Piccolo (Portland, ME)

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*****
Happy New Year!  Welcome to 2015!

Sorry it has been such a long while since my last post; it has been a busy season, between research papers, traveling to see family, and the holidays, and sadly, this has been the thing pushed to the back of my to-do-list.

But, I did have a couple of really great meals over the last few days of 2014, and Piccolo, a relatively new Portland restaurant, provided the best of them.  I went with a couple of my step-siblings and their father (not my step) and his wife, who very generously included me.  This was actually option B for us, and I am so glad we ended up there, as this was truly a spectacular experience all around.

Piccolo really lives up to its name, squeezed into a tiny space with only about twenty seats (if even that), but it does not feel cramped as you sit at the table, and the decor is simple but attractive.  The servers are all friendly, and we ended up having one of the owners, who is also the pastry chef, for our waitress, which was really great as she knew the menu so well.

We began with the "salumi" plate, which consisted of a couple of cured or salted meats (bresaola included, which was so rich and delicious I could have eaten it all night), some olives, and a few really fantastic pickled vegetables, my favorite of which were the beets.  Additionally, we ordered the "carotta" appetizer, which consisted of roasted carrots and a couple accompaniments, and which was a very good, albeit unspectacular, starter.

The entrees were where things really began to shine.  The six of us ended up ordering three different entrees, with each having two people picking it:  two "pasta fatta in casa;" two "calamarata," and two "del mar."  Everything was homemade, locally sourced if possible, and made with a care and technique that is rare to find.

The pasta (and the name literally means house-made pasta) was cavatelli, served with a lamb neck ragu, eggplant, orange, and pecorino, and other than my own dish, this was what I ate the most of, as one of the two who ordered it could not finish the rather large portion she was served.  The lamb neck was succulent and rich, the cavatelli themselves perfectly formed and cooked, and on the whole the dish was a delightful melange of flavors.

My dish, the calamarata, consisted of squid ink pasta (referred to as maltagliati on the menu, and seeming to be the ends of strips of papardelle) that was literally the best pasta I have ever had, the best cooked squid I have ever had (are we sensing a pattern?), charred tomato, peppers, and olives.  I'll admit, I missed the olives, but everything else was there in delicious abundance.  The pasta was perfectly al dente, the squid not even the littlest bit chewy (and anyone who has ever cooked that particular cephalopod knows how insanely difficult that is to achieve), and the tomatoes in particular was incredibly flavorful.  Everything just worked, so ridiculously well, that it has launched itself into the pantheon of best dishes I have ever had, a list that includes the short ribs I had at Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas a couple years ago.  I cannot recommend this particularly dish highly enough, even more so than the restaurant as a whole, which I recommend very, very highly.

The last dish was fish, the particular variety of which I cannot recall other than that it was a locally sourced whitefish (I do not think it was hake, but I may be wrong), which was perfectly cooked.  I only had a single bite, so I cannot speak to it more than to say my sister, who has impeccable taste, loved it.

For dessert, we had a funnel cake-like Italian fried dough that was really tasty, with a crunchy exterior and just a little bit of dough inside the thin strands to provide a little chewiness.  We also had a poached pear with chocolate mousse dish that was fine, but a little too rich for me; it was clearly well done in every way, just not my thing.

The wines we had were great (picked by my sister in the case of the white wine we had), and the owner was good enough to suggest a red wine that was significantly cheaper than what had been the previous choice.  That was just the beginning of the great service, and once again, I really cannot speak highly enough of this entire experience.  If you find yourself in Portland, this is a very reasonably priced, very well executed restaurant with spectacular food; just make a reservation, since there are so few seats.  The owners are both veterans of a Daniel Boulud restaurant in NYC, so they have the pedigree to explain their excellence.

I do not think vegetarians would be successful here, though they may be willing to make something special; if they do, I have no doubt it will be delicious.

Night Kitchen (Montague Center, Montague, MA) and Berkshire Brewing Company River Ale

****This Restaurant Has Closed****

The Night Kitchen, currently the Town of Montague's only upscale restaurant following the closing of Turners Falls' Ristorante DiPaolo, was a mixed bag for me.  I went with family to celebrate my step-grandmother's 80th birthday, and there were some great moments, and some things that really fell short for me.  They do get extra credit for naming themselves after the Maurice Sendak book In the Night Kitchen; Sendak was one of my favorites as a child, and though I don't specifically recall reading that book, Where the Wild Things Are will forever be on top of my list of great children's books.

As far as ambiance, the restaurant does well; it is located on the bank of a small, as best I can tell unnamed river that runs along Greenfield Rd in Montague Center, and is nicely decorated in a rustic sort of way.  It is not too dark, though the lights definitely dimmed from when I arrived at 7:00pm to when we all departed at 9:00pm, to just on the edge of where I would have thought they were too dark.  The kitchen is visible from the majority of the dining room, something which some people like, though quite honestly, unless I am eating sushi I don't really care about. 

Parsnip, Leek and Potato Soup with arugula oil and smoke paprika

The meal started with some appetizers, including the Parsnip, Potato and Leek Soup for me, and the table sharing the Grilled Flatbread with Green Olives and Broiled Parmesan Polenta.  The soup, served with an "arugula oil & smoked paprika," was nice looking, and the bright green oil was laid out attractively on top of a porridgy looking bowl of moderately creamy, slightly grainy soup.  The graininess is not actually a negative for me, as I feel that it adds some texture to the soup, but I can imagine that other people may not have as positive a reaction to that.  The soup tasted fine, a solid average offering with a strong parsnip flavor, but I did not really taste the leeks at all, which was disappointing, since they are among my favorite vegetables, and the potato was a background note at best.  I've made better myself, but since they don't offer any other soups at this time, it's not a terrible option, though I tend to object to ordering things that I can make as well or better than a restaurant. 

The polenta was flat out disappointing, served in a tiny cast iron "skillet" with garlic mushrooms and mozzarella.  The polenta itself was flavorless, thick and with a cement-like consistency.  I've made better, my mother has made better, and any Italian who ate it would probably take it as a personal insult.  All in all, one of the worst items I have ever had in a fine-dining establishment; stay away.  The flatbread, on the other hand, was spectacular.  With white Spanish anchovies and some gruyere melted on top, it was salty and savory, as well as a tiny bit sweet from some caramelized onions.  This was a great, simple, but elegant appetizer that any restaurant would be proud of, and I am still kind of regretting not grabbing another piece of it.

Entrées were also a mixed result, as I loved my dish, but my step-dad and his mother felt that theirs were served a little cooler than they should be.  In fact, my step-grandmother sent her dish, the Seared Duck Breast, back to be re-warmed.  When it returned, she very much enjoyed it.  My step-dad's Grilled Bistro Steak, which he ordered medium, was on the medium-rare side of that, which was fine with me when I tasted it, and I thought it was both well cooked and tasted great.  My mother had the Grilled Pork Rib Chop, a bone in chop stuffed with black mission figs; it was decent, better than I expected (though I must admit that I expect poor results anytime someone orders a pork chop at a restaurant, as they typically overcook them horribly; it's why I enjoy the pork chops at Hope and Olive so much), but still not as juicy as I'd have liked, though it certainly tasted good. 

My entrée was solid, a Potato Crusted Arctic Char, served with an orange and radish slaw and

Potato Crusted Arctic Char with orange radish slaw and horseradish crème

horseradish crème, with lentils and kale on the side.  The lentils were not particularly interesting, though they were nicely cooked, with just a little al dente bite to them.  The kale was also perfectly cooked, so the leaves were still bright and crisp, with a vinegar-y sauce that had some sweetness to it; it was absolutely delicious, the kind of side that goes well with almost anything, and is a pretty decent argument for those crazy "Eat More Kale" people.  The fish was very good, though not as good as the kale; it was cooked decently well, but not perfect, and the potato crust slipped off it pretty easily while cutting into it.  The fish itself was a little overly flaky (slightly overcooked, but not horribly), and the crust had some nice flavor to it.  All in all, I would label this as a fine, but not wonderful, dish, and next time I would go with the steak or possibly Braised Chicken with Fennel and Capers.

Salted Caramel Pudding

The highlight of the night was, by far, the dessert.  I have expressed several times my dislike for super sweet desserts, but there were three options that drew my eye:  the Warm Maple Almond Bundt Cake with a strawberry rhubarb compote; the Rum Soaked Pineapple Upside Down Cake; and the Salted Caramel Pudding with candied walnuts.  I asked the waiter who came over to take our order what he suggested, and he said the pudding, so that's what I went with.  It was one of the best desserts I have ever had in my entire life, a thick, heavy, sweet and salty pudding with large walnut chunks and some whipped cream on top.  The caramel/salt combination is about as good as it gets, but this was done much, much better than normal, so that the salt was clearly evident in every bite without ever overwhelming the caramel, but also providing enough of a savory note that even when all the components were eaten together the caramel, candied walnuts and whipped cream did not have too much sweetness.  I hate walnuts, and I loved them in this dish; they were perfectly done, just on the edge of becoming soft so that they did not shatter when bitten into, but avoiding that soggy feeling that many candied nuts get.  The whipped cream was even above average, clearly homemade.  I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Service was...interesting.  Our waitress was friendly enough, but a little blah; she did not seem to have any kind of actual personality.  Now, I'm not saying I want wait staff to be super effervescent, but my lord, be more than a soft spoken automaton!  Timidity is a poor trait in a service industry, and I hope it was just that she was new, but she could not even muster much more than a "they're both really good" when I asked if she recommended the Char versus the Trout.  The waiter who took our dessert order was much, much better, a strong personality without overdoing it.  The waitress that my step-grandmother spoke to when she sent back her entrée was similarly good, apologizing profusely and immediately taking the dish back to be re-done, but never seemed to be overwhelmed by anything.  She may have been a manager of some sort, because I don't believe I ever saw her actually taking orders from anyone.

All in all, this was a fine meal, one that was better than anything else you could find in Montague, but not really equal to the food you would find at Hope and Olive or at several places in Northampton, Brattleboro or even Sunderland.  I would go back for two reasons:  one, the deck outside is perfect for a summer date; and two, for that salted caramel.  The prices are not unreasonable, but for the same money, I think you can do better.

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With my dinner I had a glass of the Berkshire Brewing Company River Ale, a mediocre, at best, beer that I will never have again.  I am a fan of BBC, with the Lost Sailor IPA, Drayman's Porter, and Steel Rail Pale Ale all personal favorites of mine, but this was just a poor beer.  Their website says it has a "slight" sweetness, but it's really more of a whack you over the head amount of sweet.  It is a high alcohol beer at 7%, and its saving grace is that it does not taste like it has that much booze; that said, I cannot in good conscience recommend this, as it is simply a more expensive, darker version of Bud Light Platinum.  Stay away, and try one of the other three I listed instead.

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Madison Brewing Co. Pub and Restaurant (Bennington, VT)

Madison Brewing Co.©

Madison Brewing Co. Pub and Restaurant is my kind of place; simple, tasty food, good beer, and a great atmosphere.  My younger step-sister just graduated from Bennington College, and since I was not able to be there, I took her out to dinner in celebration; this was where she chose for us to go, and I can assure you, if she took nothing else away from her college experience, Madison Brewing Co. was well worth the cost of tuition.

Madison offers six year round beers, ranging from a Scottish style ale to a Belgian witbier, along with two "seasonal" beers.  I had the Old 76 Strong Ale, which lives up well to its name; it is a strongly flavored, heavy beer, though lacking the hops that I would have expected.  The beer was not special, but certainly much better than and of the mass produced options, and held up well against even some of the British ales I've had.  This is certainly a beer I can recommend to anyone who finds themselves in Bennington.

Despite being a brewpub, the food was really where Madison shines.  I had the bangers and mash dinner, and the mashed potatoes were fantastic; creamy, rich, with good texture but not so much as to be chunky.  The gravy was heavy and filling, with large slices of cooked onions in it, and while it had its own richness, it did not overwhelm either the potatoes or the sausages.  The bangers themselves, however, were a little disappointing at first; they are not really bangers, but more of a standard pork sausage, and once I got over the disappointment that they were not what I had had in England, I really enjoyed them.  They were extremely porky, which is pretty much my first requirement for a sausage (I have had good beef, chicken/turkey, and fish sausages, but let's be real:  sausages should be pork), with just enough fat to keep them moist but not so much as to feel heavy or greasy, and went well with both the potatoes and gravy.  The last thing on the plate was a small heap of apple chutney, which was an extremely sweet, but welcome addition, with the apples maintaining their crunch to provide a nice contrast to the primarily soft remainder of the platter.

Along with the bangers and mash, Madison offers a pretty great selection of traditional pub food, such as fish and chips (on Wednesdays it's all you can.  Seriously, this place was founded with me in mind), meatloaf, burgers (including bison and venison burgers), and wings, along with less traditional fare including a daily ravioli special, tortellini alfredo, and chicken scalopini.  The smoked gouda mac and cheese sounds pretty damn good too.

Now, I don't normally eat dessert, partially because I'm trying to convince myself I'm eating semi-healthy, but mostly because I just tend to be disappointed by it.  When offered apple pie with a pecan topping/crust, however, that whole "healthy" thing goes out the window, especially when the waitress (who was one of the best I've had in a while; friendly without being cloying, attentive without being intrusive or annoying) insists that it must be eaten warm and a la mode, and boy was she right.  First off, they use good ice cream; this was not that bleached looking "vanilla" that has no character, but instead more along the lines of Haagen-Dazs' Vanilla Bean (a personal favorite of mine).  Secondly, the pie itself was heavenly; think of the best apple pie you've had, and then try this.  It'll be a close comparison, I can assure you that.  While this may not be the best I've ever, it's damn close, with great texture, sweetness, tartness, and apple flavor that just melds perfectly into an overall fantastic eating experience, and one that reminded me that dessert does not have to disappoint.

Lastly, the aforementioned atmosphere:  the downstairs is small, but not cramped, with a tiny bar (maybe 8 seats, if that) and several tables.  Upstairs is separated into two sections, with an expansive indoor area and a moderately sized outdoor area, that has its own bar (though I don't believe you can sit at it), with about 8 or 9 tables.  We sat outdoors, and it was a really great place to sit, with the perfect (not too hot, but sunny) weather enhancing the already delicious meal.  If you have the option of sitting outside and the weather is nice, take advantage, you will not regret it.

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