May 26, 2009

Popular or Precious Don't Always Satisfy

The room was noisy, not particularly inviting if not scruffily attractive; and whatever I didn't like about it before still prevailed. The aromas, however, coming from the kitchen were enticing. Sautéed garlic always smells good. We walked out and strolled a few paces to another highly regarded Portland eatery.

At our second choice we found a nearly empty establishment. If the hoots and hollers of the prior palace turned me off, the deadly quiet here was equally jarring. There were two other tables of diners. We ordered drinks and scanned the menu.

About an hour later, and $150 later, which these days is not exactly in the budget on a regular basis, we left and thought, what a horrible meal. Whatever were the fine distinctions of style and flavor that were normally the hallmark of the cooking here had gone completely astray. Each dish was difficult. I had ordered a steak, something that I don't normally have in a restaurant. It was a sorry, sad slab of meat, muddy and gritty in an unfortunate herb coating that was no better than reconstituted parsley and as grim tasting as granola quenelles. My first course soup was equally insipid; dessert was the only decent dish, but I have an insatiable sweet tooth so my bias may have held sway. Now I understood why the restaurant was nearly empty.

For the most part Portland restaurants seem to be doing well during these challenging economic times. They're busy and the level of cooking remains high. So it's disappointing when a chef who I normally consider extremely talented and above the rest produces not just a lackluster meal but one that was nearly uneatable.

I'm not going to identity either restaurant. That's not my intention here other than to put into print my disappointments. The meal wasn't just second-rate but rather not worth the effort. Of course even the best chefs can have an off moment. This experience went beyond that as though he just didn't care anymore.

Portland, as small cities go, seems to bask in accolades. For culinary aficionados (I'm trying to avoid the word foodies ) it doesn't disappoint: Great restaurants, great food sources and a farm culture that plays heartily into consumers needs and wants.

Forbes Magazine proclaimed it one of the best places to live, where the quality of life is high. I suppose it is. Lately, though, the city strikes me as being just a bit gritty and seedy. The political goings on$piers, condos, zoning issues$are a joke led by a coterie of elected officials who should take to the streets instead of their council chambers. The city deserves better; it has no much to offer. It always struck me that in a town surrounded by ocean, bay and harbor that the best views available are only from the parking garages rather than from habitations where people could live and see and hear the water outside their windows. The stilted development of Portland's so-called working waterfront into more viable, useful venues seems merely stalled because of the fear of change and to create dedicated smart growth where it's so direly needed.

Yet the other qualities of daily living$the restaurants, the cultural opportunities and the sheer presence of having the beauty of Maine at your doorstep$make it a unique place to be.

These days when I'm here I prefer to cook at home. And the availability of wonderful food sources is irresistible. I think the Whole Foods Market is a complete winner for Portland. Though I think they still need to have more representation of local foods, but they do a good job and the city should be fortunate to have the store. I've learned to shop the aisles economically too because relying on it for basics can be expensive.

I think Maine is a leader in the farm to table movement and the quest to fill one's larder and pantry with locally raised and produced products reigns supreme. The advent of indoor winter farmer's markets that developed this year is an important trend. I went to both the Bath and Brunswick indoor Saturday winter markets. The Brunswick market, held at Fort Andros, was particularly good, with about 30 venders at its peak, offering everything from baked goods to grass fed beef, lamb and pork to organic dairy products and the like.

It's time for one to be started in Portland. The current
sign-up and pick-up system seems awkward. There would be plenty of locations just begging for a winter or year-round tenant to offer a full-spectrum food hall without all the fuss and hoopla of something more rarified like the old Portland Market.

Other new haunts that I frequent include the wonderful Saturday market at Crystal Springs Farm in Brunswick. If you haven't been there it's worth the trip. The setting is beautiful and the variety of venders is great. And the best kept secret, though known to locals, is the Bisson Meat Market in Topsham. Not only is all the beef sold there raised on their farm across the road but in the process, they produce from 50 dairy cows some of the best raw milk and cream in the state, especially the cream, which is thicker than custard. The beef is grass fed, and at half the price than elsewhere.

At the Wednesday market at Monument Square this week I hope to find local asparagus there, which is not easy to get. Everyone seems to have fiddleheads ad nauseum. After that I'm thinking of going up to Warren to the Curtis Meat Market, another establishment where the beef is raised on their own farm and where all other cuts, like lamb or pork, are from local farms. With so much high quality locally raised foods available to us, there's no reason to have a bad meal anywhere whether dining out or dining at home.