The Way Life Should Be

Often I read complaints from Mainer about restaurant portions being too small, which equates to a bad meal: plates not piled high with fried fare or gelatinous, gargantuan throwaways, which uninitiated gastronomes link to dining well. If the sandwich is not as big as a Subway hero or the plate isn't filled to the gills gawking carbs, fats and bulk, then the common meal out just wasn't value oriented like a spending spree at Bugaboos.

Don't get me wrong. I'm known to overindulge with big-plate specials, too, but if it's well prepared, with good quality ingredients then at least the experience was not a total splurge on calories. Recently, for example, I had lunch at the Falmouth Sea Grill overlooking the harbor and my big plate of fried clams with French fries and Cole slaw couldn't have been better. Did I gain a few pounds in just one sitting? Probably. But at least the sacrifice was a good experience

At the other end of the spectrum, a fine dining incident tends to be more rewarding in other ways. And after a delightful several hours that I spent having dinner recently at one of Portland's newest restaurants I concluded my meal and evening out feeling as happy$not heavy$as a clam. Which makes me think what a dumb expression: What is a happy clam anyway?

Well, there were hardly any clams on the menu at the Salt Exchange, a thoroughly gratifying dining establishment loaded with style, an urban oasis on the outskirts of Old Port shenanigans.

The two dining rooms are elegant simplicity to the core. The bar area is large and inviting and off in the distance is a very high-tech looking open kitchen where I immediately admit there's some very good food being prepared. Very good? No, it's more than that. The taste levels are sublime. The execution of each dish takes one on a rollicking ride of sweet and savory and every flavor nuance in between.

What I also like about the Salt Exchange is that this is a restaurant managed by the owners in attendance, Charles and Martha Bryon, who are there for every open hour of operation, which includes lunch. On the night I was there Charles presented himself as an affable, knowledgeable and sincere young man who knows what he's doing when it comes to serving the dining public a great meal in surroundings that are sophisticated, comfortable and very appealing

The tables are well spaced and the acoustics don't create the need to scream to be heard. In fact it's all very civilized in a chic big-city way. The Salt Exchange can easily join the mounting roster of very good dining rooms in Greater Portland and everywhere else in the state of Maine.

The menu concept follows the current dining trend of small plates. Sometimes this is confusing. Where do you start and where do you end and how much should one have in between? It's so easy just to navigate the predictable three-course dinner.

Here you've got four or five choices in constructing the meal as you see fit. The wait staff explains each dish very well and the service in general is superb.

A list of Small Bites begins the menu choices. Such little delicious devils as Maine fish prepared 3 ways or fresh salt cod with confit bell pepper and lemon aioli are taste revelations, beautifully arranged on the plate with extravagant flavors that entice and delight. My choice of Whole Milk Ricotta Gnocchi consisted of three oval morsels as light as spring air. Bad renditions of gnocchi tend to be heavy as hockey pucks. These were perfect. I wanted to wrap them up and take a carton of them home for reckless pleasure.

We skipped the soup course and headed straight to the Cold Plates. There were six plates to choose from, including local spinach with tempura great hill blue, grapes and Saba dressing; scallop tartare; local oysters with Yuzu, harissa and cucumber gratinee and the house cured duck prosciutto, which I chose. I loved this dish. Here the cured meat sits on little rounds of puff pastry set over sautéed baby bok choy flecked with these amazing squares of gelee, which upon inquiry turned out to be an aspic made of grapefruit essence. It made the dish entirely unique. The salty cured duck offset by these sweet accoutrements were heavenly.

Hot Plates can either be ordered as a main course serving or a small plate. I chose the main course serving of free range chicken breast and what's called a glazed drumette set over homemade corn polenta and baby Swiss chard.

This is not granny's chicken but rather a very sophisticated rendition of perfectly cooked breast meat, carved beautifully into tender slices set over a delicious little pool of corn polenta. The glazed drumette is a whittled down part of the drum stick, beautifully glazed and confit like in flavor. A winning dish.

My dining partner ordered the grilled yellow fin tuna steak with pepper, tomato, anchovy and potato and Banyuls vinegar. I managed to get a small sample$we both hoarded our dishes, not anxious to share$and it was fabulous. Other choices included risotto with clams and chanterelles; calamari stuffed with bacon, peppers and garlic; spice-rubbed lamb with eggplant and Pineland Farms shoulder steak with sweet and sour cherries with crisp potatoes, a combination that sounds delicious.

Three courses full, but ready for more, we indulged in dessert. Mine was a Napoleon like mocha mousse with the most tantalizing cracker thin crust, sweet and extravagant, served with a shooter glass of Bourbon Kona coffee. My friend's dessert was an almond cake with macerated cherries, white chocolate mousse and crème anglaise.

The pastry chef is as good as one can get. There is a trio of pastry chefs in Portland who I consider outstanding: at Fore Street, at Five Fifty Five and at Bresca. I don't know if the chef, Jacob Jasinski, who heralds from the White Barn Inn, was responsible for these sweets; if he is then he's multi-talented indeed; and if not then I'd like to know who is devising these wonderful treats.
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There's a full bar, which we took advantage of with one cocktail each expertly served in enormous martini glasses, chilled ice cold and perfect. The wine list is very well thought out with choices by the glass or bottle.

It's worth mentioning the brand of sparkling water available at the restaurant. It comes in a fabulously crafted glass bottle from the Clear Moon Water Company in Peru, Maine. I've had this water before at the Sea Glass restaurant at the Inn by the Sea and it's wonderful. The bottle is a work of art.

The tab for one of the best meals I've had in Portland lately came to $132 for two with tax and before tip. Considering the quality and design of the meal, it's less than at other area restaurants where the bill might be considerably higher. The price of the dishes in the small plate mode helps to keep costs down. And it goes to show that money well spent is a manageable extravagance.

It's getting more difficult to decide where to dine out in Portland. We have so many good restaurants that the choices keep mounting and selecting one is a happy challenge. It makes me wonder why this tiny city, with a population no more than the average American township, continues to attract such talent. I think the answer lies in the general allure of Maine and the abundance of wonderful local ingredients; also a very practical fact is that start up costs are much less than they would be in large cities.

Having just come back from a long trip, my experience the other night at The Salt Exchange is a stunning example of this is the way life should be.