over the water in the back, the lobster's very good, and the view is great.
Kittery lows (Chauncy Creek) and highs (Bob's)
Bob's might not have the best location, but I really think they serve up a better fried clam than any of the places in Essex and Ipswich.
Portland ME-this weekend
Yes, an hour and a half from Portland (see the second sentence of my post). But for someone really interested in restaurants (like a professional chef) who probably doesn't get to Maine very often, it seems a shame to miss out on an opportunity to dine at Primo.
Family Friendly Restaurants
If you're taking the kids to the Children's Museum there's a seafood place, The Barking Crab, not far away. It's not haut cuisine--it's not even Legal's--but it's not bad and it's a perfect place for families. (Actually, I should confess I haven't been there in a few years so maybe somebody can back me up on this.)
By the way, the only real Natural History Museum in the Boston area is the Peabody Museum, one of the Harvard Museums in Cambridge.
Portland ME-this weekend
If your boyfriend cooks professionally and is interested in local/seasonal ingredients, see if you can get a reservation at Primo in Rockland. It's about an hour and a half up the coast from Portland but well worth the drive. They have four acres out back where they grow as much of their own herbs/produce as they can and the food is spectacular without being precious or overly showy. They've recently updated their website and it's an interesting read (primorestaurant.com, I think). I've been several times but my last visit, about two weeks ago, really convinced me that this is the best restaurant in Maine, although I have to admit I've never been to Arrows or the White Barn--they always seemed too pretentious but are probably quite good.
Experiences at 555?
Whenever a restaurant gets a lot of press there will always be a backlash. All of a sudden people begin to wonder if it lives up to its reputation. So I'm curious to hear reviews of 555 in Portland. There's no question this is a good restaurant. But having eaten there twice in the last couple of weeks I have to say that as good as it is, there are many places in Portland I think are much better. The chef at 555 seems to love cheese. Scallops with cheese. Crab risotto with cheese, which completely overwhelms the delicate flavor of the crab. (A cardinal rule of Italian cooking is don't mix cheese and seafood--except in very rare circumstances, although I can't think of any of them right now . . .) I give the chef credit for inventiveness--the "peas and carrots" dessert was interesting, but I liked the concept better than the execution.
I doubt there'll be much agreement on which restaurants in Portland are better although there are plenty of candidates. One that I think deserves mention is Bresca, the newish place next to the police station on Middle Street near Franklin, where everything that comes out of the kitchen seems very carefully and lovingly prepared. I've had a couple of wonderful meals there.
Thoughts?
T.W. Food
Posenose: Doesn't it seem they should try to master at least a few of the basics? Everything seems overly ambitious, and nothing quite succeeds. I'm often most impressed by a restaurant that can serve up, say, a coq au vin that is everything a coq au vin is supposed to be, and maybe just a little bit more. I do expect restaurants to add something original and interesting, but this place puts too much emphasis on the conceptual and not enough on just getting it right.
Street & Co - Portland - great all around
Just to be clear--we HAD a reservation at Street and Co. and were still kept waiting 45 minutes with nothing to eat but a tiny bowl of dry olives. So yes, be aware that even with a reservation you could have a significant wait.
T.W. Food
My recent visit there was very disappointing. I ordered beef tenderloin. I'm not sure if was the beef itself or the preparation but it was tough, somewhat dry, and flavorless. Served on a celeriac disk which was an interesting idea but the beef and the celeriac really didn't do anything for each other. There were sweetbreads on the side that had no relationship to anything else on the plate. I also had the "Scotch and cigars" dessert, which had the consistency of play-dough and even less flavor.
This place is all hype, no substance.
Dinner in Camden, ME
I agree with Camdenkid. Francine's is wonderful, and intimate. I've never seen people in old sweatshirts and jeans eating there but so what! The food is great and the service attentive. And yes, Natalie's tries too hard to be elegant and it comes off as a little stuffy. But the food's pretty good. I LOVE Primo but sometimes I'm put off by a certain snobbishness--not from the staff as much as the clientele, mostly during the height of tourist season. But for the next couple of months that shouldn't be a big problem.
Street & Co - Portland - great all around
We had exactly the opposite experience at Street & Co. We arrived on time and were told we would have to wait. After about a half hour they gave us a tiny bowl of olives. After 45 minutes we'd had enough so we left, walked to Hugo's, and had a wonderful meal there.
This was about a year ago. Maybe things have improved.
Bresca in Portland....very good indeed!
I can answer your question regarding prices. I was there a few nights ago, and dinner for two (apps, main course, dessert, glass of wine each) ran about $85, and it was worth every penny. Wonderful. I'll definitely be back. As for Portland not needing another restaurant like Bresca . . . If you think that Hugos, 555, Caiola's, Fore St, etc are all alike, then I can see how you'd come to that conclusion. But they're all so different! Bresca really is a welcome addition.
