Hugo's First and Foremost

I went the other night to see if his sudden success had gone to his head. It hasn't but it went to the reservation book, which was filled solid for days in a row. Luck would have it that I caught an empty table from someone else's cancellation.

What ensued was a meal that was beautifully served by a talented wait staff in full knowledge of every gastronomic pairing and possibility.

Restaurants like Hugo's in places like Portland can have a difficult time. With a population of 250,000 for the region, with perhaps half of one percent of potential diners going out to a great many restaurants, specialty places like Hugo's have a very select following, one that doesn't ensure a packed room night after night.

But witness Portland's very own Fore Street. With years of accolades laid on Sam Hayward, chef and co-proprietor, that restaurant plays to a full house nightly. People actually travel to Portland$a culinary Pilgrimage if you will$to dine there.

I suspect that Rob Evans may approach that level. Not necessarily on the same plane as Fore Street, whose fare has wider appeal, but nonetheless Hugo's is a destination now, and culinary contender much like Five Fifty Five and Back Bay Grill; their proprietors can generally count on a steady clientele to fill their seats and their coffers.

So my meal there the other night was a true revelation. From the get-go, each course was a winner. What's offered is either a tasting menu of 6 courses or their regular menu, in which it's recommended that you order at least 3 courses. All courses are basically the same size. I wound up ordering four, plus dessert. That turned out to be too much food for me.

The dinner starts with their plank of warm potato biscuits, little crusty morsels, unlike any baking powder biscuit I've ever tried to make on my own. They resemble southern beaten biscuits in texture and they're utterly delicious. They are about as big as a silver dollar and 2 inches high and served with freshly whipped farm butter. They're fabulous and I wish he'd start a line of these biscuits so we can buy them at will.

To start I had the cream of Chantenay carrot soup with almond cream, dates and kumquat. What always impressed me about Evan's cooking is how he lets the main ingredient excel in a pool of so many other flavors. If it's carrot soup swimming with 1000 other components, you still taste the main ingredient first and foremost.

I actually thought the carrot was a bit overwhelmed by some of the spices and other ingredients. This didn't detract one bit from my enjoyment of the dish, but I was hoping to revel in pure, intense carrot flavor.

The next course was a tripe stew with corn fritters. I for one don't like offal. But this creation was superb. The corn cakes were fabulous and if this is what tripe tastes like then bring it on again and again.

After that I had what is loosely called a chicken salad with deviled egg. There were so many elements and flavors on this plate I probably should have sampled it several times just to understand exactly what I was eating. Nevertheless, I cleared my plate in 30 seconds.

The roast duck was another marvel, though by the time it arrived as my last course-- many glasses of wine and a cocktail or two later--its particulars unfortunately escaped me in a haze of culinary overindulgence. I do remember that I gobbled that one up too in record time.

Dessert was the coup de gras in a grand finale. I had something called peanut butter cup, which was salted peanut butter ice cream and a bittersweet chocolate pudding cake. Incredible.

Along the way I got some samples of my dinner companion's meal, closely guarded, which had more Asian flavors than mine did, such as the sweetbreads and the pork belly and the Kobe beef tartar with a topping of fried, breaded cornichons. Outrageous.

Dinner was not cheap by any standards. But then again, in total 10 courses later, including dessert, 6 glasses of wine and two cocktails, which brought the bar bill to an embarrassing $83, it's understandable why dinner cost, not including tip, $250.

Ouch!

But don't pinch me. I'm still in dreamland over this unbelievably good dinner.