BY COLIN SARGENT – REVIEWED April 2003
When we were newlyweds, my wife and I breezed through Chicago by train with barely enough time to slop at the Palmer House and order chateaubriand – to go. The chef was so taken with our profligacy that he delivered his take-out creation to us shimmering in tin foil atop a mono-grammed Palmer House planer as a wedding present.
As the train slid out of the station, we sipped champagne and began our exquisitely romantic fantasy.
So you might say I had ‘expectations’ when we snuggled into a velvet banquet and ordered tlie Chateaubriand for Two ($60) a month ago at the Samoset Resort in Rockport for old times’ sake. Supper was presented to us tableside on a rolling gueridon by a tuxedo-clad maitre-d’. Garnished with an array of baby carrots, broccoli, potatoes sculpted into mushroom-shaped delights, and accompanied by a saucier of fluffy bear-naise, the oven-roasted tenderloin was grilled as we looked on. Crispy on the outside and pink on the inside, it offered guilty, decadent pleasures bite by bite. It exceeded the memory of my Chicago dish past, which , I considered impossible to surpass. It was a good thing the chateaubriand was created for two, or I might not have shared it, but we found the 22-ounce portion large enough for three.
I returned last Friday night and cruelly ordered the dish again, demanding that lightning strike twice. It did. Now the clang of the Samoset bearnaise sauce and that gorgeous tenderloin at Marcel’s is up there in my Parthenon of perfect recollected tastes. So what’s up at the Samoset?
Chef Tim Pierce, formerly of The Balsams, is what’s up. He has now been with the Samoset for all of three months. Dining with Pierce in the director’s chair is like participating in a classic movie.
Romantic tableside servings of Caesar Salad. Rack of Lamb, Steak Dianne, Bananas Foster, and Strawbern 1′ lainbe continue a longstanding tradition. On special occasions, Brazilian Coffee is served tableside, recjuiring a “high pour” sparkling with fire. This is not for the shy, as all this old-fashioned flair will attract the attention of the other diners. Pierce does everything from scratch here, all the way down to the homemade shrimp cocktail sauce. Appetizers include Steamed Mussels ($10.50), “slow steamed in a roasted garlic and tomato bouillon, served with our own Crostini.” Try Grilled Lamb Loin ($10) as an appetizer, “gulled to perfection and served with a roasted winter vegetable ragout and drizzled with a red onion cream reduction.” Try the luscious, creamy clam chowder or tlhe savory puff pastry-enlivened Lobster Bisque ($6.95). Entrees sparkle with options such as Red Snapper en Papillote ($18.95), Seafood Saute ($28) and -also prepared for two – Dijonnaise Rack of Lamb served with Fresh Roasted Vegetables ($57]. The wine list is so thorough there’s a full page delineating reds by the glass alone.
Bananas Foster ($7.50) lights up the dessert menu here even’ night. It may not be a train, but the Samoset carries you to the happiest of destinations.
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