In my admittedly slow effort to move from lurker to participant on egullet, I thought I’d share our experience at Palena café on Saturday. We arrived early in the evening, when it was fairly slow, so we were able to sit in a booth. My husband started with the sweet corn raviolini, which was served with some of the sweetest and most succulent crab we have ever tasted. It was Peekytoe crab from Maine, which we had a couple of times on a trip to Portland last year – we remembered we loved the crab then, but this dish at Palena was even better. The combination of the raviolini, crab and chives, served in a light butter sauce was irresistible. Lucky for me, my husband is always willing to share That’s not to say I didn’t love my starter, which was called tomato fantasy. It included three different takes on, well, tomatoes, which I can’t resist this time of year. The dish included: several thick slices of heirloom tomatoes; a tomato jelly topped with a sort of mousse of parmesan cheese, I believe, and a small, narrow foccacia-like slice covered with cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs and olive oil and a slice of either fresh sardine or anchovy (I’m not sure which –whichever it was, it was delicious) Again, the combination of flavors was excellent. We asked the waitress for suggestions for wines by the glass with our starters – my husband had a chardonnay and I had a sauvignon blanc, both of which were very good matches. (I can’t remember the details about the wine) Our waitress was wonderful –I don’t know her name, but she did an excellent job. For my main course, I ordered the cheeseburger because – well, because it’s the Palena cheeseburger. Need I say more? We have eaten at the café probably about ten times in the past year, and I nearly always waver between the cheeseburger and the heavenly gnocchi. (I did order the roasted chicken once and it definitely lived up to its billing, but I keep returning to my favorites.) With my cheeseburger, I had a glass of the zinfandel, about which I also cannot recall the details. (By now, the sommeliers and wine buyers reading this are probably pounding their heads against their computer screens, thinking ‘can we get no respect?’ From now on, I’ll take notes on all the wines ) My husband had the skate, which was served with cockles and sorrel in a light tomato broth. Both the fish and shellfish were cooked to perfection, and, again, the flavors worked so well together. And the pinot blanc suggested by our waitress was a good complement to the dish. After dinner, we moved to the bar and introduced ourselves to Derek, who was as friendly and gracious as everyone has described him. He is, indeed, the man. We ordered the cheese plate, which included a mild goat cheese with vegetable ash from Pennsylvania, an Italian goat cheese called brunet, a piave vecchio, the only hard cheese in the mix, a gorgonzola and a delicious soft creamy cheese, the name of which escapes me – all of these accompanied by several slices of bread baked with fruit and nuts. With the plate, Derek suggested (I hope I have this right) a white burgundy from Macon-Villages, which was a great match. To finish the evening, we had a glass of dessert wine – Loupiac – which Derek explained is a region in Bordeaux across the river from Sauternes. (See, there is hope for me). Thanks to Derek, Chef Frank Ruta and the rest of the staff at Palena for a wonderful evening. One of these days, soon, we’ll return to try one of Derek’s famous cocktails.
