ghostrider

Here follows some of our experiences in Maine over Christmas. I thought of trying to tack this onto an existing Portland thread, but since it also covers Augusta/Hallowell and a small slice of Boston, that didn’t seem quite right, so I’m just tossing it up on its own. Apologies for the non-food travelogue stuff; I find Portland such a great place to visit that I can’t help trying to rave about it a bit. Initial uses of names of establishments that we visited on this trip are highlighted as waymarkers, or something like that. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We traveled up to Portland via Amtrak two days before Christmas Eve. We were scheduled for dinner that night with an old friend from St. Louis who had lived in the Portland area for a couple of decades after college, then moved back to St. Louis, then returned to Portland earlier this year. He and his wife had their sights on Katahdin, which was fine with us since we didn’t get to try the place on our previous stays in Portland. Katahdin also had the advantage of being just one block down High Street from our hotel; up there at the top of the town, you get a stiff winter wind off the water, and walking a long way before dinner doesn’t seem too appealing. Katahdin certainly lived up to its reputation of delivering fresh, interesting and well prepared food at a reasonable price. Slices of thin, chewy bread were served with a fragrant olive oil for dipping. The crab cake appetizer was terrific, well packed with Maine crabmeat, with nice peppery sauce on the side. The field greens in a light vinaigrette were equally excellent, with astonishingly fresh tomatoes for this time of year. (I assume that the greens and tomatoes were locally greenhouse grown,) I’d ordered one of the specials, described as halibut with mushrooms in a chestnut demi. (Or was it a mushroom-chestnut demi? I should have made notes.) My plate arrived with a perfectly cooked, peppery crusted piece of halibut sitting atop a pile of green beans, beet greens and turnip greens, all of which rested on a base of garlic mashed potatoes. The stack was ringed with two varieties of mushroom, half covered by a chestnut-fragrant dark brown sauce. All of the ingredients were excellent. The vegetables were wonderfully sweet and fresh, cooked just to the point of doneness, still full of color. One mushroom was tender and sweet, the other chewy and full of what I think of as wild flavor; after a bit of research, I’d hazard that they might have been chanterelles and black trumpets, but that’s only a guess. The chestnut demi was thick and flavorful but not rich; to my palate its sticky sweetness verged on cloying, such that it tasted as well as looked much like I was eating a halibut sundae. Fortunately the plate was large enough that I could move the halibut and vegetables off to a dry area and dip the fish in the sauce as needed; I found this an advantage. Everyone else had the pan seared scallops and reported that they too were excellent. I’m unable to report on the composition of their dishes, I was too focused on talking with our friends. We had no room for dessert (and, as noted, my dessert palate had already been largely satiated). Our server was friendly, articulate and knowledgeable. The room was well lit and not overly noisy. Katahdin seems to have everything in place to create a fine evening full of warm feelings; I wouldn’t hesitate to return. The only problem with Portland is that there are so many excellent dining choices! We parted company with our friends and strolled down to the Old Port area and back. The city looks wonderful at this time of year. I’d guess that they let the Portland College of Art take over the lighting displays in the squares around town, as there seems to be a consistent use of vibrant color, variations on the cascade of brightly glowing globes that spills down several stories on the facade of the College on Congress Street. Up in the little square at the corner of Congress and High, they’ve hung giant representations of what look like old-fashioned blown glass ornaments with spheres, flattened globes and teardrops in the same shades of blue, orange, red, magenta and yellow. These aren’t typical Christmas tree light colors; they seem brighter, and well chosen to harmonise. Down in the Old Port there’s a square where all of the tree branches have been outlined in solely in that blue you see elsewhere in town; it’s a stunning effect. I like the way that Portland eschews the effete white-light approach that’s all too common in the New York area and goes for a riot of color; walking around the town that night maintained the warm feeling I had from dinner. The next morning we browsed some of the wonderful used bookstores on Congress Street. So much to read, so little time. Sheila found some bargains for the nephews’ kids at the L.L. Bean factory store. We had another fine soup and sandwich lunch at the Portland Public Market. I gazed wistfully at the fresh Gulf of Maine shrimp on display at the Scales Seafood. I need to rent some kind of efficiency apartment in Portland for a couple of weeks during this season; just give me a kitchen there! I was saddened to see that Valley View Orchard Pies in the Market was closing, that Christmas Eve would be their last day. This was a great bakery; topping off a lunch with one of their raspberry bars or lemon squares had become an instant tradition with us during the summer. I bought a last round of date bars and ginger cookies to carry on the trip. There was a sign up that Heather’s cakes would continue to be available on a catering basis, and I gather that they remain at their home location in Hebron. I guess it’s hard to pull in the clientele that you need to pay the rent on a space at the Market, what with the ongoing malling of America and all. It’s a shame. We headed up to Augusta in the afternoon and checked into the Comfort Inn. We’d gotten a suite, since that’s how you get a refrigerator; with my low-salt/sugar/fat diet, I like to have complete control over my breakfasts, so the fridge comes in handy. As a result we had an extra-spacious room, with a nice view of those wonderful Maine pines and a swath of sky beyond the back parking lot. Pretty much wherever I go, after breakfast I drink a couple of pots of tea & take my cardiac meds one by one & stare at the sky, it’s what I do, so I value having any sort of pleasing view from my windows. Thursday was our one night for dining out in the area before Christmas doings with Sheila’s family would consume us. We decided to head down to Hallowell, one of our favorite towns (technically it’s Mane’s smallest incorporated city). It has two good restaurants (possibly three, we’ve yet to try the Chinese place, which clearly has aspirations and seems to offer a fabulous river view), a great coffee house, and numerous antique shops sprawled along half a dozen blocks on the west bank of the Kennebec. I’d wanted to return to Hattie’s Chowder House for another round of their superb Seafood Alfredo, which was possibly the best single dish I’d had in Maine during our summer week there. Unfortunately, the monsoon arrived late that afternoon and only got worse after nightfall. It was the kind of horizontal rain that literally soaks you to the skin in three seconds; once you’re out in it, all that you can do is head in one direction and hope that you can reach your doorway while you’re still only half soaked. There was no parking within a block of Hattie’s; there was a slot only three car lengths away from Slate’s, so the choice was made for us. And yes, our backsides got completely drenched from walking those three parking slots. We hadn’t been to Slate’s in at least ten years, but I remember having some great omelet brunches there. It’s probably a better restaurant overall than Hattie’s, their menu is designed for more adventurous tastes. Slate’s has four rooms of varying sizes and configurations spread over the ground floor of a couple of buildings; it’s a quirky and inviting space. The brick walls and old tin ceiling make it a bit noisy when it’s crowded, but they look great. Navigating the monsoon had left us famished, so I put in a quick order of bread and dipping oil. (Bread & butter are complimentary if you don’t want the oil for dipping.) Our server brought a basket of six huge slices of hot, crusty French/Italian-inspired bread; Slate’s has its own bakery and their breads are exceptional. The olive oil had also been warmed, with a nice dollop of herbs, and an amount of garlic that overwhelmed the flavors of the herbs and the oil. Still, the warmth and heartiness of the bread made the perfect tonic for our cold and wet condition. We split a salad of greens with another vinaigrette; it was a more conventional mesclun mixture than we’d had at Katahdin, but still quite good. I’m starting to think that I should just ask for oil and vinegar whenever I’m offered a vinaigrette; I often regret that I haven’t. I’ve never quite gotten the whole mustard thing. I don’t really understand why people eat the stuff, it doesn’t usually work with my palate, and that all seems to extend to my reaction to most vinaigrettes. But that’s my problem and I guess a rather pointless digression. We were both in the mood for Maine shrimp (frozen, alas, but of good quality) with tomatoes, oil, garlic and pecorino over homemade fettuccine, so we both ordered the same thing. The tomatoes and shrimp were cooked to just the right degree. The fettuccine had a wonderful flavor, though I’d have preferred it a tad more al dente. The pecorino was freshly grated. Then there was the garlic, a great deal of it; the delicate sweetness of the shrimp got lost to the point where they added mostly texture to the dish. It was a good dish, it had close to an ideal mixture of ingredients for that particular night; it just seemed an injudicious use of a good quantity of Maine shrimp. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d say that a restaurant used too much garlic - I am, after all, someone who makes spaghettini con aglio e olio 2-3 times every week - but from the standpoint of taste, I’d have to say that about our evening at Slate’s. On the other hand, that healthy dose of garlic probably kept us from catching monsoon colds; there may have been wisdom at work in the kitchen that night. I still have a good feeling for the place and will definitely try them again when I’m not craving that Seafood Alfredo at Hattie’s; that is one rich dish and you have to be prepared for it. The day after Christmas, we headed back down 295 from Augusta for our last night in Portland. The temperature was dropping fast that afternoon. We checked into the Eastland Park and ran the car out to the Jetport. We had the cab back drop us at Uffa, three blocks from the hotel, where we’d counted on dining that night. Alas, they were closed. The only place open seemed to be the Bombay Club across the street. I was feeling a little too precarious to tackle Indian food that night, so we decided to go back to the hotel and see what else we could come up with. That little three-block walk, usually a pleasant stroll, chilled us to the bone; the wind had become absolutely vicious. A few phone calls told us that every place in the immediate area was closed; we’d have been glad to try 555 or return to Katahdin, but it wasn’t to be. The cold was too daunting for us to go any further afield, so we dined at Adelline’s Grill in the hotel. The lobster bisque was good and the service was very good; there isn’t much else worth noting. We boarded the Downeaster at 8:45 the next morning. A final note for travelers: if you are connecting to a southbound train out of Boston, do not follow Amtrak’s advice and take the subway back to Back Bay Station. Instead, take the Orange Line three stops to Downtown Crossing, and transfer to the outbound Red Line over to South Station. You want to be relatively mobile to do this, since the Orange-Red Line transfer is the only place on these various subway routes where there’s no elevator or escalator to help you move your bags vertically; you’ll have to carry your luggage down a one-story flight of stairs to get to the Red Line. (Or you could take a taxi between stations.) Why South Station? You have almost a 2-hour layover in Boston, and there’s much better food to be had there than at Back Bay. There’s also a nifty bi-level model railway display to enjoy at this time of year. All southbound trains originate at South Station and hit Back Bay 5 minutes later, so you’ll be on your train well fed with your choice of Cajun food (my personal favorite), Chinese, pizza, various wursts and dogs, Au Bon Pain goods, burgers, bakery items, and non-Starbucks coffee or tea. And if you can walk past Serenade Chocolates without buying a box or two of your favorite concoction, you’re a better person than I am. No, on second thought, you’re not; you just aren’t serious enough about your chocolate.

I'm not sure if it is like this all over the US, but here there is no charge for more waste. Actually, I have never lived anywhere where there was _any_ cost for waste disposal, or at least not one listed as such (I imagine that it is rolled into my apartment rent at the moment, but that is for all I can trash ;) ). ← Waste disposal charge schemes vary between communities across the U.S. In some towns (like my mother's in Missouri) it comes to you on a separate bill & the disposal company tracks how much they pick up from you, so you pay directly for the trash you generate. In others (like mine), it's lumped in as part of your quarterly property tax bill. You have to read the Mayor's Annual Letter to Residents to figure out exactly how much you're paying.

We are the court jesters of the "semi-upper middle class." "Fool" is the other word they use. ← Following the "jester" definition of "fool" in the American Heritage Dictionary is: "One who subverts convention or orthodoxy or varies from social conformity in order to reveal spiritual or moral truth: a holy fool." Dare we add gastronomic truth to the mix?

I love traveling, & I love food, but I have never planned a trip around food in 35 years. I've rarely made a dinner reservation anywhere, so maybe I'm semi-semi upper middle class. I'm interested in landscapes and townscapes and archaeological sites. Once I decide where I want to go, I'll do some research into restaurants and carry a list in case they fit into my schedule when I get there. The nice thing about traveling in Europe, particularly Italy, is that there's generally some really great food just around the corner from almost anywhere if you have a bit of an eye and a nose for it. I usually rely on serendipity, and my instincts which have been honed by experience, and I'm rarely disappointed.

Thanks from a Portland aficianado from away for the review. Local 188 looked like an inviting place, glad to hear that they delivered. Makes me glad we missed Uffa over Christmas weekend (writeup hopefully will be up soon). In browsing their menu the day before Christmas Eve, I noticed the biggest damn fly I've ever seen in my life crawling on the inside of the window in front of the menu. Considering the season, that fly was clearly a survivor. And perhaps an omen. I thought that somewhere, someone had posted that Uffa was vying with Fore Street as best in the city? I'm not sure if I read that on eG or that Portland review site (I don't rember it as a comment from any of the regulars here), and it really doesn't matter now. As johnnyd says, too many other places.

I resolve to castigate thoroughly anyone who persists in splitting infinitives. Even when they get everything else right.

"Organic" applied to raw foods, no negative connotations. On a menu, maybe. It would depend on the context. I've had experiences with a couple of places that touted "organic" dishes which proved to have been prepared by perhaps well-meaning hippie types who clearly had NO sense of taste. Some of the most awful food I've ever encountered. Seeing "organic" on the menu of a place where I already knew the quality of fhe cooking would be a plus; at a place I didn't know, I'd probably be warier than usual.

Last time this topic came up (may not have been on eGullet, probably wasn't), no one had ever even heard of Ralston cereal. I'm wondering if it was a regional thing. As a kid in St. Louis, home to the Ralston Purina Co., it was my favorite. Durn, I meant to check the store shelves for it when I was back there over Thanksgiving & plumb forgot. Still have oatmeal once in a while, but usually opt for the cold stuff (Alpen or Familia).

Thanks. I get periodic fresh ginger cravings. Probably time I returned to cooking my own again.

Is the grilled lemongrass ginger beef made with fresh ginger root, or the dried stuff?

Looks delish! Wish that intestinal issues (see New Years Eve thread - or not) hadn't prevented us from joining you folks. Nice to know that the food is up to snuff. We tend to dine so late, if left to our own devices, that service probably won't be an issue.

Thanks tarka. My wife says the same thing - she cut out caffeine 20 yrs ago. Still smokes tho. Don't know that I'll ever have the will to give up tea, particularly since I've given up so much over the course of my life. We'll see. (I was editing in some add'l comments on caffeine while you were posting.) I think I eat more whole-grain oats than I do wheat, OK, one less thing to worry about. There's a world of truth there.

This is a fascinating post. I am full of questions. The big one being, how do you stay awake & focus your mind during the day? I guess that principally relates to caffeine. I'm an avid black tea drinker. (On average, a cup of tea has 1/3 - 1/2 the caffeine of a cup of coffee. More detail in an excellent article here at Upton Teas; go to their "Online Information Library", then their Winter 2003 newsletter. You'll see that some studies have found that green tea has approx. 1/3 the caffeine of black tea, while others find little discernible difference. The article will give you some indications of why this is.) How does wheat qualify as a toxin? I know that some folks have an allergic/systemic reaction to it, but otherwise.....? I already have a rather low-tox diet in the above terms, recently cut out major quantities of dairy & sugar after a diabetes scare (false alarm). Good luck with kicking the smoking. If you need additional motivation, remember that nicotine acts much like cholesterol in the blood & can set you up for a dandy early heart attack, like the one I was lucky enough to survive a year & a half ago. It's easy to stop smoking when you're trapped in a hospital bed for a week with all kinds of tubes stuck in you; it's better if you can do it before you reach that point.

Stayed home & watched Shrek 2 for the heck of it. We've both got that intestinal virus that's going around the tri-state area so not many options for fun this weekend. Hope no one else catches this bug.

I found Fannie very useful when I was learning my way around a kitchen some 35 years ago. More as a reference than a guide, I learned a lot of my basic cooking by trial & error. Lots of error! I still find it handy for details I've forgotten of things I don't do often (roasts, baking). And it's a good basis for tweaking my own approaches to things like cornbread & BBQ sauce.

Thanks! That's a wonderfully pithy review. Makes getting up to Wondee's one of my top New Year's resolutions. Yes I know it's shameful I haven't already gotten there. Too much inertia.

Oh my that's a big one. Nice! Yes my ShopRite does suck. After exchanging the OJ (no questions asked), I found tapioca pudding on their shelves that was 2 months past the expiration date. I must add that this is the first time I've gotten OJ that's gone bad in 13 years of shopping there. Still, it's really like a time warp in that place - limp lettuce, moldy onions & taters - it's like a crummy grocery from 30 years ago.

I think the spoon-soup-away-from-you rule is another that was based in practicality; if you're sloppy with it, the spill will go on the table instead of your lap. Still feels unnatural though.

You are so right! I generally go to the Lyndhurst Stop & Shop when I'm heading that way tho, it's usually less crowded.

This is good to know. Given that Taste of Asia couldn't keep their Montclair branch in business, I share Jason's concerns above. Maybe Saigon has a better location down there on Elm.

Opened the container of 1/20 Trop this a.m. Freshly opened, the damn stuff has that fizzy aftertaste. It's going back. Hopefully the 2/10 carton I got at the same time (it was the last one left on the shelf, a clear sign that a lot of other shoppers take the same precautions I do with this dump) will be in better shape. We really do have a lousy store (Rutherford). If they weren't the only game in town, they'd have gone out of business ages ago. Their produce shelf is a disgrace. And you don't even want to think about buying meat that's anywhere near the sell-by date at this place.

My parents were total sticklers about the elbows-on-table thing, which is perhaps why I can't take it at all seriously. It depends on the relative height of table & chair; some tables just cry out to be elbowed. (As do some people, but that's for a different forum altogether. ) I vaccillate between continental & traditional American knife-&-fork wielding. Depends on what I'm eating & how hungry I am. I generally slice off 3-4 pieces at a time & eat those before proceeding, so that the whole chunk of meat doesn't cool off too quickly. Like NulloModo, I generally drop the utensils before imbibing, to avoid the unpleasantess of forked nostril.

I second the Public Market, a great place to poke around & have lunch. 555 (at 555 Congress St) also comes well recommended, I forget by whom. They have their menu posted in their window, you can take a look & see if it appeals. It's only a couple of blocks up from Katahdin. We dined at Katahdin last week & enjoyed it thoroughly. Fresh & reasonably inventive food, excellent service. Still working on the details of my writeup.

My experience is that, the closer the juice is to the sell-by date, the more bitter it tastes. This may not be true in general. I know from other experiences that my dinky little ShopRite does not have an adequate refrigeration system, and I'm probably tasting the effects of that.

I used to like those ShopRite cereals until I had to go on a low-salt low-sugar diet. Now it's no-sugar-added Alpen or Familia. Have yet to find a generic equivalent. I used to like the SR peanut butter too, but they don't offer a no-salt version. SRTP works pretty well tho.